Once upon a time, an eleven-year-old girl named Sarah Rector struck it rich with a discovery that was perfectly timed for the rise of the automobile and the expansion of American manufacturing. After hitting the jackpot, she had to escape the minefields of greed, racism, politics, and public opinion to build a satisfying life for herself at last.
Sarah Rector was born on March 3, 1902, in what is now Taft, Oklahoma, but back in 1902, it was part of the “Indian Territory,” land designated by the United States government for Native Americans. Sarah’s descendants had been enslaved by members of the Muscogee Creek Nation, however, after the Civil War, they became Freedmen and Creek members. This entitled them to land as part of a treaty between the US govenment and five Indigenous Tribes, including the Creek. The land allotted to Sarah was not near their home, nor farmable; it was considered worthless (which is probably one reason it was given to a child.) Sarah’s parents were taxed on the land, a price they were unable to pay, and leased it to an oil company who did what oil companies do: find oil. A LOT of oil. Sarah was soon wealthy beyond her family’s imagination, and what began as a windfall quickly turned into a dark legal, racial, and government issue.
With the help of members of the NAACP, and honorable people in her life, Sarah was able to maintain her wealth and go to boarding school, and then college at the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama. She moved her family to Kansas City, and lived quite comfortably. She was married twice, had three children, and lost a great deal of her money in the Depression (not so much that she was impoverished, she basically had to cut back a bit.) Sarah died at the age of 65. Despite living the majority of her life in Kansas City, she is buried in her hometown of Taft, Oklahoma.
This episode is kind of a two-fer: Beckett gives you a small biography of a politician (before women had the vote!) named Kate Barnard who was elected Oklahoma Charities and Corrections Commissioner when Sarah was a child.
Shownotes are under construction, please come back later for more things Beckett discussed in the episode!
Time Travel with The History Chicks
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