Louisa Shipman-Mangrum-Yoos: Screaming from the Dust By Robert R. Bubb

     I'm very pleased to post below the biographical sketch by Robert Bubb of his great-great-grandmother, Louisa Shipman-Mangrum-Yoos. Although it is not clear if she is indeed buried in Camptown Cemetery, she very well may be and certainly was an key figure in post-emancipation Brenham.  Her last name graces the street upon which Camptown Cemetery now lies, a fact that had not been known before her great-great-grandson began delving into her story. 

     She sold the city of Brenham the land upon which Pickard High School was erected, land which she may well have given by her ex-"owner", Daniel Shipman, one of Sephen F. Austin's "Original Three Hundred."  The photograph below shows the street sign at Kerr and Mangrum next to the monument erected by the Lion's Club to commemorate Pickard High School in 1979.  It reads

"Site Of Pickard High School.

Esteemed Texas school established about 1875 by Brenham public school system for black pupils of elementary through high school levels and called Camptown School.  It was renamed East End School and later, in 1936 Pickard High School in honor of A.R. Pickard, it's principal for about forty-five years, becoming a senior high school in 1958.  It continued until 1969.

Principals serving here were Paul Bledso, Anerson, Sam McCoy, A.R. Pickard Sr. and W.L. Alton Sr.  The spirit of Pickard High School lives in the hearts of its thousands of students."

     Camptown Cemetery can be seen in the background, on the other side of the old playing fields of Pickard High School. It is heartening that Louisa Mangrum's name can be once again remembered in association with this key area of early Camptown history.

The Corner of Mangrum and Kerr, 

Site of Pickard High School 

Louisa Shipman-Mangrum-Yoos: Screaming from the Dust

By Robert R. Bubb

     The lack of records and documentation make tracing the genealogical roots of former slaves extremely difficult, if not impossible. For Louisa Shipman-Mangrum(Mangram)-Yoos, tracing those roots is no different. Untangling Louisa’s family roots is like envisioning a 1,000 piece puzzle with two corner pieces, twelve middle pieces, and a whole lot of educated inference. Based on the interpretation of slave population censuses, sale deeds, and newspaper clippings, it appears Louisa’s father was likely her slave owner, Daniel Shipman, and her mother was likely a “yellow” slave named Vina. Louisa may have also had five other bi-racial siblings as well: Jane, Julie, Caroline, Thomas, and a sibling who only lived a few days. Louisa was likely born around 1846 near Sexton, Texas. Shortly thereafter and according to the 1850 Slave Census, she was living in Brenham, Texas. Like many slave families, Daniel Shipman may have sold some of her siblings as they came of age, and it appears that in 1859 following the death of his wife, Shipman sold Louisa and her remaining family as well.

     After emancipation the records are much clearer, Louisa started a family of her own, and in 1869, she married a former slave named Smith Mangrum (Mangram). Although the marriage would not last more than 15 years, Louisa and Smith raised two children – Mary and John. Louisa was an advocate for education as the Census records all indicate that her children were in school. Little is known about Mary, however John would later marry Aggie Fredericks who, according to the Brenham Banner, was known for her swearing and fighting. Sadly in 1900, John died of consumption and according to the 1900 Census, Mary may have had passed away as well.

In addition to her own children, Louisa also cared for several other children including a niece, Rebecca Lusk, and two nephews, Harrison Pressey and Earl Jones. Louisa and Smith made a lasting impression on Harrison, as he would later name two of his children after them. Louisa would also adopt the daughter of Mattie Foster and cared for her until she decided to return to her mother. Louisa’s open home was likely the result of her relatively unusual financial position for a former slave.

Despite her roots, Louisa was quite prosperous. How she came about such wealth is still a mystery; however Daniel Shipman may have had something to do with it. According to the 1870 Census Louisa and Smith owned a home valued at $600 which was double the value of most homes owned by former slaves at that time. But it would not be until after 1880 that Louisa was a regular in terms of land acquisitions and transfers. Coincidentally in 1880, Daniel Shipman sold all of his interests in Brenham for $10,000 and divided the money among his children. Although it is not known if his mulatto children received any of the sale proceeds, Louisa’s escalation in property transactions after that date suggests she may have received a portion.

Interestingly and despite being married, Louisa maintained property rights and all transactions were in her name and not her husband’s. Texas and California were the only two states at the time that allowed wives to retain the rights to their own property, and Federal Censuses and newspaper articles demonstrate that Louisa owned a lot of property. She owned a house on Sandy Street – now known as Alamo Street, 100 acres outside of town in Andrew Miller’s abstract under Smith’s name, 5 lots in Gays addition – between Garrett and Mangrum Streets across from Mount Rose Baptist Church where the Pickard High School Home Economics building now stands, the land south of Mangrum Street – possibly named after Louisa – to the train tracks, a lot in Randle’s addition in north Brenham, and two other unspecified lots. Much of the land she owned surrounded Camptown Cemetery, and several land transactions were in the interest of furthering Black causes. In 1884, Louisa sold the land south of Mangrum Street for the building of a new Camptown School – later known as East End and Pickard High School. Later Louisa sold two lots of land to the United Brothers of Friendship and the Sisters of the Mysterious Tens. Both orders were responsible for caring for the sick and burying the dead. Given all the land she owned, it is with little surprise that the Galveston Daily News referred to Louisa as a “well-to-do colored woman of Brenham.”

Given Louisa’s dealings in the community, she was referenced much in the local newspaper. An article in the Brenham Banner tells of Henry McDade’s close call with death on Louisa’s property. Louisa treated her property for ants and unknown to her, the gas from chemicals poised her water well. Coincidentally, McDade was called out to clean the well and was overcome with the fumes. He passed out at the bottom of the well. After Prince Edward failed in his attempt to save McDade, Wiley Hubert scaled the well and pulled McDade to safety.

