A Granddaughter Uncovers a Valuable Piece of Black History

Michelle Williams Fisher, a native New Yorker who relocated to Baltimore about 22 years ago, typically enjoys hobbies such as listening to music, traveling, and exploring astronomy. However, months ago she embarked upon a new journey to learn more about her family history. Williams Fisher was drawn to learn more about her maternal grandfather, Harry W. Scott, Sr.

“He was born in Fredericks Hall, Virginia, on March 15, 1894, and died on April 14, 1963,” Williams Fisher explained. “Unfortunately, I have very little of my own memories of my grandfather because I was only a toddler at the time he was living, but family stories have provided lots of knowledge on the man that my grandfather was.”

Williams Fisher became more curious about her family history as she grew older.

“I wanted to learn more about my grandfather, who worked and retired after many years (38 years) as a railroad employee.”

An Interesting Revelation

It turned out that Scott worked as a Pullman porter with the Pullman Company.  He was among the Black men hired by railroads as porters on sleeping cars after the Civil War. Porters were attendants who lugged baggage, shined shoes, received telegrams, worked in the dining cars, and served passengers in various capacities. Chicago businessman, George M. Pullman, had the idea for Black men to serve white passengers traveling across the country on his company’s luxury railroad sleeping cars with a high level of service. These first-class travelers chose to upgrade from coach to a sleeping car accommodation on long-distance passenger trains.

The Significance of Pullman Porters

According to History.com (https://www.history.com/articles/pullman-porters), “the first Pullman porter began working aboard the sleeper cars around 1867, and quickly became a fixture of the company’s sought-after traveling experience. Just as all of his specially trained conductors were white, Pullman recruited only Black men, many of them from the former slave states in the South, to work as porters.”

Pullman porters endured long days with little sleep. Under the leadership of A. Philip Randolph, Pullman porters formed the first all-black union known as the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, in 1925.

“A. Phillip Randolph and the Pullman porters had such a cultural and historical impact on history,” Williams Fisher said. “They helped to forge the Black Middle Class.”

“Between 1870 and 1969, Pullman attached its sleeping cars to nearly every train that traveled over all or a portion of its route at night. At its peak in 1929, the company’s fleet of cars could sleep over 150,000 passengers each night. The system comprised 71 different contract railroads and over 115,000 miles of track nationwide,” the Museum of the American Railroad reported. (https://www.historictrains.org/collection/philippe-9z32w)

A Determined Granddaughter Researches Her Family History

“I am thrilled to say that my research paid off,” Williams Fisher shared.

She started her research about her grandfather’s work life by contacting research libraries, including The Newberry Library in Chicago; the B&O Railroad; Len Resto (President of the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad Company/Society) and Wes Coates (a member); Ancestry.com; and author Larry Tye (“Rising From The Rails”) who advised her that she should  “go back and ask the Newberry Library, to search again for additional documents.’” Jo Ellen McKillop, a reference librarian who works at The Newberry Library, sent Scott’s Pullman Porter work documents to Williams Fisher.

Scott, a WWI U.S. Army veteran, was employed as a Pullman Porter from July 1, 1921, to August 27, 1959. He worked on the Hoboken, New Jersey Railroad line. Through her research, Williams Fisher also obtained several documents, including Scott’s U.S. Army Registration Card, a Pullman Company time card, railroad retirement papers, Pullman Company insurance papers, pension information, and a Social Security application.

“My grandfather retired from The Pullman Company in 1959, after 38 years of dedicated service,” Williams Fisher stated.

Scott owned property and homes in Queens, New York, and also in New York State.

Keep Hope Alive

Williams Fisher’s research was not an easy task because the Pullman Company ceased its U.S. operations on December 31, 1968, and was dissolved on January 1, 1969. She discovered that the historic Pullman administration building and many records were destroyed in a fire.

“I am also told that there are some additional Pullman Company boxed information, perhaps records that are still intact, and they will be released at some later time in the future to The Newberry Library,” Williams Fisher stated. “I am still hoping that a picture of my grandfather in his Pullman Uniform will be found.”

The Lesson

More stories like Harry W. Scott, Sr.’s, beg to be told. The contributions of family members should be preserved before it is too late to capture it. Williams Fisher encourages others to dig for unknown family information.