Joseph Louis Barrow (1914 - 1981)

Ancestors

Biography

Joe Louis, white America's first Black hero,^[1] was a World Heavyweight Champion boxer widely regarded as one of the greatest boxers of all time. He held the World Heavyweight Champion title from 1937 to 1949, has the record for the most consecutive title defenses (25), and the longest single reign as champion of any boxer in history.^[2]

Joseph Louis Barrow was born on May 13, 1914 near rural Lafayette, Chambers, Alabama, United States. His parents, both children of former slaves, were Munroe Barrow and Lillie Reese.^[2]

He married Marva Trotter in New York in 1935.^[3] They had two children, Jacqueline Barrow (1943), and Joseph Louis Barrow, Jr., (1947), by the time they divorced, for the second time, in 1949.^[2]

In what was touted as "the fight of the century," a rematch between Louis and Germany's Max Schmeling, the reigning world heavyweight champion and pride of the Nazi Party, on June 22, 1938, drew 70,000 spectators to New York's Yankee Stadium. President Franklin D. Roosevelt met with Louis before the fight; more was at stake on that night than the title. Louis defeated Schmeling, knocking him to the canvas in just over two minutes into the first round.^[4] The entire country celebrated, not just African-Americans.^[5] At the height of his career, he enlisted in the U.S. Army during World War II.

He married Rose Meta Morgan in 1955. The marriage was annulled in 1958.^[6][2]

He married Martha Malone Jefferson on March 17, 1959, a marriage that lasted for life. They had four children: another son named Joseph Louis Barrow Jr., John Louis Barrow, Joyce Louis Barrow, and Janet Louis Barrow.^[2]

Joe Louis was appointed on 14 May 1971 to the personal military staff of Gov. George C. Wallace, as Aide-de-Camp with the rank of Hon. Lieutenant Colonel in the Alabama State Militia.^[7][8]

He died on April 12, 1981 in Paradise, Clark County, Nevada, USA,^[9] and was buried in Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia, USA.^[10]

In 1982, Louis was posthumously approved for the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest award given to civilians by the U.S. legislative branch.^[11]

In 2010 a statue of Joe Louis, Heavyweight Champion was unveiled outside the courthouse in Chambers County, Alabama.^[12] In 2002, scholar Molefi Kete Asante listed Joe Louis on his list of 100 Greatest African Americans.^[13]

Sources

1. ↑ Joe Louis, Jr., "Joe Louis, Hero, Sports, Great Black Heroes, website.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4} Wikipedia contributors, "Joe Louis," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Joe_Louis&oldid=1130311757 (accessed January 12, 2023).
3. ↑ "New York, New York City Marriage Records, 1829-1940," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:246M-DQ8 : 10 February 2018), Joseph Louis Barrow and Maria K'Olly Trotter, 24 Sep 1935; citing Marriage, Manhattan, New York, New York, United States, New York City Municipal Archives, New York; FHL microfilm 1,685,161.
4. ↑ Arlington National Cemetery, Notable Graves, "Joe Louis (Barrow), 'the Brown Bomber'," https://www.arlingtoncemetery.mil/Explore/Notable-Graves/Sports/Joe-Louis
5. ↑ Larry Schwartz, ESPN.com, "'Brown Bomber' was a hero to all," https://www.espn.com/sportscentury/features/00016109.html
6. ↑ The Indianapolis News, 27 Feb 1958, Thu, p. 17
7. ↑ "Celebrity-Studded Crowd Honors Joe Louis In Vegas On His 57th Birthday," Jet, Vol. 40, no. 10, Jun 03, 1971, p. 50.
8. ↑ "George Wallace, Alabama governor, has appointed Joe Louis..," Los Angeles Times, (Los Angeles, California), 11 May 1971: 31.
9. ↑ "United States, GenealogyBank Obituaries, 1980-2014," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/QVPG-FXBC : 10 September 2016), Joe Louis Barrow Or Louis, Pennsylvania, United States, 13 Apr 1981; from "Recent Newspaper Obituaries (1977 - Today)," database, GenealogyBank.com (http://www.genealogybank.com : 2014); citing The Philadelphia Inquirer, born-digital text.
10. ↑ Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/644/joe-louis : accessed 12 April 2022), memorial page for Joe Louis (13 May 1914–12 Apr 1981), Find A Grave: Memorial #644, citing Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Arlington County, Virginia, USA; Maintained by Find a Grave.
11. ↑ "Office of the Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives: Recipients of the Congressional Gold Medal." Retrieved April 29, 2009.
12. ↑ Alabama.com; Updated: Feb. 27, 2010, Published: Feb. 27, 2010; accessed 01 Jun 2022 Statue of Joe Louis.
13. ↑ Molefi Kete Asante, 100 Greatest African Americans: A Biographical Encyclopedia, (Amherst, New York: Prometheus, 2002) pp. 207–209.

See also:

• "United States Census, 1930," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X79F-V2M : accessed 6 February 2018), Joe L Barrow in household of Pat Brooks, Detroit (Districts 0251-0500), Wayne, Michigan, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 321, sheet 17B, line 94, family 19, NARA microfilm publication T626 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2002), roll 1044; FHL microfilm 2,340,779.

• "United States Census, 1940," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KWTL-HGX : 8 January 2021), Joe Louis Barrow, Chicago, Cook, Illinois, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 103-138, sheet 9A, line 28, family 251, Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940, NARA digital publication T627. Records of the Bureau of the Census, 1790 - 2007, RG 29. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2012, roll 925.

• "Family Tree," database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ : modified 11 June 2016, 02:27), entry for Joseph Louis Joe Louis Barrow (PID https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/4:1:L4T2-2L3); contributed by various users.

• Wikidata: Item Q273206, en:Wikipedia

• Wikipedia:Joe Louis