Prince of Darkness: The Untold Story of Jeremiah G. Hamilton, Wall Street's First Black Millionaire

by Shane White

In the middle decades of the nineteenth century Jeremiah G. Hamilton was a well-known figure on Wall Street. Cornelius Vanderbilt, America's first tycoon, came to respect, grudgingly, his one-time opponent. The day after Vanderbilt's death on January 4, 1877, an almost full-page obituary on the front of the National Republican acknowledged that, in the context of his Wall Street share transactions, "There was only one man who ever fought the Commodore to the end, and that was Jeremiah Hamilton."

What Vanderbilt's obituary failed to mention, perhaps as contemporaries already knew it well, was that Hamilton was African American. Hamilton, although his origins were lowly, possibly slave, was reportedly the richest colored man in the United States, possessing a fortune of $2 million, or in excess of $250 million in today's currency.

In Prince of Darkness, a groundbreaking and vivid account, eminent historian Shane White reveals the larger than life story of a man who defied every convention of his time. He wheeled and dealed in the lily white business world, he married a white woman, he bought a mansion in rural New Jersey, he owned railroad stock on trains he was not legally allowed to ride, and generally set his white contemporaries teeth on edge when he wasn't just plain outsmarting them. An important contribution to American history, Hamilton's life offers a way into considering, from the unusual perspective of a black man, subjects that are usually seen as being quintessentially white, totally segregated from the African American past.

Genres: History, Biography, Nonfiction, American History, Historical, Biography Memoir, Business

370 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 13, 2015

About the author

SHANE WHITE is the Challis Professor of History and an Australian Professorial Fellow in the History Department at the University of Sydney specializing in African-American history. He has authored or co-authored five books, including "Playing the Numbers", and collaborated in the construction of the website Digital Harlem. Each project has won at least one important prize for excellence from institutions as varied as the American Historical Association and the American Library Association. He lives in Sydney, Australia.

Reviews

[Lulu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jeremiah G. Hamilton was a beast! They didn't like him because he came from out of nowhere and beat them at their own game! I have so much respect for Shane White for basically making something out of nothing. He searched through newspaper articles and was able to give us a picture of this forgotten (intentional?) historical figure. Although I learned a lot, Hamilton is still somewhat enigmatic.

[Nancy Oakes · Rating 4 out of 5]

good book. Like a 3.7 rounded up to a 4.

(thanks, St. Martin's Press!!)

It's very interesting that Shane White would choose Jeremiah Hamilton as the subject of his study, since there is very little information on this man to be had. Even though he was "Wall Street's First Black Millionaire," "sui generis, typical of nothing," almost nothing is known about him, which seems quite odd -- after all, in the 1850s, an African-American man with the kind of wealth Hamilton had amassed was unusual; given that he was also a "Wall Street adept, a skilled an innovative financial manipulator," it seems to me that there would be a LOT of material out there from which White could pick and choose. But it didn't turn out that way -- Hamilton, in White's words, "became all but invisible" for over a century, even though he'd lived and worked in New York for more than forty years. No dissertations, no articles, and not even a mention in the African American National Biography completed in 2008 to be had about this man. So Shane White had to rely on New York City's public records for his study -- "Newspapers, court cases and government files," as he notes, but there is pretty much nothing directly from Hamilton himself. I mention the lack of documentation here because it is important to remember this fact as you go through the book. It is important for the reader to understand that while there is certainly plenty going on in Hamilton's orbit that White carefully puts together, sometimes the book ranges off into looking at other, more influential people of the time rather than staying focused on White himself. What really sold me on this book though was the combination of what little could be found on the man and the background history of the attitudes of antebellum white New Yorkers toward African-Americans.

Just briefly, Jeremiah G. Hamilton starts in this book as an enigma. Even his birthplace is unknown -- he either came from somewhere in the Caribbean or from Virginia, both of which he claimed as true on various census reports. In Haiti he was involved in a huge counterfeiting scheme as a very young man, but managed to escape imprisonment and come to New York, and the people behind the whole criminal enterprise remained a mystery while being grateful. Hamilton began borrowing cash left and right (spawning several interesting lawsuits since he decided he'd much rather not pay back the money and really pissing off a lot of people), but the kicker came with Manhattan's 1835 "Great Fire" when a number of records were destroyed and Hamilton decided that with nothing legal linking him to anything, all he had to do was to deny that any transactions had occurred, walking away with the cash. This is how he ended up being known as "The Prince of Darkness." He "never believed in turning the other cheek," was the instigator of several lawsuits himself, using "the fine print in legal documents as a razor." He was also a man that a person never crossed without some sort of retaliation, as one judge found out the hard way. His eccentricities included wandering the streets wearing a long, dark, flowing wig, but people were used to this. Hamilton was married to a white woman with whom he had children and lived well; this fact came to a head only during the Draft riots of the early 1860s when a mob took issue with the mixed marriage and stormed his house looking for him. But on the whole, he was a lucky man -- White notes that

"To a considerable extent, money insulated from the worst of the city racial problems. He could live in his nice house on East Twenty-Ninth Street, looking back down to the city, and feel that he and his family were relatively safe."

