Go-Getters: Sarah Rector

Sarah Rector (1902-1967) was known as the richest Black girl in America. She was given allotted land by the United States government in Oklahoma, which happened to be rich in oil deposits. She became an oil magnate by age eleven and lived a life of (mostly) glamor. 

For Further Reading:

•  Richest Black Girl in America: Redefining Sarah Rector and Her Family

• How did a young Oklahoman become known as "The Richest Black Girl in America"*?
• ‘World’s Richest Negro Girl’ inspired media ridicule, fascination, alarm

This month we're talking about Go-Getters. Women who purposefully—or accidentally!—acquired life-changing wealth, good fortune, or influence.

History classes can get a bad rap, and sometimes for good reason. When we were students, we couldn’t help wondering... where were all the ladies at? Why were so many incredible stories missing from the typical curriculum? Enter, Womanica. On this Wonder Media Network podcast we explore the lives of inspiring women in history you may not know about, but definitely should.

Every weekday, listeners explore the trials, tragedies, and triumphs of groundbreaking women throughout history who have dramatically shaped the world around us. In each 5 minute episode, we’ll dive into the story behind one woman listeners may or may not know–but definitely should. These diverse women from across space and time are grouped into easily accessible and engaging monthly themes like Educators, Villains, Indigenous Storytellers, Activists, and many more. Womanica is hosted by WMN co-founder and award-winning journalist Jenny Kaplan. The bite-sized episodes pack painstakingly researched content into fun, entertaining, and addictive daily adventures.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:04):
Hello for Wonder Media Network. I'm Jenny Kaplan, and this
is Womanica. This month, we're talking about go getters, women
who purposefully or sometimes accidentally, acquired life changing wealth, good fortune,
or influence. An oil Derek looms over rugged land, standing

(00:24):
roughly one hundred feet tall. Its horsehead bobs up and down,
cranking oil out of the crackter. Suddenly the ground rumbles,
spouting black liquid. The owner of this land is not
on site. She's just a little girl who's about to

(00:46):
become a millionaire. Please welcome Sarah Rector. This child millionaire
did not come from glitz and glamour. Sarah was born
in nineteen oh two in a two room log cabin
on Native American allotted land in Oklahoma. Sarah's parents were

(01:07):
Creek freedmen, meaning their ancestors were Africans who'd been enslaved
by the Muscogee Creek tribe. Though uncommon, some Native American
tribes participated in slavery as a way to impress or
assimilate with white Southerners. When these tribes were forcibly removed
from their homes by the US government, many enslaved Africans
were forced to make the journey as well. In eighteen

(01:30):
sixty six, slavery on tribal lands was abolished, leaving behind
communities of African Americans dotted amongst tribal nations. When Sarah
was nine years old, the DAWs Allotment Act broke up
collective Native American territory into individual allotments, meaning Sarah, each
of her siblings and parents all received parcels of land.

(01:53):
Sarah personally received one hundred and sixty acres, but this
came with a cost. First, the lafland was ill suited
for farming. Second, the rectors still had to pay taxes
on the land, money they didn't have. So Sarah's father
decided to lease out the land to an oil company,
and as the company poked and prodded Sarah's acreage, they

(02:14):
eventually hit a gusher. In a single day, it spewed
out twenty five hundred barrels of oil. At eleven years old,
Sarah struck liquid gold. She started receiving three hundred dollars
a day from the oil production. That would be nearly
ten thousand dollars today. With large amounts of money coming

(02:34):
into the rector house, new complications arose. Sarah's parents were
illiterate and unfamiliar with how to manage large sums of money.
It was common at the time for white businessmen to
monitor the assets of non white children who had struck
similar luck, so Sarah's parents chose TJ. Porter, who they
knew and trusted, to act as Sarah's financial guardian. TJ.

(02:55):
Porter put all of Sarah's money in stocks and investments.
After more digging, more wells were found on Sarah's land,
increasing her fortune. In a single month, Sarah received a
check for over eleven thousand dollars. Her wealth overflowed like
the oil wells themselves. Sarah's newfound wealth made front page news.

(03:17):
Newspapers were rattled by Sarah's situation. They published demeaning and
racist articles about Sarah and her family, claiming she slept
on the floor, was uneducated, and wore rags. Meanwhile, prominent
black leaders were nervous she would be taken advantage of
by her financial guardians. Her rags her riches story ricocheted

(03:37):
around the world. Letters poured into Sarah's mailbox. Strangers asked
her for loans and gifts. She received four marriage proposals,
all from German Men. She wasn't yet thirteen years old.
Little is known about how Sarah felt about all this
sudden attention and wealth. It was an open secret that
Native Americans and other freedmen had been murdered for their

(03:59):
oil rich allotments. We do know that Sarah kept her
head down and focused on school. Sarah and her siblings
attended a boarding school, the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama. After graduation, Sarah,
fearful of the violence that loomed back home, moved her
family out to Kansas City and into what became known
as Rector Mansion, a tan four square house with five

(04:22):
bedrooms that sat on a large corner plot, and at
age eighteen, Sarah was officially a millionaire. She owned a
boarding house, a bakery, and a cafe. She increased her
landownership and bought two thousand acres of prime river bottom land.
She soon married Kenneth Campbell. By this time, she was
rid of the Guardians and financially on her own. That's

(04:45):
when she started to really enjoy her wealth. Sarah was
spotted wearing fur coats driving around in cadillacs, which she
frequently wrecked. Still living in the segregated South, Sarah was
wealthy enough to gain access to white only spaces of
a local whites only department store would close their store
early so Sarah could shop alone and in peace. Employees

(05:07):
also handpicked and delivered clothing pieces for Sarah at Rector
Mansion for her to try on. She threw elaborate parties
and hosted major musical talents like Duke Ellington, Count Basie,
and Joe Louis. Sarah was part of the Gilded Roaring
Twenties until the nineteen twenty nine stock market crashed. Sarah's

(05:28):
accounts were depleted. She soon divorced her husband and moved
into a more modest home. It seems that she still
lived a comfortable life with some remaining oil wells and
real estate investments. She remarried a few years later. According
to her nieces, who were still alive today, Sarah's main
focus was always her family. In her later years, Sarah

(05:49):
had a sizable farm which her whole family enjoyed and
tended to. They harvested potatoes, greens, and collected chicken eggs.
The children played in the barn or were chased around
by Sarah's eve geese. Sarah died in nineteen sixty seven
at the age of sixty five. She was buried at
a cemetery near her childhood home. Sarah's nieces are working

(06:11):
hard to keep an accurate image and story of Sarah's
glamorous life alive. All month, we're talking about go Getters.
For more information, find us on Facebook and Instagram at
Wamanica Podcast special thanks to Liz Kaplan, my favorite sister
and co creator. As always, we'll be taking a break
for the weekend. Talk to you on Monday.