Elizabeth Coleman (1892-1926) | WikiTree FREE Family Tree

Elizabeth (Bessie) "Queen Bess" Coleman

Born 26 Jan 1892 in Atlanta, Cass, Texas, United States

Daughter of George Coleman and Susan (Richardson) Coleman

Sister of Lillah Coleman, Ben Coleman, Walter Samse Coleman, Alberta (Coleman) Cato, Osa Coleman, John W Coleman, Elois Coleman, Nilus Coleman and Georgia Coleman

Wife of Claude Glenn — married 30 Jan 1917 in Cook, Illinois, United States

Died 30 Apr 1926 at age 34 in Jacksonville, Duval, Florida, United States

Problems/Questions Profile manager: US Black Heritage Project WikiTree

[send private message]

Profile last modified 8 Feb 2024 | Created 11 Apr 2014

This page has been accessed 5,603 times.

Bessie Coleman is a part of US Black history
and has a Platinum Profile.
Join: US Black Heritage Project
Discuss: black_heritage

Biography

Elizabeth "Bessie" Coleman was the world's first Black aviatrix,^[1] the first person of color to hold an international pilot's license,^[2] and the first woman of Native American descent to hold a pilot license.^[3]

Bessie Coleman is Notable.

Born on 26 Jan 1892 in Atlanta, Cass County, Texas, United States, near the borders of Arkansas and Louisiana. She was the tenth of thirteen children born to George Coleman, whose grandparents were Cherokee, and Susan Richardson Coleman, who was African-American.^[3]

In 1900, Bessie was living with her parents and siblings in Ellis, Texas. According to the 1900 census, her father, George, was a farm laborer. Her listed siblings included Asa (or Osa), born December 1884; John, born November 1888; Elois, born July 1894; Nilas, born December 1896, Georgia, born December 1898.^[4]

Bessie was eleven years old when her father moved back to Oklahoma in 1901 to escape discrimination.^[5] The rest of the family stayed in Texas. While their mother worked as a maid, Bessie helped care for her two younger sisters. Bessie finished school, which at the time was eight grades, then she worked four years to save money for college. She then attended Colored Agricultural and Normal University (now Langston University) in Langston, Oklahoma, but could only finance one semester.

Four years later, Bessie traveled to Chicago to live with her brothers and attend the Burnham School of Beauty Culture in Chicago in 1915. She was then employed at the White Sox Barber Shop on Chicago's Southside^[6] as a manicurist during and after World War I. At work she was fascinated with the stories of returning veterans, which fed her long-time desire to learn to fly. Her brothers had served in France during the war, and told her women were allowed into flight school in France. She started working a second job to earn money for flight school and attended French classes at night; she applied to Caudron Brothers' School of Aviation in Le Crotoy, France, and was accepted. ^[5]

In 1920 friends helped finance her voyage to France.^[3] Seven months later Bessie had earned her pilot's license, and her international pilot's license the following year, in 1921. She took extra training and specialized in stunt flying, performing loop-the-loops and figure eights, and became a skilled barnstormer^[6] -- the only civilian pilot's profession so far in existence.^[3]

With twin goals of promoting aviation and fighting racism, she toured the country giving flying lessons, performing in flight shows, and speaking in churches, theaters, and schools encouraging African Americans and women to learn to fly. She refused to speak anywhere that was segregated or that discriminated against African Americans. In her hometown she refused to perform in the stadium unless there was only one gate for everyone to use, instead of segregated entrances.^[5]

At age 33, Bessie died in a crash in Jacksonville, Florida.^[7]

In April 1926, Coleman and her mechanic, William Will, were practicing for a performance the next day. Will was piloting the plane, when it flipped over and started to dive. Coleman fell out of the plane and was killed. William Wills was unable to regain control of the plane and it plummeted to the ground. Wills died upon impact and the plane exploded and burst into flames. Although the wreckage of the plane was badly burned, it was later discovered that a wrench used to service the engine had jammed the controls.^[6]

Bessie's passport application in 1920 stated she had never been married ^[8] however her obituary stated she was married to a Mr. Glenn who was residing in Chicago,^[9], and there is a 1917 marriage record in Chicago for a Claude Glenn and Bessie Coleman.^[10] She was also listed as married in the 1920 Chicago census, although her husband was not listed in the household.^[11]

She was buried near Chicago, in Lincoln Cemetery, on Blue Island, Illinois.^[12]

She was inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame in 2006,^[1] and she was commemorated on a U.S. postage stamp in 1995.^[5]

Sources

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 "Bessie Coleman," National Women's Hall of Fame.
↑ from the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI), Chris Wild, "Let Women Fly!" Remembering History's First Female Aviators," Mashable.com, (Mar 2015, Web. 31 Dec. 2016). p. 4.
↑ ^3.0 ^3.1 ^3.2 ^3.3 Wikipedia contributors, "Bessie Coleman," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bessie_Coleman&oldid=1093295796 (accessed June 22, 2022).
↑ "United States Census, 1900," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M3LR-N4P : accessed 18 July 2020), Bessie Coleman in household of Geo Coleman, Justice Precinct 1 (north part), Ellis, Texas, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 12, sheet 5A, family 71, NARA microfilm publication T623 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1972.); FHL microfilm 1,241,629.
↑ ^5.0 ^5.1 ^5.2 ^5.3 Kerri Lee Alexander, "Bessie Coleman," Women's National History Museum, 2018.
↑ ^6.0 ^6.1 ^6.2 Bessie Coleman Facts for Kids
↑ Florida, Duval County, Certificate of Death no 6526, Bessie Coleman, 30 April 1926; FamilySearch.org, database with images, "Florida death certificates, 1877-1939" > Death certificates, v. 290-295, (cert. no. 6001-9000), 1926 > image 534 of 3240; Florida, deaths, 1877-1939 / Florida. Department of Health. Bureau of Vital Statistics.
↑ 1920 Passport Application: "U.S., Passport Applications, 1795-1925"
National Archives and Records Administration (NARA); Washington D.C.; NARA Series: Passport Applications, January 2, 1906 - March 31, 1925; Roll #: 1408; Volume #: Roll 1408 - Certificates: 109250-109625, 09 Nov 1920-10 Nov 1920
Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 1174 #613700 (accessed 19 March 2023)
Name: Bessie Coleman; Age: 24; Birth Date: 20 Jan 1896; Birth Place: Alanta, Texas; Residence Place: Illinois; Passport Issue Date: 9 Nov 1920; Father: George Coleman; Has Photo: Yes; Certificate Number: 109380.
↑ Obituary, Free View of Clipping The Monitor, Omaha, Nebraska · Friday, May 07, 1926
↑ Marriage:"Cook County, Illinois, U.S., Marriages Index, 1871-1920"
FHL Film Number: 1030637
Ancestry Record 2556 #1739161 (accessed 19 March 2023)
Bessie Coleman (21) marriage to Claude Glenn on 30 Jan 1917 in Chicago, Cook, Illinois.
↑ "United States Census, 1920," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MJ39-LSH : accessed 13 November 2019), Bessie Coleman, Chicago Ward 3, Cook (Chicago), Illinois, United States; citing ED 180, sheet 4A, line 37, family 84, NARA microfilm publication T625 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1992), roll 313; FHL microfilm 1,820,313.
↑ Find a Grave, database and images (accessed 14 December 2020), memorial page for Bessie Coleman (26 Jan 1892–30 Apr 1926), Find A Grave: Memorial #19750, citing Lincoln Cemetery, Blue Island, Cook County, Illinois, USA; Maintained by Find A Grave.

Elizabeth Coleman (1892 - 1926)

Biography

Sources