Hamilton didn't really socialize with other African-Americans, and actually at one point had to declare bankruptcy. Interestingly enough, as White notes, in the census reports of 1850, 1860 and 1870 he "was counted as a white individual;" even when he died of pneumonia in 1875 the doctor failed to fill in the entry for Color. According to White,

"it seems that, neither for the first nor the last time in American history, money lightened the color of an individual's skin."

Hamilton was indeed lucky -- as White points out, racism was rampant in New York City of the time, and segregation akin to what would later become known as Jim Crow was everywhere. The background history of racism in New York was actually my favorite part of this book -- a definite eye opener. White does an excellent job linking the overthrow of Haiti's colonial masters to the rising fear of African-Americans in the United States of the time, both north and south.

While I enjoyed this book for the most part, the problem with White's account lies in the very fact that there's very little real information about the guy outside of the public records and newspapers and he seems to want to make up for it by adding in more than is technically necessary. As a result, along with the history of race relations of the time (which as I've stated was quite good and definitely a much-needed part of this book), he tends to expand sections by telling his readers about the growth of the newspapers, the lives of other prominent people in New York (both white and African-American), etc., and sometimes I found myself sort of skimming through hoping to get back to Hamilton. I'm someone who can sit down with books of history that are not meant for the general public and love them, so I don't think it's my attention span.

Overall, I don't know if I'd really classify this book as a work of history for the general public, but it is definitely well worth reading on many levels. If nothing else, just the fact that Hamilton was the first African-American millionaire but he's not even listed in the African American National Biography begs the question of why he's been ignored for so long and why historically, he's a forgotten figure. And considering that Mr. White spent years of his life trying to find out who this man really was and had very little to go on, I'd say he's done a fine job here and gave his subject as much life as he possibly could. You really can't ask for much more.

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love Nonfiction. Lately I'm enjoying Nonfiction more than I enjoy any other Genre. I have several novels I need to read but I'm just gonna ignore them and keep on reading Nonfiction.

Prince of Darkness is not a biography that I would recommend to everyone. It was a bit of a dry read. The author meandered at times and I felt like he lost the plot. Which is understandable seeing as very little is actually known about the focus of this biography Jeremiah G Hamilton.

Things we don't know about Jeremiah G Hamilton:

1. His real name
2. Where he was born
3. What he looked like
4. How old he was
5. How much he was worth

And so much more.

Shane White the author had his work cut out for him. He used old newspaper articles, knowledge of the time period the 1830' through 1870's and the biographies of notable contemporaries of Hamilton. I think given the limited information the author had, he did a good job of trying to paint a picture of Hamilton.

As for Jeremiah G Hamilton himself. I wish I could applaud a Black man of mastering Wall Street before during and after the Civil War. Because that was a huge accomplishment....but since Hamilton didn't want anything to do with the Black community during his lifetime, I'll honor his wishes by being unimpressed by his accomplishments. I normally don't judge how Black folks choose to survive under white supremacy but this man had millions of dollars in the 1860's(not adjusted for inflation) and he didn't lift a finger to help.

How do we know this?

Because Black newspapers of the times read him for filth. They made it very clear that Hamilton thought he wasn't Black and felt no affinity with the Black cause.

It may be petty....but I'm petty. I almost wish this book hadn't been written because I think Jeremiah G Hamilton deserves to be forgotten. He amassed a huge fortune but he didn't leave behind any monuments to his importance like his contemporaries the Vanderbilts or Rockefellers. Despite his lifelong desire to be accepted by white society, he was referred to as Nigger Hamilton in the newspapers and when he died there were no full pages obituaries like Cornelius Vanderbilt for him. He got a small little write up and then his legacy was forgotten.

On my less petty days, I guess I would recommend this book to people who enjoy dry history/ biographies. Or to people interested in a history of Antebellum New York City. That part of the book is worth a read just for how little I've read about the north in the lead up to and aftermath of the Civil War.

Overall this was a good read!

