From NKAA, Notable Kentucky African Americans Database (main entry)
Immigration from the West Indies to Kentucky, USA [1910]
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* The 1910 U.S. foreign-born Negro population total was 40,339, almost twice as many as the 20,336 counted in the 1900 census. The largest number of foreign-born Negroes were said to be from the non-U.S. areas of the Americas, with more than half (24,426) from Cuba and the West Indies. SOURCES: Negro Population in the United States 1790-1915, published by the Bureau of the Census, 1968; Francis, Tam'ra-Kay. "West Indian Immigration to the United States (1900- )." January 27, 2022. Online at BlackPast.org.
* In Kentucky, there was a decrease in the African American population, from 284,706 in 1900 to 261,658 in 1910. The foreign-born population decreased from 50,249 in 1900 to 40,162 in 1910. Among the foreign-born population in Kentucky, 66 were enumerated as Negroes. SOURCES: Table 32. Kentucky - Race and Hispanic Origin: 1790 to 1990, September 13, 2002, by the U.S. Census Bureau (online); Negro Population in the United States 1790-1915, published by the Bureau of the Census, 1968; Campbell Gibson and Kay Jung. Historical census statistics on the foreign-born population of the United States, 1850 to 2000. Working Paper No.81. Bureau of the Census. Population Division. (online); 1910 U.S. Census. Part II. Migratory Displacement and Segregation, pp.59-143 (online).
* July 28, 1914 – November 11, 1918. World War I. On November 3, 1915, the British West Indies Regiment (BWIR) was established. Some volunteers from the West Indies joined the West India Regiment (WIR). There were 16,000 men and women from the Caribbean who voluntarily enlisted during WWI. SOURCE: The British West Indies Regiment: race and colour on the Western Front by Dominiek Dendooven.
* March 31, 1917. The United States purchased St. Croix, St. John, and St. Thomas from Denmark for $25 million. The lands became known as the U.S. Virgin Islands. Citizenship would not be granted for another ten years. Slavery had ended on the islands under Danish rule, July 3, 1848. SOURCE: America's Virgin Islands: a history of human rights and wrongs by William W. Boyer.
* April 6, 1917. The United States entered World War I. Almost 5 million men and women from the U.S. served in the U.S. military. There were over 380,000 African Americans; 84,172 Kentuckians; 18-20 thousand Puerto Ricans. Cuba declared war on Germany on April 7, 1917, the first country in the West Indies to do so, and Cuba considered sending 12,000 soldiers to fight with the U.S. military. SOURCES: Americans All!: foreign-born soldiers in World War I by Nancy Gentile Ford; Freedom Struggles: African Americans and World War I by Adriane Lentz-Smith; "World War I, 1917-1918," National Guard eMuseum webpage at Ky.gov (online); The United States and the First World War by Jennifer D. Keene; Menocal, Mario G. "Cuba's part in the World War."
* May 2, 1917. Puerto Ricans were given U.S. statutory citizenship when President Woodrow Wilson signed the Jones-Shafroth Act. Statutory Citizenship was granted by law through the legislative body rather than by the U.S. Constitution. SOURCE: Foreign in a Domestic Sense: Puerto Rico, American expansion, and the Constitution edited by Burke Marshall et al.
* During WWI, men from Cuba, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Italy and other locations, including African American men from Alabama, were recruited to work in the Kentucky coal mines to replace the Kentucky men who had left to serve in the U.S. military. SOURCE: Immigration and Kentucky’s Coal Industry, by the Kentucky Historical Society, Pass the Word (online).
* In 1910, there were about 22 persons enumerated in the U.S. Census as born in the West Indies and living in Kentucky, in addition to the 20 born in Cuba. Some of their names are below. Children who were brought to Kentucky after the Spanish-American War, 1898, are noted with the word (CHILD) written in bold letters. The notation (CHILD) is also used to note other children living in Kentucky with someone other than their parents.
NAMES:
(CHILD) Joseph Alvarez aka Joe Cuba Moore (1885-1972), see in 1900 above.
