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and that business was thriving requiring two steamships. Later, while Jay Emmett Scott was chairman of the board of the
African Union Company, it was "unable to arrange for shipment of the cocoa to the United States. The loss of this big deal sealed the company's fate. As the company teetered on the edge of bankruptcy in early 1923, Scott struggled to save it. He managed to keep the African Union Company afloat for a few more years, even attracting
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generous, some offering a 90-plus years contract. This was during a time period when the natural environment was not a main concern. Some leaders on the
African continent did not favor the export arrangement as questioning it as depleting Africa of resources and the use of an African American to do so, but overall, Chappelle was received favorably by Africa's black population and leaders.
35:. In the beginning of Chappelle's business, he was reported to have made contracts with 82 tribal chiefs in Gold Coast, West Africa, for the exportation of gold, cocoa, rubber, and mahogany. The money was to be used to develop 440 miles with the African Central Railroad and the West Coast Steam and Harbor Company, both African-American and African joint ventures.
186:'s New York City, at the then West 53rd Street Hotel Macco with $ 10,000.00 capital, and Chappelle was its vice president, other board members were Louis A. Leavelle (president); Benjamin F. Thomas treasurer; Lee A. Pollard (secretary); and directors Harrison M. Steward; John Bryant; and Dr. V. T. Thomas.
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in 1922 that "Charles W. Chappelle has made connections with the U.S. Steel
Corporation to the extent of a contract of 100,000 tons of manganese a year for use in their extensive plants. $ 8,000,000 worth of the finest grades of mahogany are now awaiting shipment to the United States and Europe"
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found on the leased
African lands) that were exported to the US and Europe. In 1914 the company announced its intention to buy the Charles W. Chappelle Company, said to have a large mahogany concession in the Gold Coast. The land leases usually encompassed about 120 square miles, and were time
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According to the State of
Georgia Marriage Certificate (1897), Charles W. Chappelle married "Nita" Blackwell in Georgia, with his father Reverend George W. Chappelle performing the marriage ceremony. U.S. census records (1910) show that Chappelle lived with his wife Nita in
163:. His airplane invention was written about in several of the African-American media; one foreign Ghana newspaper described it as a quadruplane, and others just wrote about the excitement of there being an African-American airplane inventor and taking a place in the
63:, Georgia, and several United States correspondence schools. He started earning wages at the age of 10 through odd jobs such as working in lumber yards, brick and mortar positions. After receiving an education, Chappelle also worked as a school teacher in
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in
December 1910 that read that Chappelle "has invented an aeroplane embodying some very interesting features; especially equipped with safety devices for long distance passenger carrying flights . . ." and that his airplane would be on display at the
128:, the Pittsburgh attorney and newspaper owner, to assume control of the company's legal affairs. By 1930, though, the African Union Company was defunct." The exact circumstances of why the African Union Company had problems in the shipment of cocoa (
167:. The event had a host of the well-established attending and speaking, and was covered by the media for two weeks, and his airplane invention was an excitement for the African-American community. In a May 1911 issue of
95:, Ohio, and the Gold Coast of West Africa. (African Union Company officials included Charles W. Chappelle, president; Joseph L. Jones, secretary; John T. Birch, Treasurer; Directors Gilchrist Stewart,
79:. He traveled to several countries in Africa, starting in 1909, and in 1912, media reports show that he worked in Africa for at least eight more years as president of the African Union Company, Inc.
132:) from Africa to the United States in the late 1920s seems to be so far unknown, and the African Union Company going out of business does coincide just before or during the beginning year of the
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After
Chappelle moved back to Pittsburgh in the 1920s, he was still an active president of the African Union Company, and its Chairman of the Board was Dr. Jay Emmett Scott of the USA's
19:(July 11, 1872 – February 28, 1941) was an early 1900s African-American aviation pioneer and medal winner, electrical engineer, and businessman who was president of the USA's
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C.W. Chappelle's successfully designed a long-distance airplane. He won a medal for being the only
African-American to invent and display an airplane at the spectacular
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217:, where he returned to in 1920, and was employed by the city's department of lands and buildings. He was an active member of the Bethesda Presbyterian Church.
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While
Chappelle lived in Brooklyn, New York, in the early 1900s, he also worked as an architect and contractor in Brooklyn, where he erected several buildings.
