Our Day in History: Historical Warfield Diaries Released

By Roberta Ridley & Ngozi Rogers
For Fort Wayne Ink Spot

What if you could travel back in time to Fort Wayne, Indiana in the early 1900’s and learn firsthand about the local African American community and their connection to the world?

The African American Genealogical Society of Fort Wayne (AAGSFW) and the African/African-American Historical Society and Museum (AAAHSM) are proud to announce the exciting new addition of the Warfield Diaries to the local genealogy collection at the Allen County Public Library’s Genealogy Center. The 45 volume narrative, handwritten by William Eli Warfield, is a unique and interesting look at everyday life in Fort Wayne from 1909 to 1936.

“Mr. Warfield was a 19th century entrepreneur, real estate investor, musician, lyricist and newspaper publisher,” said Leah Reeder, AAAHSM board chairman, “who trained as a teacher but in early 1900 worked at the Randall Hotel because he could not find work as a teacher in Fort Wayne. He did odd jobs as a day laborer and was willing to take all types of jobs to provide for his family and make his community a better place.”

The Warfield Diaries offer almost daily accounts of life in Fort Wayne and the African American community. From mundane neighbor visits, travel because a president was being elected, song lyrics he wrote and published celebrating Fort Wayne’s 50th anniversary to loan requests and his candid answers and thoughts on the matter, Warfield’s diary entries offer insight into everyday life.

December 16, 1914: (Its) 6 degrees below zero this morning. 50 years ago today and yesterday my father was fighting in the battle of Nashville, Tennessee.

November 19, 1918: Mrs. Farley received a telegraph informing her of the death of her husband...

February 7, 1924: … attended a lecture by Marcus Garvey, head of the Back to Africa Movement for colored people of the world outside of Africa.

February 12, 1926: Art Smith, Fort Wayne’s famous aviator was killed at 9:30 tonight…

Further research shows William Warfield purchased his first house in Fort Wayne on Grand Avenue which today would be near Mike's Car Wash downtown. In 1909, he leveraged the value of the home to acquire a 21 room, three story house on Douglas Avenue, near the current African/African-American Museum. Because Black porters working on trains travelling to Fort Wayne were not allowed to eat at white restaurants or sleep in white hotels, Warfield contracted with the Pennsylvania Railroad to provide rooms for Black railroad workers in his boarding house. He also owned a home on Calhoun Street, a farm on Bass Road, and six or seven other properties in Fort Wayne. His business dealings crossed all color lines and financial sectors making him a wealthy man at that time. Warfield also published Fort Wayne’s first African American newspaper, The Vindicator.

The 27 years worth of diary entries provide many surnames of generations of families living in Fort Wayne and names of those who visited and resided at the boarding houses. They also provide a great deal of insight and a list of who is supporting whom in business within the community. Warfield mentions births, marriages, relationships and deaths as well as his own personal history in this unplanned treasure that is a historical gold mine for researchers of all kinds. To have digital access to such valuable information is truly a gift and just in time for Christmas!

The Warfield Diaries can be viewed on the AAAHSM page of the ACPL Genealogy Center website at www.genealogycenter.info/aaahsm. Genealogists, family historians and history lovers alike will enjoy the scope of the historical information in these diaries.

The AAGSFW, AAAHSM and Genealogy Center are all dedicated to research, collect, preserve and share Fort Wayne’s rich African-American history. After all, African-American history IS American history and needs to be included for all people to truly understand the full history of America.

Genealogy Research Tip:

Letters or diaries of your ancestors can provide valuable information and can be donated to the Genealogy Center’s local genealogy collection.

“Our Day in History” is presented in celebration of the 10th anniversary of the African American Genealogical Society of Fort Wayne (AAGSFW) and the 20th anniversary of the African/African-American Historical Society and Museum (AAAHSM)! This monthly column highlights Fort Wayne’s rich African American history. Learn more at www.facebook.com/aagsfw.