Arthur George Gaston (abt. 1892 - 1996)

Born about 4 Jul 1892 in Demopolis, Marengo, Alabama, United States

Ancestors

Husband of Minnie (Gardner) Gaston — married 25 Aug 1939 in New York City, New York, United States

Died 19 Jan 1996 at about age 103 in Birmingham, Jefferson, Alabama, United States

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Biography

AG Gaston is Notable.

AG Gaston was a part of the Civil Rights Activist Movement.

AG was a Freemason

AG Gaston was a centenarian, living to age 103.

The fatherless child of a working mother, Arthur Gaston grew up to be an entrepreneur and businessman who used his wealth to support the Black community and civil rights activists.^[1]

Arthur Gaston was born to Joe Gaston and Rosa Gaston on July 4th 1892^[2][3] in Demopolis, Alabama. Arthur's father, the son of a slave, is said to have died when Arthur was an infant; Arthur and his mother lived with her parents until 1905. In 1905, Rosa and Arthur moved to Birmingham with the Loveman family, for whom Rosa worked as a cook.

In about 1911, when Arthur was nineteen or twenty years old, he had a son, Arthur George Gaston, Jr., with Rachel McAlvin or McAlpin.^[4]

Sgt. AG Gaston served in the United States Army in World War I
Service started: Apr 1917
Unit(s): 317th Ammunition Train
Service ended: Apr 1919

Arthur served for two years in the 317th Engineers Train in France during World War I. He was honorably discharged in April 1919.^[6][7]

Arthur and his first wife, Creola Smith, first appeared in the Birmingham City Directory in 1925,^[8] and in 1930 they were living in Fairfield, Alabama, with Creola's parents.^[9] They had no children.

In 1939, he married his second wife, Minnie Gardner.^[10] In 1940 they were living in Fairfield, Alabama, and sharing their home with Creola's parents.^[11] They had no children.

Arthur was a very successful businessman who used his businesses and his wealth to support the Black community and civil rights activists. In 1992, he was named "Entrepreneur of the Century" by Black Enterprise magazine. Many of his businesses served a Black clientele that were turned away by white-owned businesses during the era of segregation. Some of his notable business ventures include:^[12][13]

• Booker T. Washington Insurance Co.: a burial insurance company
• Smith & Gaston Funeral Home: part of the Smith & Gaston businesses founded with his father-in-law, A.L. Smith
• Booker T. Washington Business College
• A. G. Gaston Motel in Birmingham: for a vastly under-served clientele, it also served as a meeting place for civil rights leaders; was later converted to an apartment complex for the elderly and disabled
• Citizens Federal Savings Bank
• Radio stations WENN-FM and WAGG-AM
• A.G. Gaston Construction
• Brown Belle Bottling Company: a soda company that had to close in 1949 because Arthur could not get wide enough distribution with local (white) grocers; included flavors such as "Brown Belle Boogie" and "Joe Louis Punch" (named for the boxer)^[14][15]

Although Arthur was sometimes criticized for not taking an active enough role in the fight for civil rights, his wealth and standing in Birmingham's business community allowed him to play an important role as a liaison between white city leaders and civil rights activists, and to post bail for many activists in Birmingham, including Martin Luther King, Jr. He used his motel to give activists a place to plan their activities.^[16] He also helped provide opportunities for the Black community: he was very active with his A.G. Gaston Boys Club in Birmingham, he founded a business school so that he would have Black employees capable of running his businesses, and he set up several scholarship funds and a no-interest loan program for a law school.^[13]

Arthur died on January 19, 1996 in Birmingham, Alabama.^[3]

Research Notes

Joseph Thomas Gaston (abt.1870-abt.1893) has been removed as A.G.'s father until there is more evidence.