      Not only was Louisa involved in property transactions, she was also involved in several legal matters. In 1879, Louisa demonstrated her open nature to those in need and willingness to confront danger by harboring a battered woman. Louisa literally stood in the line of fire protecting the woman. The woman’s husband, Taylor Smith, tried to shoot Louisa. In her own words at Taylor’s trial, “Smith’s wife left him about a week ago on account of ill treatment, coming to my house; Smith who seemed to have been drinking came to my house on Tuesday and quarreled with me about keeping and harboring his wife; came to my house twice after dark, and each time sending his small boy with somewhat threatening messages and again came about 10 o’clock at night, this time accompanied by a double barreled shot gun. I heard a noise outside and stepping to the open window, I saw the muzzle of the shotgun, it looked large enough to drive a mule in; heard him cock the gun and stepped to one side; had hardly got out of the way when the gun was discharged, the load taking effect in the wall. I was not hurt.” Louisa not only stood up for the rights of others, she also stood up for her own rights.

     Louisa knew her rights and defended them. She filed suit for several property and custody rights. In 1884 and 1886, she sued for land rights against Wilson Mangrum – a possible relative of her husband. She also sued Charles Wilson and K. A. Sloan for failure to fulfill promissory notes, and she took Mattie Foster to court over custody of Mattie’s daughter. Although the court upheld Louisa’s right to the child, the child later returned to her biological mother. The many legal battles demonstrated that Louisa was determined to take control of her life – to act and not be acted upon.

     Louisa’s success in Brenham also demonstrated her ambitious nature. She took every opportunity to make something of her life. In 1888, she traveled to California to pursue additional prospects. She spent a year in San Francisco before moving across the bay. In downtown Oakland, she purchased a 13-room lodge on the corner of Franklin and 7^th Streets. As a lodge owner, she met several interesting people. Gustave Rutz was a well-to-do inventor of rail car safety equipment. Rutz was known for his free love philosophy which was also suspected to play a role in his mysterious and sudden disappearance.  

Another resident was the self-proclaimed General Charles Kelly of the Industrial Army and advocate of labor rights. General Kelly’s labor rights march on Washington was chronicled by the American author – and fellow marcher – Jack London. Although the movement eventually faded with little effect, it is not surprising that Louisa would be tangently connected to the labor rights movement given her pursuit and exercising of her own legal rights.

Louisa would again demonstrate her compassion for her fellow human beings. Old David McNea was a poor peddler and Oakland pioneer who Louisa found in the street and brought him into her lodge. McNea was ill and she cared for him at her own expense for the last 6-months of his life. Several years after his death, a small fortune belonging to McNea was discovered in a San Francisco bank. McNea’s choice to live a life of a poor peddler when he hoarded money across the bay left many scratching their heads and calling him a miser.

While managing the lodge in Oakland, Louisa struck a relationship with a German immigrant named Frederick D. Yoos. Unfortunately, they could not marry because California Civil Code prevented the marriage between any White person and any Black or Mulatto persons. However they did raise two children together – Frederick Daniel and Lillian Virginia. They lived together as a family while residing in Oakland.

While in Oakland, Louisa also had a run-in with the leader of the Sporting Life Gang, Frank Nolan. The Sporting Life Gang was characterized by Jack London as murderers and ballot box stuffers. Frank Nolan had a knack for getting arrested and then intimidating his way out of legal charges. Avoiding charges is not too surprising though given that Oakland’s police force at the end of the 19^th Century was considered the most corrupt in the nation. On this occasion, Nolan assaulted a woman by the name of Lizzie James. Louisa was called to be a character witness and possibly in a moment of uncharacteristic weakness, she testified that Lizzie had a poor reputation. As a result, Frank Nolan was yet again acquitted. Given Nolan’s own reputation, it is likely Louisa was also intimidated by the gang leader.

Shortly after her testimony at the Sporting Life Trial, Louisa sold the lodge. It is possible that the trial, and her role in it, persuaded her that downtown Oakland was not the best place to raise young children. Louisa and her family moved to Fair Play, California and purchased two lots of land for a homestead. They would remain in Fair Play until Fred Yoos passed away in 1906.

After 1906, Louisa bounced back and forth between her properties in Brenham and in California. Shortly after the death of Fred Yoos, Louisa and Lillian moved back to Brenham until women gained the right to vote in progressive California. It is not surprising that Louisa returned to Fair Play to exercise her right to vote at the very first available chance. She had already demonstrated by suing for custody rights, owning land in her solely her name, managing a lodge, and pursuing legal actions against others that she was a strong, smart woman willing to exercise her rights.

She remained in Fair Play until both Frederick Daniel and Lillian were married. Lillian married Jacob Harris in 1919 while Frederick married Florence Moore in 1920. Following the marriages, Louisa traveled back to Brenham for a couple of years before returning to Oakland in 1922. Shortly thereafter Lillian moved to Quincy, California and Frederick moved to Los Angeles. With her children now pursuing their own lives, Louisa would return one final time to Brenham around 1924.

In October of 1926, Louisa suffered a stroke. She was taken to a hospital in Rusk, Texas for medical care, and on January 4^th, 1927, Louisa passed away. Her body was taken back to Brenham to be buried.

Louisa Shipman-Mangrum-Yoos was one of the many forgotten voices that made up the vibrant history of Camptown. Not even her descendants knew of her life and accomplishments. Her grandson did not even know her name until he was 85 years old and knew her only has a poor, uneducated Black woman from Louisiana who adopted and raised his mother. Louisa’s memory could not have been more misrepresented! But no more! As much in life, Louisa is now again making her presence known in death. The historical revival in Camptown has stirred her spirit, hopefully never to be silenced again.