[Biblio Files (takingadayoff) · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are several possible reasons that no American historian has written about Jeremiah Hamilton, the first black American millionaire. There isn't much information about him -- he didn't leave diaries or letters and didn't write any memoirs. His history is scattered among intermittent court documents and newspaper articles. And while he suffered a lot of racist abuse during his life, he did not have black friends, or make a point of helping black neighbors. His own family was large -- he married and had ten children, but no one seemed interested in preserving his memory.

Over two hundred years after his birth, an Australian historian, Shane White, has taken on the challenge of making some sense of the snippets of information that remain about Hamilton. And now we find another reason that no one else has taken on the project. Hamilton was a scoundrel, a cheat, an operator. He spent much of his life in court, suing others and being sued himself. He ran insurance frauds, stock scams, and real estate swindles. Goodness knows I love to hear about a good scam or heist, but Hamilton's dealings were garden variety, sometimes successful, often not. He succeeded often enough to become wealthy, and that's where he differed from the other scam artists in Manhattan in the mid 19th century.

Where Prince of Darkness succeeds is in the descriptions of antebellum New York, which had abolished slavery in 1827. White tells us what Wall Street was like, many of its brokers working on the sidewalks, trading securities (or worthless paper) in the open air. We learn that journalism valued facts and accuracy much less than it did sensationalism and increased circulation. One newspaper ran a series about a scientist who had a high powered telescope that allowed him to see what was going on on the moon. For weeks, readers learned about the strange wildlife on the moon and their antics, until someone realized it was a hoax.

White details every bit of Hamilton's life that he can find documents for. Unfortunately, the newspaper articles are as likely to be false as they are to be true, and the court documents tend to be tedious. However, this is the only book we have on America's first black millionaire, so read the bits that grab you, and leave the dry parts for scholars trying to complete this fragmented biography.

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jeremiah G. Hamilton was man of mystery. No one is sure where he was born – was it Virginia or Haiti – even he himself changed the story as it suited. His questionable start in business – passing counterfeit money in Haiti put a price on his head on that island. Defrauding insurance companies over boat accidents, buying and selling property with bad notes and airing his grievances in court and the newspapers made him notorious in America. It also made him a millionaire in New York City in the early 1800’s. A feat not easily accomplished.

Made even more rare by the fact that Jeremiah G. Hamilton was black.

New York City in the early 1800’s was a city in which great changes were taking place. Always tolerant and supportive of abolition, New York was now a favorite destination for newly freed slaves. The value of paper money was questionable since each bank printed its own version. Property values rose and fell seemingly on a whim, newspapers influenced the thinking of the people and the courts were used for everything from the theft of a 25-cent purse to property fraud and non-payment of debt. Everything was in chaos and Jeremiah G. Hamilton used that all to his advantage earning him the nickname “The Prince of Darkness”.

Taking all that into consideration not much is known about Jeremiah G. Hamilton outside of newspaper articles and court records. Despite the fact that he own many properties in the area of what is now Manhattan as well as property that would now be at the edges of Time Square (arguably one of the most expensive pieces of real estate in the world) there is not so much as a plaque commemorating his contributions. He left behind no diaries and no personal correspondence. He shocked society be taking a 14-year-old white girl as his wife. As the author himself writes, “Jeremiah Hamilton was a racist’s nightmare come to life” yet even that has barely made a ripple in the pages of history. We do not even know what the initial G. in the middle of his name stood for.

Why?

That was the question Shane White posed to himself. Utilizing his years as a researcher he hoped to find the answer. Mr. White set a rather formidable task for himself and this book is the result of his research.

When I picked up this book I was expecting a biography of an individual who defied the odds, legally or not, to become known as “Wall Street’s first black millionaire” yet that is not exactly what I received. What I read instead was the tidbits that are known about Jeremiah G. Hamilton interspersed with a very well written history of “Gotham” in the years following the Civil War and emancipation; Jim Crow was explained in a way I never clearly understood before; the toll of the fire of 1835, which I have read about in works of fiction, was brought into clear perspective. Included also, were some other personalities of the time period both white and African American. Definitely an enjoyable read despite the fact that it was not quite “as advertised”.

Again quoting Mr. White’s words, the first line from one of Jeremiah’s obituary notices

… “the notorious colored capitalist long identified with commercial enterprises in this city is dead and buried”. Has there ever been another occasion when someone has considered a black man to be synonymous with New York Commerce? The Prince of Darkness was indeed a remarkable man, and it would be some time before New York City would see his like again.”

I would recommend this book as an informative read for anyone interested in this time period or in the history of New York City. I particularly enjoyed reading about the tremendous stride the African American citizens made through their determination, hard work and, sometimes, sheer cleverness to establish themselves after emancipation. Mr. White touches on everything from the Haitian revolution to the rebellious acts against Jim Crow. So why just a 4-star rating? Sadly, having little to go on researching Jeremiah, the citing of the court cases was a little repetitive and, in my opinion, took up a little too much of the book. It would have been a solid history without them.

