George James Austin Sr. (c. 1881 – August 19, 1930), was an American military officer, educator, and insurance salesman.[1] He was a Black military officer in the United States, who served in the Spanish-American War and World War I. He worked for Black representation in the U.S. military during a time of racial segregation. Austin served on-campus as a military educator at historically Black colleges, including Prairie View College (now Prairie View A&M University), Tuskegee Institute (now Tuskegee University), and St. Paul Normal and Industrial School (now Saint Paul's College).
George James Austin | |
|---|---|
| Born | c. 1881 Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S. |
| Died | August 19, 1930 Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S. |
| Education | Tuskegee Institute, Fort Des Moines Provisional Army Officer Training School |
| Occupation(s) | Military officer, ducator, insurance salesman, activist |
| Spouse | Mary Louise Dotson (m. 1906–1930; death) |
| Children | 4, including Helen Elsie Austin |
| Relatives | Mentor Dotson (father in-law) |
Early life and education
editGeorge James Austin was born in 1881[2] or 1887 in Cincinnati, Ohio, to parents Jane and Robert Austin.[citation needed] His father Robert was one of the earliest Black residents in the city of Cincinnati.[3]
He trained at Fort Des Moines Provisional Army Officer Training School, and attended Tuskegee Institute (now Tuskegee University).[when?][4][5]
Career
editAustin served in the volunteer army during the Spanish-American War.[1][6] He also served in the United States Army in World War I from 1917 to 1919.[7] He was in the 92nd Infantry Division (and 317th Engineer Regiment).[7][8] Austin attained the military rank of major.[3]
In 1912, Austin was commandant (similar to modern-day ROTC commandant) at Prairie View College (now Prairie View A&M University).[9] He also served as a commandant at Tuskegee Institute;[when?][10][11] and as the commodore of cadets at St. Paul Normal and Industrial School (now Saint Paul's College) in Lawrenceville, Virginia, where he followed the "colored regiment campaign".[when?][12][13]
He noted around 1917, that Blacks were prohibited from attending the fourteen officer training camps on the United States.[13] In 1917, Austin corresponded with civil rights activist Joel Elias Spingarn.[14] He wrote general Leonard Wood about a segregated summer camp for college students.[15]
Austin eventually moved to Cincinnati and entered the insurance business.[10] He died on August 19, 1930 at St. Mary's Hospital in Cincinnati.[16]
Posthumously Austin was honored at the Cincinnati Memorial Day Parade in 1938.[17]
Personal life and family
editAustin married Mary Louise Dotson in 1906.[18] They had a few children together. Austin's father in-law (and Mary Louise's father) was Alabama politician, Mentor Dotson.[19]
Austin was the father of Helen Elsie Austin, an attorney and Baháʼí faith leader.[20] Elsie Austin was another of his daughters, she was the first black female graduate of Cincinnati Law School (now University of Cincinnati College of Law) in the 1920s.[21]
References
edit- ^ a b Pittman, W. Sidney (1969). "Captain George J. Austin". Alexander's Magazine. Vol. 2–3. Negro Universities Press. pp. 37–38, 108.
- ^ Note: Austin's tombstone and death certificate both give his year of birth as 1881, but other documents say otherwise
- ^ a b "Obituary: Robert Austin". The Cincinnati Enquirer. October 11, 1930. p. 22. Retrieved 2023-12-09 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Graduates and Teachers In Booker Washington's School Now In Army Training Camp, The Great Spirit Booker Washington Still Lives". The Bystander. 1917-08-10. p. 1. Retrieved 2023-12-09 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Army Released Austin For Alumni Gathering". The New York Age. 1926-06-26. p. 9. Retrieved 2023-12-09 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Sign petitions to keep Austin at local Center". The Times Recorder. Zanesville, OH. April 2, 1921. p. 3 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b "letter by George J Austin, father of later Baha'i Helen Elsie Austin". The Bystander. January 25, 1918. p. 3. Retrieved 2023-12-09 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Parade". Cincinnati Post. 10 May 1919.
- ^ "800 Negro Students: Prairie View College Growing Rapidly and Fame Is Extending". Austin American-Statesman. 1912-10-28. p. 6. Retrieved 2023-12-09 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b Neely, Ruth (1939). "Mary Louise Austin". Women of Ohio: A Record of Their Achievements in the History of the State. S. J. Clarke Publishing Company. pp. 119, 644.
- ^ Colored American Magazine. Vol. 10–11. Negro Universities Press. 1969. p. 359.
- ^ Sammons, Jeffrey T.; Jr, John H. Morrow (2015-09-26). Harlem's Rattlers and the Great War: The Undaunted 369th Regiment and the African American Quest for Equality. University Press of Kansas. pp. 103–104. ISBN 978-0-7006-2138-5.
- ^ a b Salter I, Krewasky A. (2014-01-10). The Story of Black Military Officers, 1861-1948. Routledge. p. 58. ISBN 978-1-134-74944-7.
- ^ Sammons, Jeffrey T.; Jr, John H. Morrow (2015-09-26). Harlem's Rattlers and the Great War: The Undaunted 369th Regiment and the African American Quest for Equality. University Press of Kansas. p. 524. ISBN 978-0-7006-2138-5.
- ^ Henderson, Alexa Benson; Sumler-Edmond, Janice (1999). Freedom's Odyssey: African American History Essays from Phylon. Clark Atlanta University Press. p. 297. ISBN 978-0-9668555-0-0.
- ^ "Obituary: George J. Austin". Cincinnati Post. May 21, 1930. p. 17.
- ^ "Parade Positions Assigned For Memorial Day Event". The Cincinnati Enquirer. 1938-05-18. p. 2. Retrieved 2023-12-09 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Mary Louise Dodson, Alabama County Marriages, 1818-1936". FamilySearch.org. June 10, 1906.(registration required)
- ^ Neely, Ruth (1939). Women of Ohio: A Record of Their Achievements in the History of the State. S. J. Clarke Publishing Company. p. 119.
- ^ "Attorney-General names aid; first negro woman chosen". The Cincinnati Enquirer. Cincinnati, OH. January 4, 1937. p. 2 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Appointments". Opportunity. Vol. 14–15. National Urban League. 1936. p. 58.