Amanda America Dickson

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Amanda America Dickson (November 20, 1849 – June 11, 1893) was an African-American socialite in Georgia who became known as one of the wealthiest African-American women of the 19th century after inheriting a large estate from her white planter father. Born into slavery, she was the child of David Dickson, a white planter, and Julia Frances Lewis (Dickson), a girl he enslaved, who was thirteen when Amanda was born. Amanda was raised by Elizabeth Sholars Dickson, her white grandmother and legal mistress (owner). She was educated and schooled in the social skills of her father's class, and he helped her to enjoy a life of relative privilege away from the harsh realities of slavery before emancipation following the American Civil War. In her late 20s, Dickson attended the normal school of Atlanta University, a historically black college, from 1876 to 1878. After her father's death in 1885, Amanda Dickson inherited his estate. His white relatives challenged the will but Dickson ultimately won...

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