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Farming For A Better Future, page 57
Probate Court.
(Left) 1909 Probate Court Settlement of George Ricks' Estate, Left to His Children (Ancestry.com, User Laura Corbett) (Above) 1870 Federal Census Excerpt Showing George Ricks and His Family (National Archives and Records Administration via Ancestry.com) (Below) 1900 Federal Census Eexcerpt Showing George Ricks Owning a Farm and a Few of His Sons Living Nearby, Presumably on His Land (National Archives and Records Administration via Ancestry.com)
57 - COLBERT
P. B. Swoopes (1902-2000)
Paris Baker Swoopes was one of the most prominent African American citizens of Sheffield in the early- to mid-20th century. Mr. Swoopes grew up on the east side of the city of Sheffield, born about 1902 to John and Eliza Swoopes. In 1910, the family was living in Sheffield where John Swoopes owned a house and his own barbershop. A decade later, Swoopes' mother
was remarried to James Anderson. Swoopes and his younger sister, lived in a house on 13th 1Z Street owned by their step-father, who was a fireman for the railroad. In his youth, Swoopes attended Sheffield Colored School and was one of the first students, along with Ms. Marion C. McDaniel, to graduate from the high school. He went on to study at Tuskegee Institute before returning home to Sheffield.
In 1927, P. B. Swoopes opened a tailoring shop in downtown Sheffield on 2nd Street. His shop was a success and he moved his business to 105 Montgomery Avenue in 1941. Swoopes was the only tailor in the city. His clients were both white and people of color. Residents remember his shop on Montgomery for the large windows in the front where Mr. Swoopes would measure and mark his customers. During the Jim Crow era and even afterwards, it was best practice for Mr. Swoopes to be seen conducting - (4585)