Mary ellen pleasant biography

This is just a little peek into the fascinating story of a Black Woman Entrepreneur, who rose to become a millionaire in the s. Thought to have been born on August 19, , in either Philadelphia, Virginia or on a Georgia plantation, and passed as white. Research indicates that Pleasant was most likely born an enslaved person but got her freedom at an early age…how is another mystery. According to some historians, Pleasant played a key role in helping to finance John Brown's raid on Harper's Ferry in Virginia, an unsuccessful revolt by Black enslaved persons and white abolitionists in Pleasant also gave shelter to a fugitive enslaved person, Archie Lee when he was on the run in California. As a young adult, she worked in the Underground Railroad, ushering enslaved people out of the South into the northern states, the east, and the west and became the "Mother of Civil Rights" in San Francisco during the California Gold Rush of

Pleasant moved to San Francisco while working as a cook and housekeeper. That role made her someone easily overlooked and Pleasant eavesdropped on conversations of wealthy patrons in the hopes of overhearing valuable nuggets of information. She took what she learned to help her build a substantial fortune and eventually became one of the richest women in the city. Pleasant was an astute investor whose portfolio included real estate investment properties, restaurants, railroads, laundries, boarding houses and even property in Canada. A tough capitalist with abolitionist zeal, an entrepreneur and a revolutionary, Mary Ellen Pleasant defied the norms of her time to become a leading figure in the struggle for equal rights.

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Pleasant lived a kind of double life. While most of San Francisco knew her as a white woman, the Black community knew that she was Black and fighting for abolition. She was a major link in the Underground Railroad, a funder of slave revolts across the country and a pillar

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Hailed as the mother of civil rights in California, Mary Ellen Pleasant was a self-made millionaire and leading abolitionist during the Gold-Rush era.

According to some historians, Pleasant likely played a key role in helping to finance John Brown’s raid on Harpers Ferry in Virginia, an unsuccessful revolt by black slaves and white abolitionists in Pleasant also gave shelter to fugitive slave Archy Lee when he was on the run. Research indicates that Pleasant was most likely born a slave but got her freedom at an early age. She worked on the Underground Railroad as a young adult, ushering enslaved people out of the south and into the northern states. Like many others seeking their fortunes during the Gold Rush, Pleasant and her husband moved to San Francisco. While working as a cook, Pleasant eavesdropped on the conversations of wealthy patrons in the hopes of overhearing valuable nuggets of information. She took what she learned to help her build a substantial fortune and eventually became one of the richest women in the city. Pleasant was an astute investor whose portfolio included real estate, railroads, restaurants, and boarding houses. Pleasant’s wealth, however, could not shield her from racism. In , a street car conductor in San Francisco refused to let her board because she was black. Outraged, Pleasant sued. The case went all the way to the California Supreme Court. In a historic decision, the court ruled that segregation on streetcars was illegal in California. However, the supreme court reversed the damages Pleasant had been awarded in a lower court ruling.

Pleasant’s wealth, however, could not shield her from racism.

Profile photo of Mary Ellen Pleasant, early African American businesswoman, c. 's
Courtesy: CSU Archives / Everett Collection

Mary Ellen Pleasant was perhaps the most powerful Black woman in Gold Rush-era San Francisco. Accounts differ on where she was born and whether or not she was enslaved; however, by the s she was in New England, working at a busy shop and likely helping fellow Black Americans to freedom along the Underground Railroad. It was there that she met her first husband, James Smith, a carpenter and contractor. When he died, he left Pleasant a large inheritance. 

Pleasant remarried in and set sail for San Francisco in , probably to escape reprisal for her abolitionist work. Her arrival coincided with the peak of gold fever in California. Some wise investing increased her nest egg, and she used it to open laundries and boardinghouses (staffed by mostly Black individuals). She owned properties in San Francisco and neighboring Oakland; she eventually bought property in Canada, as well. 

Yet despite her considerable wealth, she worked as a housekeeper for some of San Francisco’s most prominent merchants. These jobs provided her with free investment advice gleaned from conversations between rich and powerful people. Although she was secretive about her exact financial details, she was a prolific investor in real estate and mining stock—two boom industries in mid century San Francisco. In the census, she listed her profession as “capitalist.” 

Pleasant’s wealth allowed her to give generously to her community. She contributed to the Athenaeum Building, a library and meeting place for the city’s Black population; she also supported the Black press and the American Methodist Episcopal Zion Church. She was not afraid to bring attention to injustice. After a streetcar driver refused to stop for her—even though there was room in the car and she already possessed tickets—she sued the streetcar company for denying service to Black citizens. The case went all the way to the California Supreme Court, which declared segregation on streetcars to be unconstitutional (the court did, ho