Jerome B. Peterson
Jerome Bowers Peterson | |
|---|---|
 Peterson engraving, 1904 | |
| Born | September 12, 1859 Brooklyn, New York City, New York, United States |
| Died | February 19, 1943 (aged 83) Brooklyn, New York City, New York, United States |
| Burial place | Cypress Hills Cemetery |
| Other names | J.B. Peterson |
| Occupation(s) | Newspapers editor, U.S. consular official, IRS customs revenue, IRS deputy collector |
| Spouse(s) | Amelia L. White (m. ?–?), Cornelia Steele White (m. ?–1926; her death) |
| Children | 3 |
Jerome Bowers Peterson (1859–1943), was an American newspaper editor in New York City, as well as a consular official for the United States Department of State, and served as customs revenue appointee for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in San Juan, Puerto Rico.[1][2] Peterson was a co-founding editor of The New York Age newspaper in 1887, and held a consular position to Puerto Cabello, Venezuela in 1904 to 1906.[3][4]
Early life and education[edit]
Jerome Bowers Peterson was born on September 12, 1859 in Brooklyn, New York, United States.[4] He was African American, and some records list him as "mulatto".[5] He lived on Sullivan Street, and attended the Mulberry Street School in Manhattan, an African Free School.[6]
Career[edit]
Newspaper[edit]
Peterson was a founding owner and editor at The New York Age, a noted African American newspaper in New York City,[4] working alongside editor Timothy Thomas Fortune, and his brother Emanuel Fortune Jr.. Ida B. Wells was invited by Peterson and Timothy Thomas Fortune to advance her anti-lynching campaign at the New York Age newspaper.[7] In 1907, Fred R. Moore purchased The New York Age from Timothy Thomas Fortune and Peterson;[8] and Peterson continued to work in an advisory role for the paper until the 1930s.[4]
Department of State[edit]
Charles William Anderson recommended Peterson to William Loeb Jr., the secretary to President Theodore Roosevelt, for a consular position in 1903 under the United States Department of State.[9][10] Peterson worked as consul to Puerto Cabello, Venezuela, from 1904 to 1906.[4] He was succeeded in the consular position by James W. Johnson.[2]
Internal Revenue Service[edit]
He was deputy collector of Internal Revenue Service (IRS), under the leadership of Charles W. Anderson. He was appointed deputy collector in San Juan, Puerto Rico in 1913.[2] He retired from U.S. federal service in 1931.[11]
Death and legacy[edit]
He died on February 19, 1943 in Brooklyn.[4][12] His estate papers were archived at Yale University;[12] and he has work at the Theodore Roosevelt Center at Dickinson State University.[13]
Personal life[edit]
He married in 1893 to Cornelia Steele White; she was the daughter of Philip A. White, a former member of the Brooklyn Board of Education.[14][15] Together they had three children. She died in 1926 in New York City after surgery.[14]
His son, Jerome Sidney Peterson (1903–1987) worked for the New York City Department of Health, and later served as a medical director for the World Health Organization (WHO).[4][16]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ "Jerome Bowers Peterson". Black Gotham Archive. Retrieved 2024-03-01.
- ^ a b c "J. B. Peterson Promoted". The New York Age. 1913-03-27. p. 1. Retrieved 2024-03-01 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Jerome B. Peterson". NYPL Digital Collections. Retrieved 2024-03-01.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Jerome B. Peterson: Former Deputy Collector of Internal Revenue Here". The New York Times. February 22, 1943. p. 17. ISSN 0362-4331 – via The Times Machine.
- ^ "Entry for Georgie Peterson and Jerome Peterson, 1880; United States Census, 1880". FamilySearch.org. 1880.
- ^ "Jerome Bowers Peterson, United States, Freedman's Bank Records, 1865-1874". FamilySearch.org. January 17, 1871.
- ^ "Ida B. Wells-Barnett, journalist and civil rights activist". Black Gotham Archive. Retrieved 2024-03-01.
- ^ "Age Always Has Battled For Improved Conditions". The New York Age. 1952-08-23. p. 6. Retrieved 2024-03-01 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Theodore Roosevelt Papers: Series 1: Letters and Related Material, 1759-1919; 1903, Feb. 12–May 17". Library of Congress. May 14, 1903. Retrieved 2024-03-01.
- ^ "Peterson Placed. Appointed Consul at Puerto Cabello, Venezuela". The Appeal. 1904-05-21. p. 2. Retrieved 2024-03-01 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Jerome B. Peterson Retires from Federal Service After 27 Years". The New York Age. 1931-10-03. p. 1. Retrieved 2024-03-01 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b "Obituary for Jerome B. Peterson". Hartford Courant. 1943-02-22. p. 4. Retrieved 2024-03-01 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Advanced Search: "Peterson, Jerome B. (Jerome Bowers), 1859-1943"". Theodore Roosevelt Center. Retrieved 2024-03-01.
- ^ a b "Mrs. Jerome B. Peterson Dies After Operation". The New York Age. 1926-08-07. p. 1. Retrieved 2024-03-01 – via Newspaper.com.
- ^ Peterson, Carla L. (2011-02-22). Black Gotham: A Family History of African Americans in Nineteenth-Century New York City. Yale University Press. p. 12. ISBN 978-0-300-16409-1.
- ^ "Jerome S. Peterson, 83, of Amherst, former medical director for WHO". Daily Hampshire Gazette. 1987-03-13. p. 4. Retrieved 2024-03-01 – via Newspapers.com.
External links[edit]
- Photos of Peterson (1939) by Carl Van Vechten from Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Yale University