Simeon Isaac Battiste (1860-1920), enumerated as black and born in Kingston, Jamaica. In 1900, Simeon I. Battiste was an inventor with James I. Payne. They created improved brakes for railroad cars, and more particularly, for boxcars [Publication Number GB190018014A; Patent Country - United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (Ancestry)]. Simeon I. Battiste was a physician in Louisville, KY (Jefferson County, in 1910. He was listed in the 1919 city directory. Simeon I. Battiste died and is buried in the St. Louis Cemetery in Louisville, KY. Among the requests in Dr. Battiste's will was that his property, Lovely Grove, a banana plantation in Jamaica go to his relatives Samuel and Evelyn Battiste. When the will was probated, it was concluded that there was no one who knew the value of Dr. Battiste's estate. The named co-executors of the will refused to qualify because they knew nothing about the estate.
(CHILD) Monday Boles aka Jaquin Machado (b.1890), see in 1900 above.
Maria Nunez Bullock (1885-1943), enumerated as white and born in Puerto Rico. She was the wife of Lewis Edward Bullock, an insurance solicitor in Covington, KY (Kenton County), in 1910. By 1920, the family lived in Cincinnati, OH. Maria Bullock came to the United States in 1907. She died in Cincinnati, OH, and is buried in Fort Mitchell, KY (Kenton County).
Leonard J. Combs, Sr. (1907-1980), enumerated as white and born in Pinar Del Rio, Cuba. He was the son of John and Grace Combs. John Combs was a teamster in the United States Army. He came back to the United States with his family in 1909. The family lived in Campbell County, KY. The son, Leonard J. Combs, was later the husband of Lovell Combs. The couple lived in Ft. Thomas, KY (Campbell County). Leonard was employed matching iron at a rolling mill. He died in Ft. Thomas and is buried in Mentor, KY (Campbell County).
(CHILD) Santiago Leon Cole (1887-1978), enumerated as white and born in Havana, Cuba. He was a servant/laborer who lived with the Foster family in Butler County, KY, in 1910. He would later become the husband of Lila Mae Marshall Cole, the couple owned a farm in Logan County, KY. Leon Cole came to the United States in 1898. He was among the children brought to the United States around the time of the Spanish-American War. Santiago Leon Cole died in Wapato, WA, and is buried in Oak Grove Baptist Church Cemetery in Russellville, KY (Logan County).
Jane Gilmore Condor (1841-1920), see in 1850 above.
Mary Helen Francis Crawford (b.1903), enumerated as white and born in Puerto Rico. She was the daughter of William and Paula Crawford. William and his family returned to the United States in 1903 aboard the S. S. San Juan. In 1910, William was president of a coal company. The family of seven lived in Opera House, KY, (Bell County).
James R. Cunningham (1853-1943), see in 1860 above.
Edward Diamond (b.1863), enumerated as black and born in the West Indies. He was arrested in 1904 for robbery in Frankfort, KY (Franklin County). In 1910, Edward Diamond was an inmate in the Kentucky State Penitentiary in Frankfort, KY. He was a shoemaker in the prison shoe shop. In 1919, Edward Diamond was out of prison, he married Mattie Jones in Indiana. In 1920, Edward Diamond lived in Louisville, KY (Jefferson County), and was employed as a farm laborer.
Catherine Fitzgerald (b.1871), enumerated as white and born in Cuba. She was a boarder with Sarah E. Edwards in Bowling Green, KY (Warren County). She came to the United States in 1876. Catherine Fitzgerald was employed at the B G Laundry in Bowling Green.
Joe Foster (b.1862), enumerated as black and born in the West Indies. Joe Foster had a wife and a daughter. The family lived in Covington, KY (Kenton County), in 1910. Joe Foster was a cigarmaker.
Henry Francis (b.1878) and Jane Francis (b.1880), the couple were enumerated as black. Henry Francis was from the British West Indies, he was a student and a restaurant cook. Jane Francis was a nurse from British Guyana. The couple had been married for ten years. They arrived in the United States in 1900 and in 1910 lived in Louisville, KY (Jefferson County). Their 6-year-old daughter was born in Pennsylvania.
