African American Shoemakers, Shoe Repairers and Shoe Shiners - Covington, Kenton County, KY

Making shoes was a good business in northern Kentucky, though in Covington there were very few African American shoemakers, shiners, and repairers. In the 1880 U.S. Census there were two African American shoemakers listed in Covington: Edward Mason and Alonzo Taylor.

Edward Mason had been making shoes as early as 1869; both he and Alonzo Taylor may have been former slaves. All other shoemakers in Covington in 1880 were listed in the census as whites born in the United States, immigrants, or children of immigrants from Germany, Ireland, and Prussia, along with a few from England, Canada, and France. As far back as 1861, the majority of the boot and shoemakers in Covington were immigrants from Germany and Ireland.

There are 37 names listed under the heading  "BOOTS AND SHOES" on pp. 1-2 of the "Covington Business Mirror," published within Williams' Covington Directory. City Guide [1861]. The race and nationality of each person is not included in the directory but may be found in U.S. Census records. By 1900, there were 75 names within the city directory with 23 businesses under the heading "Boots and Shoes," along with 52 names under the heading of "Boot and Shoe Makers and Repairers" and one "Boot and Shoe Upper Manufacturer" [source: pp. 243-244 in the "Covington Business Directory" within Williams' Covington and Newport Directory 1900-1901].

Forty years later, shoes were no longer being made by hand. In the Covington directory, 12 "Shoe Dealers-Retailers" and 39 "Shoe Repairers" are listed [source: p. 696 in Williams' Covington (Kenton County, KY) City Directory 1940-41]. Overall during the 20th Century, the majority of the African Americans in the shoe business in Covington were shoe shiners at barber shops,  parlors, or doing business from their homes.

There were African American porters (janitors) and a maid at the shoe stores. Matthew J. Sharp, who lived in Covington, was a porter for about 37 years at the Cohen Shoe Company located in Cincinnati, OH. At least two persons were employed at a shoe factory: Charles Jordon worked in a stockroom and John Green was a laster.

With the migration of African Americans to Chicago, IL, Albert Brown took along his trade as a boot black, his occupation prior to his death in 1925. His son William Brown, born in Covington, was also a shoe shiner who also repaired shoes in Chicago; he died in 1928.

In Covington, for African American men in general, the businesses of shining shoes or being a porter (janitor) in a shoe store were short-term employments until a better job came along. Coleman Kelly was a shoe shiner in a parlor where he earned money for college. When he graduated from college, Kelly returned to Covington, where he was a school teacher. George Cammax was 14 years old when he was hired to shine shoes at a barber shop. The one African American who made a long-term career of making and repairing shoes in Covington was Milton B. Lee, who owned his business for at least 37 years. Lee is named as a shoemaker in the city directory as early as 1908, where he continued to be listed as a shoe repairer up to 1945.

In the table below are the names and additional information about the African American shoemakers, repairers, and shoe shiners in and from Covington from 1869-1951.