Sarah Rector— Erased From History

Part one of a new mini-series that will cover historical figures who, for one reason or another, have been "Erased From History"

Sep 22, 2022

THE RICHEST BLACK GIRL IN AMERICA

By the time Sarah Rector was 11 years old, she was making nearly $8,000 a day (in today’s dollars). By age 18, she was worth an estimated $1,000,000 (28 million today).

Young Sarah Rector was the beneficiary of an extremely timely birth. Her unlikely wealth was the result of an agreement made over 40 years before her birthdate—an emancipation treaty between the Native American Nations and the United States government following the Civil War.

Before the white man moved west, it was actually common for Native Americans to own slaves. Accordingly, most tribal nations fought alongside the Confederacy. After the war, the United States government signed treaties with each Indian nation, freeing nearly 16,000 African American slaves—one of whom happened to be Sarah Rector’s great-grandmother, Mollie McQueen.

Most of the freedmen, as they were called, continued to reside in tribal territories. In many cases, the freed slaves continued to be treated harshly, and they struggled for acceptance and legitimate recognition of citizenship within those territories. That was, until the federally enforced Dawes Act of 1887—which outlawed "communal landholdings" and enforced individual ownership over all Native American land.

Dawes was passed to help Oklahoma reach statehood—effectively turning 90 million acres (140,000 square miles) of tribal land into U.S. territory. To make the transition, each head of household, and each of their descendants, were awarded 160 acres of free land (with property taxes) and granted full U.S. citizenship. It is well known that Dawes unjustly deprived Native Americans of their land and was designed to assimilate Native American life with continental U.S. customs, but for Sarah Rector and her family, the government’s intervention proved extremely fortuitous.

“The 1887 Dawes General Allotment Act stripped Native people of their land rights as the U.S. government attempted to restrict indigenous lands and transfer property to white settlers. Simultaneously, the Dawes Act sought to impose a system of individual property rights upon tribes, as U.S. government officials identified previous tribal, communal property as “uncivilized.” Government officials surveyed tribal land, divided it into allotments, and ultimately dispersed much of it to white settlers through the sale of what they deemed as “excess” tribal land. Only those individuals who accepted an allotment, or plot, were entitled to U.S. citizenship.”
- Megan Dennis PhD, University of Kansas

Most of the land awarded to the freedmen was selectively chosen for its infertile soil and rocky terrain. In other words, the best plots were saved for white settlers. However, Sarah’s plot sat on a gold mine—liquid gold. After a lake of oil was discovered beneath Sarah’s land, she became instantly wealthy. As the oil gushed, Sarah received royalty checks. In 1913, her income superseded Woodrow Wilson’s presidential salary; by 1915, she was making nearly $20,000 a month (600K in today’s dollars).

When she turned 18, Rector moved her family to a home that became known as the "Rector Mansion" in Kansas City. Ultimately, most of her fortune fell victim to the trying times of the Great Depression. When Rector died, she still owned property and a smattering of oil wells, but much of her personal life remained private throughout her final years. Recently, efforts have been made to restore the Rectors’ old home.