(CHILD) Jose Garcia (b.1890), enumerated as white and born in Cuba. He came to the United States in 1907. In 1910, Jose Garcia was enumerated as the head of a household in Berea, KY (Madison County), with four companions, three of whom were from Cuba, and one from Germany.
George "T. A." Gilberto (1836-1911), see in 1900 above.
(CHILD) Joseph Gleece (1883-1942), enumerated as white and born in Puerto Rico. He had come to the United States with D. L. Gibson at the end of the Spanish-American War, 1898. Joseph Gleece was a coal miner in Clear Fork, KY (Bell County) in 1920. He was the husband of Allie Woodward Gleece, and the couple had two sons. Joseph Gleece is buried in Hensley Cemetery #1 in Middlesboro, KY (Bell County).
Baldwin Green (b.1856), enumerated as black and born in the West Indies. He was a minister in Louisville, KY (Jefferson County). He was the husband of Jessie Green and the couple had four children.
Claire Marian Harding (b.1885), see in 1900 above.
Noemi DuBois Harwood (b.1884), enumerated as white and born in Sague La Grande, Cuba. She came to the United States with her mother in 1896. Her mother was a widow. In 1900, they lived in Savanah, GA. By 1910, Noemi was married to Dr. Charles Harwood and the couple lived in Milton, KY (Trimble County). Dr. Harwood was a general practitioner. In 1920, the couple and their daughter lived in Madison, IN.
Edward Hall (b.1872), enumerated as Mulatto and born in the West Indies. He was the husband of Sula Hall. Edward Hall was a fireman at a hotel in Louisville, KY (Jefferson County). He came to the United States in 1899.
James W. Hughes (b.1884), enumerated as black and born in Haiti. He was the husband of Susie Hughes. The couple had a son and the family lived in Newport, KY (Campbell County). James W. Hughes was porter at a dry goods store.
Hortensia Ynchausti Hunt (1883-1973), enumerated as white and born in Havana, LaHabana, Cuba. She arrived in the United States aboard the ship Mascotte on May 2, 1903. She was the daughter of Lorenzo and Matilda Ynchausti. She would become the wife of Gilbert G. Hunt who was manager of the Spring Bed Co. in Louisville, KY (Jefferson County), in 1910. Just prior to that, the couple had married in Arlington, VA, in 1904. In 1920, there were four children and the family lived in Cincinnati, OH. Hortensia Y. Hunt died and is buried in Cincinnati.
A. H. Newport Jones (b.1871) and Rosa Jones (b.1870), the couple were enumerated as white and born in West Indies. In 1910, they had been married 15 years. The couple lived in Owensboro, KY (Daviess County), with the Slack family. Ella P. Slack ran a boarding house. A. H. Newport Jones was an engineer who had arrived in the United States in 1903.
(CHILD) Pearl Joy (b.1899), enumerated as white and born in Cuba. She was a boarder at the home of Mary A. Powell in Short Creek, KY (Fulton County). She came to the United States in 1905. Her father was Louis Joy who lived in Havana, Cuba. He had placed his children in the care of Mary A. Powell. Mary A. Powell died in December of 1910. See Louis Joy in 1900 above.
Slyvester Knoerr (1846-1931), see in 1880 above.
William Middleton (b.1874), enumerated as black and born in Jamaica. He was the husband of Martha Pulley Middleton and the couple had two children. The family lived in Hopkins County, KY, in 1910. William Middleton was a coal miner.
Charles Morton (b.1880), enumerated as white and born in Cuba. He was the husband of Donna Morton. Charles Morton was employed as a dish-man in a saloon in Louisville, KY (Jefferson County).
