Tag: Tennessee

William Edmondson (GW008)

(ca. 1870 – February 7, 1951)

from The Greenwood Project

William Edmondson was one of six children born to Orange and Jane Edmondson, newly emancipated slaves. A handyman, he worked in Nashville railroad shops and at odd jobs until he heard God’s voice directing him to develop his gift for sculpture. Although nearly 60 by then, Edmondson collected bits of limestone (broken curbstones and bulldozed foundation stones collected by friends from wrecking companies) and began to carve – first tombstones, and then birds, animals, and religious figures. He worked outdoors in his yard on 14th Avenue South in Edgehill, where Murrell Elementary was later built. Within five years art critics had discovered his lyrical work, labeling it “modern primitive” and demanding more. His sculpture began to appear in exhibits around the country, and he was the first African American to have a one-man show at the Museum of Modern Art (1937). His work is now in the permanent collections of the San Francisco Museum of Art, the Hirshhorn, and the Smithsonian.

William Edmondson at work on a sculpture on his Edgehill property, 1937. (Elizabeth McCausland papers, 1838-1995. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. Photo is in public domain.)

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The Greenwood Project is a series of 160-word biographies of individuals who lie at rest in Mt. Ararat and Greenwood cemeteries, two historic African American burial grounds in Nashville, Tennessee. The project, which began in September 2014 (and is still available on Facebook, at https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100064806156276), shares the stories of more than 300 consequential individuals, primarily African American, who changed the course of city, state, and national history through their words and deeds. (All biographies were written by Kathy Lauder unless otherwise noted.)

Robert Fulton Boyd (GW002)

(July 8, 1855 – July 20, 1912)

from The Greenwood Project

Born a Giles County slave, Robert Boyd came to Nashville after emancipation. He worked half-days for his meals while attending Fisk. In 1880 he enrolled in Central Tennessee (later Meharry) Medical School, graduating with honors in two years. He also graduated from Central Tennessee Dental College (1886), studied gynecology at the University of Chicago (1890), and received a Master of Arts (1891). He launched a busy medical practice, taught gynecology and clinical medicine at Meharry (1893 until his death), opened a teaching hospital (1900), and was chosen president of People’s Savings Bank and Trust (1909). He was a founder and first president of the organization that became the National Medical Association. Deeply concerned about the high mortality rate among African Americans, he wrote and lectured widely on the subject, meeting with local citizens to teach them how to avoid illness and combat tuberculosis. He was so widely beloved in Nashville that his funeral had to be held in Ryman Auditorium.

Photo of Dr. Robert Fulton Boyd published in 1902. (Photo is in the public domain)

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The Greenwood Project is a series of 160-word biographies of individuals who lie at rest in Mt. Ararat and Greenwood cemeteries, two historic African American burial grounds in Nashville, Tennessee. The project, which began in September 2014 (and is still available on Facebook, at https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100064806156276), shares the stories of more than 300 consequential individuals, primarily African American, who changed the course of city, state, and national history through their words and deeds. (All biographies were written by Kathy Lauder unless otherwise noted.)