Caroline 'Carrie' Brown York

Caroline 'Carrie' Brown York
Born	February 28, 1846 Wilkesboro, United States
Died	March 18, 1919 (aged 73) Washington D.C., United States

Caroline 'Carrie' Brown York (March 1846 - March 18, 1919) was an African-American born in Wilkesboro, North Carolina, who married, had many children out of whom only some made it to adulthood, and at the age of about 60, about 1906, joined the Bahá'í Faith in Washington DC through contact with the Hannen family, foremost that of Pauline Knobloch Hannen. She is the first known black Bahá'í of the then socially and legally segregated city of Washington, DC. She began holding meetings for the religion and was soon joined by Pocahontas Pope, and, in a few more years, Louis Gregory, later appointed a Hand of the Cause. She continued service in the religion a number of years, being known a member of the community during 'Abdu'l-Bahá's visit of 1912. She died March 18, 1919, and was buried in DC Harmony Cemetery (the same cemetery with Pocahontas Pope and so lost as well.)

Biography

Born and raised

Carrie’s parents were also born in North Carolina and was herself born in Wilkesboro, North Carolina, around March 1846. Her mother was Nancy Brown who was born around 1820. Being black it is of course probable they were slaves. There were 1,208 slaves in Wilkes County in 1860.

Family

The specific date of Carrie and Isaac York's marriage is not yet identified but their first child, Cora, was born in Maryland around 1870 - 1874. Isaac had also been born in North Carolina. By 1876 the family moved to Washington, DC, where a child born to them: Isaiah. In 1878 their next child was born: Milly. In 1880 the Yorks lived at 405 Franklin St with children Cora, Isaiah, Milly, and new-born Gertrude. Carrie's mother, Nancy Brown, lived with the family as did her sister Matilda Brown. Isaac was a laborer and no one else was listed employed.

Isaac died somewhere between 1880 and 1900; by 1880 Isaac and brother Lewis were each married living in their own homes and by 1900 Carrie was listed as a widow. In 1900 the York family were living at 409 Franklin St. Carrie had birthed 10 children with 5 then living. She was literate by now; indeed the whole family was literate. 407 Franklin St, a neighboring home (see below) was occupied by the Johnson family and 428 a bit down the street was occupied by several families - the Newtons, Motons, Brooks, Richardson, and Clark families. She was mother of Cora L. Matthews, Millie, Gertrude, and Herman York. Isaiah had moved out and the family now included the adopted daughter Jennie Gray.

In his Will of 1901 and announced 1903, Isaac's brother Lewis York cut off his nieces Cora York Matthews, Millie York, Gertrude York and nephews Lewis York and Herman York, generally Carrie and Isaac's children, and left the home at 407 Franklin to nephew Thomas Linney and the one at 428 Franklin St to niece Ada Linney Bailey, children of another sister, and the pair also inherited the balance of his estate. When Lewis died he was listed living at 407 Franklin St, was born about 1839 and died March 12, 1903. In 1880 Lewis was married and living with other families at 403 Franklin St. He was a basket maker. Other families then in the house were the Lewis', Fontee, Kellys and Browns. Next door at 405 were the Carrie York family (Isaac York, Caroline, etc., see above.)

Son Lewis York of Caroline and Isaac died unexpectedly July 16, 1905.

The Bahá'í Faith

Encounter and action

Pauline is quoted:

Mrs. Carrie York, who had raised three generations of children. Her true Christ spirit attracted me to her home as a good place to begin. To Carrie I explained the principles of the Bahá’í teachings, the prophecies of the Bible and their fulfillment. An understanding of this was given to her and she was the nucleus of a class, meeting in her home, composed of friends and neighbors. We used the [Kitáb-i-íqán], the “Book of Certitude,” revealed by Baha’o’llah. This was the beginning of a Bahai mission which multiplied into a number of such groups in several Washington regions.

York was Pauline's washerwoman, though then a sixty-year-old and Pocahontas Pope was her sister's seamstress. Louis Venters says they were "…often attracting twenty to forty people (at these meetings) and cutting across the class lines in black Washington—at their own homes, with Joseph or Pauline Hannen, one of her sisters, or Bahai visitors from other cities as teachers." "In private social life, racial segregation was the unwritten rule. As one social worker observed in 1908, the 'better class' of white and black Washingtonians knew 'absolutely nothing of each other.' In such a context, the Bahá'í meetings organized by the Hannens, Carrie York, and Pocahontas Pope—bringing together black and white, rich and poor, male and female around an explicitly egalitarian message, in both public and private settings—were most unusual affairs.…"

Two of Carrie's kin - daughter Millie York and adopted grand-daughter Nellie Gray attended the public meeting to which Louis Gregory first attended.