Mary Elizabeth Greer Morton (1903-1986) and Frances Clinton Greer Davies (1905-1998), the sisters were enumerated as white and born in Havana, LaHabana, Cuba. They were the daughters of Clinton H. and Elizabeth B. Greer. Clinton Greer had been a U. S. missionary in Cuba. In 1910, the family of four lived in Sharpsburg, KY (Bath County). In 1920, they lived in Paris, KY (Bourbon County), where Clinton Greer was a minister. Mary Elizabeth Greer was the wife of David Leonard Morton. She taught at the Maxwell Street School in Lexington, KY (Fayette County), for more than 35 years. The sisters, Mary Elizabeth G. Morton and Frances C. G. Davies, are buried in Lexington, KY.
George Nelson (b.1875), enumerated as Mulatto and born in the West Indies. He was an inmate in the Kentucky State Penitentiary in Frankfort, KY (Franklin County). He was a shoemaker in the prison shoe shop.
Itala Bianca di Campiglio Pritchard (1865-1925), enumerated as white and born in Cuba. She came to the United States in 1875 and was a student in 1880, living with her aunt in New Orleans, LA. Itala and George L. Pritchard married in 1882. In 1910, the couple and their six children were living in Newport, KY (Campbell County). George Pritchard was a bookkeeper. By 1920, Itala Pritchard was a widow living in New Orleans with two of her daughters. She died and is buried in New Orleans.
Michael Ramsay (b.1895), enumerated as black and born in Jamaica. He was a student at Lincoln Institute in Shelby County, KY.
Samuel Robinson (1872), enumerated as black and born in Jamaica. He was employed with the U.S. Government Services in Louisville, KY (Jefferson County). He came to the United States in 1891.
(CHILD) Frank Rivera (b.1894), enumerated as white and born in Cuba. He was one of four young men enumerated as companions in the home of Jose Garcia in Berea, KY (Madison County). Frank Rivera came to the United States in 1909.
Vincent Rivera (b.1887), enumerated as white and born in Cuba. He was a carnival showman who lived in Lexington, KY (Fayette County), in 1910. He came to the United States in 1909.
Frank J Saldanan (b.1888), enumerated as white and born in Cuba. He was one of four young men enumerated as companions in the home with Jose Garcia in Berea, KY (Madison County). Frank J. Saldanan came to the United States in 1909.
Frank Saunders (b.1889), enumerated as white and born in Jamaica. He was a bookkeeper in Janes, KY (Shelby County).
Anita Shepard (b.1875), enumerated as white and born in Cuba. She had three children. In 1910, she was the wife of Fred Shepard, they had been married four years. The couple were boarders at Cory Eady's boarding house in Louisville, KY (Jefferson County). Fred Shepard was a civil engineer with a railroad company. Anita Shepard came to the United States the year she was born.
Walter Skinner (b.1858), enumerated as black and born in the West Indies. He and his wife were restaurant cooks in Louisville, KY (Jefferson County).
William W. Smith (b.1876), enumerated as black and born in Cuba. He was a physician in Louisville, KY (Jefferson County). Dr. Smith had come to the United States in 1917. He was a boarder with the Frank Duncan family.
Raymond Suarez (b.1889), enumerated as white and born in Cuba. He was one of four young men enumerated as companions in the home with Jose Garcia in Berea, KY (Madison County), in 1910. Raymond Suarez came to the United States in 1909.
Isabella Betty Grace Thompson (1901-1991), enumerated as white and born in Matanzas, Cuba. She was the daughter of Marie and Joe Thompson. In 1910, the family lived in Greenup County, KY, then moved to Cleveland, OH. Isabella Thompson died in Clearwater, FL.
Marie Rose Uhrbach Thompson (1883-1967), enumerated as white and born in Matanzas, Cuba. She arrived in the United States in 1905. She died in Holmes County, OH, and is buried in Bedford Heights, OH. Marie R. U. Thompson was the wife of Joe A. Thompson, who was a locomotive engineer in 1910. They were the parents of Isabella Thompson and two other children. The family lived in Greenup County, KY, then moved to Cleveland, OH.
William A Tucker (b.1883), enumerated as Mulatto and born in Jamaica. He was a minister in Hopkinsville, KY (Christian County). He had come to the United States in 1901.