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of West Africa. Several hundred thousand dollars in capital was raised during that time period for construction and modernization on the Gold Coast through the
91:, and used his friends there to help the African Union Company, Inc., that had been formed at 1821 Dean Street in Brooklyn, New York, with branches in
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99:, D. W. Roberts, M. D., George W. Robber, and R. R. Jackson) Additional funding came from minerals such as silver, tin (and other
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HWhile he traveled and lived in several United States cities, and
African countries, his main United States residence was in
351:, pp. 667–686. Volume 77, Issue 04, Winter 2003. Copyright © The President and Fellows of Harvard College 2003. DOI:
23:, whose mission in the early 1900s was to create small, modernized African cities for blacks with leased land from the
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379:"A Successful Negro Aviator. Charles Ward Chappelle Invents an Aeroplane Which Attracts Attention", News/Opinion,
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51:(A.M.E. church) Reverend George W. Chappelle and Anna Johnson Chappelle. He learned his skills by attending
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Social Uplift (p. 7) published by the National Association of Colored People (
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307:"Duse Mohamed Ali and the Development of Pan-Africanism, 1866–1945, Volume I"
408:, December 1910, p. 44; published by the United States Aeronautical Reserve.
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179:, there is a brief mention of C.W. Chappelle and his aviation invention.
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257:"Mr. C.W. Chappelle: The Man, His Life, His Work And His Aspirations",
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318:"Chief Sam and American Negroes. Action of Gold Coast Government",
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In 1911, the first African-American airplane company was formed in
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31:, and infrastructure metal deals were made with companies such as
364:"Grand Central Palace Automobile Show has Auspicious Opening",
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396:(Savannah, Georgia). Front page . Saturday, February 25, 1911.
75:, for several years. Later, single again, Chappelle moved to
309:, Edinburgh Research Archive, p. 273. Retrieved 14 May 2014.
335:. Correspondents' page, May 25, 1915, May 27, 1915, p. 7.
293:(City Edition, Pittsburgh, PA), September 20, 1912, p. 8.
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322:(Freetown, Sierra Leone), May 16, 1914, pp. 6 and 9.
245:(City Edition, Pittsburgh, PA), March 1, 1941, p. 2.
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Chappelle died in 1941 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
420:(Indianapolis, Indiana), October 24, 1914, p. 2.
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193:, and he was mentioned in its official magazine
43:C. W. Chappelle was one of 18 children, born in
277:(savannah, Georgia), September 28, 1922, p. 1.
383:(Savannah, Georgia), February 11, 1911, p. 1.
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444:20th-century African-American businesspeople
87:Chappelle was the first head electrician of
169:The Crises: A Record of the Darker Races,
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449:20th-century American businesspeople
239:"Charles Chappelle Deeply Mourned",
355:Published online December 13, 2011.
353:https://dx.doi.org/10.2307/30041233
200:United States Aeronautical Reserve
191:United States Aeronautical Reserve
49:African Methodist Episcopal Church
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454:African–Native American relations
140:African-American aviation pioneer
331:"Echoes from Various Quarters",
416:"Short Flights,” News/Opinion,
464:Businesspeople from Pittsburgh
189:Chappelle was a member of the
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474:People from Eatonton, Georgia
151:held in conjunction with the
469:Businesspeople from Brooklyn
153:U.S. International Auto Show
392:"Airplane Company Formed",
202:headquarters in Manhattan.
21:African Union Company, Inc.
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289:"Afro-American Cullings",
370:, January 1, 1911, p. 34.
83:International businessman
215:Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
148:Industrial Airplane Show
73:Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
349:Business History Review
119:It was reported in the
57:Morris Brown University
47:, on July 11, 1872, to
291:The Pittsburgh Courier
261:, June 28, 1919, p. 3.
242:The Pittsburgh Courier
17:Charles Ward Chappelle
333:The Gold Coast Nation
259:The Gold Coast Nation
394:The Savannah Tribune
157:Grand Central Palace
165:history of aviation
367:The New York Times
347:"Emmet J. Scott,"
77:Brooklyn, New York
459:American aviators
136:in U.S. history.
113:Howard University
45:Eatonton, Georgia
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206:Other activities
134:Great Depression
121:Savannah Tribune
117:Washington, D.C.
55:in Georgia, and
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439:1941 deaths
434:1872 births
418:The Freeman
146:1911 First
101:commodities
428:Categories
224:References
130:cocoa bean
93:Cincinnati
89:U.S. Steel
39:Early life
33:U.S. Steel
25:Gold Coast
184:Manhattan
105:mahogany
103:such as
61:Atlanta
175:) in
173:NAACP
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