Sources

1. ↑ Wikipedia: A. G. Gaston
2. ↑ Immigration: "Brazil, Rio de Janeiro, Immigration Cards, 1900-1965"
   citing 1953, Arquivo Nacional, Rio de Janeiro (National Archives, Rio de Janeiro).
   FamilySearch Record: 27FW-DH7
   FamilySearch Image: 33SQ-G5YG-11X Image number 00162
   Name: Arthur George Gaston; Immigration Date: 1953; Immigration Place: Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil; Birth Date: 4 Jul 1892; Birth Place: Eua; Marital Status: Married; Nationality: United States; Travel Children Flag: No; Misc Flag Travel Children Orig: N.
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} Social Security: "U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007"
   Social Security Applications and Claims, 1936-2007
   Ancestry Record 60901 #47033149 (accessed 22 July 2022)
   Name: Arhtur George Gaston [Arthur G Gaston]; Gender: Male; Birth Date: 4 Jul 1892; Birth Place: Demopolis, Alabama [Demopolis|]; Death Date: 19 Jan 1996; Claim Date: 26 Aug 1964; Father: Joe Gaston; Mother: Rosa; Citizenship or Alien Status: U.S. citizen.; Type of Claim: Duplicate request; evidence of identity only submitted.; Notes: 06 Jan 1988: Name listed as ARHTUR GEORGE GASTON; 21 Aug 1964: Name listed as ARTHUR G GASTON.
4. ↑ "Alabama County Marriages, 1809-1950," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q21F-K4WZ : 22 July 2021), A G Gaston in entry for Arthur George Gaston and Sallie Dean Robinson, 21 Dec 1936; citing Lee, Coffee, Alabama, United States, County Probate Courts, Alabama; FHL microfilm 1,870,115.
5. ↑ "Alabama Deaths, 1908-1974", database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JK9B-9H1 : 11 January 2021), Arthur George Sr. Gaston in entry for Arthur George Jr. Gaston, 1974.
6. ↑ "United States, Veterans Administration Master Index, 1917-1940," database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QPRC-SS15 : 3 September 2021), Arthur George Gaston, 5 Apr 1919; citing Military Service, NARA microfilm publication 76193916 (St. Louis: National Archives and Records Administration, 1985), various roll numbers.
7. ↑ Passenger List: "U.S., Army Transport Service Arriving and Departing Passenger Lists, 1910-1939"
   The National Archives at College Park; College Park, Maryland; Record Group Title: Records of the Office of the Quartermaster General, 1774-1985; Record Group Number: 92; Roll or Box Number: 35
   Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 61174 #18941 (accessed 22 July 2022)
   Name: Arthur G Gaston; Departure Date: 22 Feb 1919; Departure Place: Brest, France; Arrival Date: 28 Feb 1919; Arrival Place: New York; Address: 721 Eighth Street; Residence Place: Birmingham, Alabama; Mother: Rosa McDonald; Ship: Aquitania; Military Unit: Tr Hq Det 317th Am Train; Rank: Regtl Sup Sgt Inf; Service Number: 939,835; Notes: Train Headquarters Detachment 317th Ammuntion Train.
8. ↑ 1925 Directory: "U.S., City Directories, 1822-1995"
   Original sources vary according to directory. The title of the specific directory being viewed is listed at the top of the image viewer page. Check the directory title page image for full title and publication information
   Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 2469 #779676327
   Name: Arthur G Gaston; Residence Year: 1925; Street Address: 60 Av D Ffleld; Residence Place: Birmingham, Alabama, USA; Publication Title: Birmingham, Alabama, City Directory, 1925.
9. ↑ "United States Census, 1930," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:3NRG-56Z : accessed 18 April 2023), Arthur G Gaston, Fairfield, Jefferson, Alabama, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 209, sheet 14A, line 34, family 228, NARA microfilm publication T626 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2002), roll 33; FHL microfilm 2,339,768.
10. ↑ Marriage: "New York, New York, U.S., Marriage License Indexes, 1907-2018"
    New York City Municipal Archives; New York, New York; Borough: Brooklyn
    Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 61406 #574015 (accessed 22 July 2022)
    Arthur Gaston marriage to Minnie L. Gardner on 25 Aug 1939.
11. ↑ "United States Census, 1940", database with images, FamilySearch (ark:/61903/1:1:V1GT-N19 : Wed Apr 05 08:40:27 UTC 2023), Entry for Bessie Smith and Edward Smith, 1940.
12. ↑ A.G. Gaston timeline, Birmingham Post-Herald [Alabama], 20 Jan 1996, page 6A; image copy, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/clip/120957622/a-g-gaston-timeline/ : accessed 15 Mar 2023).
13. ↑ ^{13.0 13.1} John Archibald, "Gaston's lasting impression," Birmingham Post-Herald [Alabama], 20 Jan 1996, pages 1A & 6A; image copy, Newspapers.com (page 1A & page 6A : accessed 15 Mar 2023).
14. ↑ Roy L. Williams, "Soft drink relics reveal a black and white business link," Al.com, 24 Nov 2010, https://www.al.com/businessnews/2010/11/soft_drink_relics_reveal_a_bla.html : accessed 15 Mar 2023).
15. ↑ Thomas Pettit, "Great African-American Moguls of the Soda Industry," Vintage Soda Collector, https://www.vintagesodacollector.com/blog/african-american-soda-moguls : accessed 15 Mar 2023.
16. ↑ Patricia Dedrick and Val Walton, "Gaston's role often criticized," Birmingham Post-Herald [Alabama], 20 Jan 1996, page 6A; image copy, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/clip/120958325/ : accessed 15 Mar 2023).