Dee Varrili (b.1828), enumerated as white and born in the West Indies. She came to the United States in 1841. She was a ward of the Odd Fellows Widows and Orphans Home in Lexington, KY (Fayette County), in 1910.
Henry Alfonso Washington (1880-1922), enumerated as white and born in Matanzas, Cuba. He came to the United States with his family in 1891. He was the husband of Annie Dowdell. In 1910, Henry and his family of four lived in Louisville, KY (Jefferson County). Henry was a civil engineer with a railroad company. By 1920, the family had moved to Alabama. Henry A. Washington died and is buried in Montgomery, AL. He was the son of Joseph Mariano Hernandez Washington and Luz Mario Alphonso. Joseph M. Hernandez brought his family back to the United States in 1891.
Charles Wilson (b.1884), enumerated as black and born in Jamaica. He was an inmate in the Kentucky State Penitentiary in Frankfort, KY (Franklin County). He was a shoemaker in the prison shoe shop. Charles Wilson came to the United States in 1893.
Matilda Ynchausti (b.1851), enumerated as white and born in Cuba. She was a widow in 1910, and lived in Louisville, KY (Jefferson County), with her daughter Hortensia Ynchausti Hunt and family.
SOURCES: Ancestry.com; Find a Grave; U. S. 1910 Census, Volume 1, Population, General Report and Analysis, Chapter VII. Country of Birth of the Foreign-Born Population. Table 34. Population - Born in Certain Foreign Countries in Detail, By Divisions and States, p.840. *Except Porto Rico. (online); U. S. 1910 Census schedules; "Charged with robbery." The Frankfort Roundabout, 10/29/1904, front page; see "Morton" in "Funeral Notices," Lexington Herald-Leader, 09/25/1986, p.B11; see "Francis Greer Davies, 93" in "Obituaries," The Orlando Sentinel, 08/25/1998, p.D4; see "Hortensia Ynchaustegsa" in the List or Manifest of Alien Passengers for the U.S. Immigration Officer at Port of Arrival (Ancestry), Mascotte sailing from Havana, May 3, 1903. Arriving at Port of Key West, Florida, May 2, 1903.
SOURCES: "Death of Mrs. Powell," The Hickman Courier, 12/15/1910, p.7; see Henry A. Washington at Find A Grave; see Miss Catherine Fitzgerald on p.145 of W. H. Hoffman's City Directory of Bowling Green, Ky. 1911; Jorge Duany. "Cuban communities in the United States: migration waves, settlement patterns and socioeconomic diversity," Pouvoirs dans la Caraïbe, Revue du CRPLC, 11/1999 (online); F. J. Brown, "Migration of colored population," Publications of the American Statistical Association, vol 6, no. 41, March 1898, pp. 46-48; Negro Population in the United States 1790-1915, published by the Bureau of the Census in 1968; Table 32. Kentucky - Race and Hispanic Origin: 1790 to 1990, September 13, 2002, by the U.S. Census Bureau (online); 13th Census of the United States Taken in the Year 1910, Statistics for Kentucky, Department of Commerce and Labor, Bureau of the Census, Washington, GPO, 1913 (online).
SOURCES: "How The West Indies Helped The War Effort In The First World War," an Imperial War Museum webpage (online); Gemma Handy. "The Caribbean honours its overlooked WW1 soldiers," November 7, 2018, a BBC webpage (online); The Evolution of the Cuban Military, 1492-1986 by Rafael Fermoselle; Harry Franqui-Rivera. "The Puerto Rican Experience in World War I," The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History: The Hispanic Legacy in American History Winter 2019 (online); America's Virgin Islands: a History of Human Rights and Wrongs by William W. Boyer; see Simeon Battiste on p.145 in Caron's Directory of the City of Louisville for 1919; "No property found to sustain Battiste will," The Courier-Journal, 12/16/1920, p.12; 1940 Census of Population. Volume 2. Part 3. Kentucky. Characteristics of the Population. Table 4. Race, by Nativity and Sex, for the State: 1850 to 1940. p.174 (online); WWI Draft Registration Cards (Ancestry).
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