Although several African-Americans passed through the Mahoning Valley in the early years of settlement, the Knight family, who arrived in 1845, was the first to stay.  Malinda Knight was born in Columbus; her husband Daniel was of Native American descent.  Their daughter Delia was the first black child born in Youngstown.  By the 1850 census there were 90 African-Americans living in Youngstown.

Two African-Americans who arrived in the 1860s were P. Ross Berry and Lemuel Augustus Stewart, who came from New Castle, Pennsylvania.  As contractors and bricklayers, these men had a major impact on the appearance of Youngstown and surrounding communities.  Together and separately they built nearly every large public building, and many private ones, in the late 19^th century.  Their children and grandchildren continued building, and also became doctors, lawyers, and entertainers.

The early years of the 20^th century saw many firsts for the African-American community.  The city’s first black constable, Watson Williams, had been elected in 1890; Charles Williams became the first police officer in 1909.  It was not until 1931 that the city had an African-American police woman, Martha Warner.  Dr. Charles Pettiford came to Youngstown in 1906 to become one of the first black physicians.  William S. Vaughn was Youngstown’s first black councilman in 1927, elected by the 3^rd ward for 3 terms.

Why do you think there wasn’t a black family living here until 1845?  Would you want to be the first to settle in a new place?  How hard would it be to be the first person to do any new thing?  To learn more about African-American history in our Valley, visit the Arms Family Museum of Local History.  For a better look at these images, go to www.mahoninghistory.org.  Click on ‘Education,’ then click on ‘What Do You Know’ for a list of articles.  Each article has small images you can click on to enlarge or download a file.