Pauline goes on:

The meetings at Carrie York’s so far as my experiences were concerned, proved to be the candle-stick from which the Light was spread. To these classes came ministers and teachers and people of various grades of intel­ligence, many of remarkable refinement. Often the discussions crowded midnight; then because of conditions in that pre-taxi era, one of the men would see me safe [sic] home, keeping at a respectable distance behind, despite urgent appeals to walk at my side. My husband disapproved of these adventures, but did not seek to prevent me. He watched, expecting this fire of zeal to burn itself out. In the end he became a tireless worker in the same kind of service as well as in many other branches of work for the diffusion of Baha’i Teachings.…One night at Carrie York’s, a handsome, intelligent-looking colored gen­tleman (yes, I mean just that), holder of degrees from several universities, entered that home. Abashed by so much scholarship (I had spoken to him before), I was flushed and nervous, but thought Baha’o’llah and Abdu’l-Baha sustained me and I taught the lesson without confusion. The visitor was so impressed with the Words of Baha’o’llah as revealed in “the Iqan” that he could not let it go. This was Louis Gregory. For a year or two he would attend the various meetings and at the close of the week would come to our home.…

Further engagement

In 1910 the York family on Franklin St, stating Carrie birthed 10 children and 4 living. Carrie herself was to employed but Cora and Mildred were domestic servants and were employed all of 1909. Daughter Gertrude was a teacher.

In 1912 'Abdu'l-Bahá embarked a journey to America during which He met relations of Carrie York. "At Studio Hall, more than 100 chil­dren — with as many adults, parents, and friends — gathered. …‘Abdul-Bahá presented each child, before He left, with a gift. … After this Pauline ushered the smallest lads, and mothers with infants in their arms received a blessing each. I had removed the hats but one little colored child, belonging to Jennies(sic) family, you remember those folks don’t you— this little girl when standing between Abdul-Baha’s knees had on a Lingeria Hat. (She was the granddaughter of Carrie York.) He tried again and again to get it off and did not give up until it came off— then laughingly He toyed with each of the four kinky braids which stood like little horns— it was too funny— we think He probably had never seen a real little Negro like this, very dark. In her surprise she rolled her eyes of [?] and think of it, after patting the curly head kissing her on hair and forehead several times, He turned to the only child of the wealthy and aristocratic Mrs. Parsons drawing him near and patting him just at the moment when the difference would be most pronounced.…"

Died

Carrie died about 9:30am on March 18, 1919, at her home at 230 Florida Ave NW. Carrie was buried in Harmony Cemetery (the same cemetery with Pocahontas Pope and so lost as well.) She had two grand-daughters and nieces who were noted close to the family.

Remembered

In 1995 Bahá'í historian Robert Stockman identified Carrie York as the first black Bahá'í of Washington DC, followed by Pocahontas Pope. Both started hosting meetings and then both worked with Euro-Americans Pauline and Joseph Hannen hosting integrated meetings at their own home. "By July 1908 fifteen black Americans had accepted Bahá'u'llàh in Washington. The interest spread. Soon a black minister in Greenfield, Massachusetts wanted to learn about the Bahá'í religion and Corinne True wrote to Pauline Hannen to ask her advice about reaching Chicago’s black population.…" "Washington’s effort to teach the Bahá'í Faith to blacks continued and achieved its greatest success in 1909 when Louis Gregory, then a prominent black lawyer, became a Bahá'í. He had studied the Bahá'í Faith over several years, first at Carrie York’s house, then with Joseph and Pauline Hannen and Lua Getsinger."

The children of Carrie and Isaac York continued. In 1920 Cora was living on P Street with daughter and Nelson family and a boarder and died in 1929. Mille, Gertrude, and Jennie were living in a Maryland suburb of DC in 1930 Gertrude died in that year. Son Herman died in 1935, and Mille died in 1940 - and she too was buried in the Harmony Cemetery.

See also

• Naomi Snider (Yocom) McFadden (27 Oct 2021). "Caroline "Carrie" Brown York". Findagrave.com.