• 1930 Census: "1930 United States Federal Census"
  Year: 1930; Census Place: Fairfield, Jefferson, Alabama; Page: 14A; Enumeration District: 0209; FHL microfilm: 2339768
  Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 6224 #119386681 (accessed 22 July 2022)
  Arthur G Gaston (34), married, Undertaker, head of household in 120 57th Street, Fairfield, Jefferson, Alabama, USA. Born in Alabama.
• 1940 Census: "1940 United States Federal Census"
  Year: 1940; Census Place: Fairfield, Jefferson, Alabama; Roll: m-t0627-00047; Page: 12A; Enumeration District: 37-142
  Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 2442 #61551661 (accessed 22 July 2022)
  Arthur Goston (49), married lodger, Salesman, in household of Edward Smith (52) in Fairfield, Jefferson, Alabama. Born in Alabama.
• 1950 Census: "1950 United States Federal Census"
  United States of America, Bureau of the Census; Washington, D.C.; Seventeenth Census of the United States, 1950; Record Group: Records of the Bureau of the Census, 1790-2007; Record Group Number: 29; Residence Date: 1950; Home in 1950: Birmingham, Jefferson, Alabama; Roll: 743; Sheet Number: 15; Enumeration District: 68-11
  Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 62308 #99032168 (accessed 22 July 2022)
  Arthor G Gaston (45), married head of household in Birmingham, Jefferson, Alabama, USA. Born in Alabama.
• Wikidata: Item Q4647782, en:Wikipedia
• Gaston, A. G.,Green Power: The Successful Way of A. G. Gaston, (Troy: A. G. Gaston Boy's Club/Troy University Press, 1968)
• Wikipedia:Freemason members
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_Ghzjf8Iec
• http://www.npr.org/2010/12/21/132089160/a-g-gaston-from-log-cabin-to-funeral-home-mogul
• http://www.bhamwiki.com/w/A._G._Gaston
• http://crdl.usg.edu/people/g/gaston_a_g_arthur_george_b_1892/?Welcome
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birmingham_Civil_Rights_Institute
• "Black Businessman Abducted, But Alabama Ransom Bid Fails," Associated Press/The New York Times (January 25, 1976)
• Branch, Taylor, Parting the Waters: America in the King Years, 1954 -1963, (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1988)
• Wenning, Elizabeth, "Arthur G. Gaston 1892–" in Barbara Carlisle Bigelow, ed. (1993)
• Contemporary Black Biography, Vol. 4, (Farmington Hills, Michigan: Gale) pp. 96-98
• Stout, David, "A. G. Gaston, 103, a Champion Of Black Economic Advances," obituary, The New York Times, (January 20, 1996)
• Jenkins, Carol & Elizabeth Gardner Hines (2004) Black Titan, A. G. Gaston and the Making of a Black American Millionaire, (New York: One World/Ballantine)