*I received this ebook at no charge via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review *

[Ginni · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't think anyone could possibly have written a better biography of Mr. Hamilton, and "the black man" (as Mr. White calls him countless times) himself is to be commended for making his way so well in a society that was completely set up against him. But...this is some REALLY dry reading.

The research is meticulous, but even the most thorough historian can't find records that don't exist--and, as White reminds us over and over, Jeremiah G. Hamilton's past is pretty spotty. We don't get any of the detail that good biographies use to bring their subjects to life. Instead, White is forced to fill the gaps with general historical information about the time period or area. It's interesting, and it's well written, but it's definitely not exciting. No one is going to come away from this wondering why this is the first biography of Hamilton; rather, they might wonder what compelled the author to write it in the first place.

(I received this book for free through a Goodreads giveaway.)

[Theophilus (Theo) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastic story of a man who has been hidden from American history. The idea of a black man making money on Wall Street is something that school children should be taught. Although many of his business dealings seem shady, they were not uncommon for many of the major players in the investment market then, and even now. A great book. It is easy to see the author was determined to research and gather as much material as possible, from a myriad of legitimate sources: court records, newspaper articles, etc. Even well before the Civil War Blacks in America were struggling to succeed financially and attain the American dream. Thanks Mr. White for your work.

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Summary: My best nonfiction read so far this year, this author won me over with his enthusiasm and ability to share uncertainty in an honest and engaging way.

Jeremiah G. Hamilton was, as the subtitle says, the first black millionaire in America. He was also one of the first millionaires in America without qualification, despite incredible racial prejudice at the time. Living in NYC during the abolition of slavery, followed by a period with Jim Crow-style codified discrimination, he still managed to survive and even thrive in the cutthroat world of Wall Street. His involvement in business, trade, real estate, and newspapers makes his life story a fascinating look at a turbulent time in American history.

I've read several engaging nonfiction books recently that have left me wanting better citations, such as Devil in the White City, and books like The Witches that haven't managed to handle uncertainty in an engaging way. This book was an incredible contrast, because the author handled these things perfectly. Every section, from his intro note describing his research process to the sections where he discussed unknowns in Hamilton's life, were infused with his enthusiasm for the topic. This kept things exciting even when he had to go into the gritty details of what was known and what was conjecture. It made me feel excited to be part of his research process. I've never wanted to write a nonfiction book before, but reading about his experience made me want to.

I think the author made some other very wise decisions. The first was that he didn't try to portray Hamilton as a saint (which may have been hard to do!), but he did make it clear that his shadier business dealings were very much in keeping with the the times. I felt as though the story was a fair portrayal of a complex individual.

The second important decision the author made was to not tie himself too tightly to Hamilton's story. Although the chapters were generally chronological in Hamilton's life, the author wandered far afield, tackling a bigger topic connected to Hamilton's life in each chapter. This could have been an organizational nightmare, but the author kept me interested in every chapter, gave me a greater understanding of the time period, and stayed firmly anchored in Hamilton's story. I never felt lost and loved learning about everything from fires set by slaves to how the stock market and newspapers operated in the 1800's. I'd highly recommend it, so I'm very excited to be able to offer a giveaway (US only) from the publisher today :)

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This review was originally posted on Doing Dewey

[AlTonya · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’d never heard of Jeremiah Hamilton, before coming across Prince of Darkness on the shelves at my library. I couldn’t wrap my head around the fact that none of the vast number of resources in the library of the HBCU (Historically Black College/University) where I worked, had no mention of a man who had amassed the kind of wealth and notoriety Hamilton had in a time when it was unheard of for a black man to claim such success. Moreover, I found little mention of Hamilton's existence referenced anywhere I'd have expected.

As I worked my way through this book, I came to understand why there has been little to no mention of Hamilton among other black heroes. The fact was, Hamilton was not viewed as a hero and while reading ‘Darkness’, I understood-given the material presented-he had no desire to be. Nevertheless, Hamilton was an undeniable success. He crafted a remarkable life for himself and his family.

I found Shane White’s account to be exceptionally thorough. I had hoped the book would focus a little more on Mr. Hamilton-the man and his interests beyond making money or bringing to justice those who owed him. Given that there is so little information about Hamilton; outside of his financial wheelings and dealings, I suppose the author worked with what he had. I found much of the book to be more an account of the financial and racial climate of New York seasoned by Mr. Hamilton’s prowess and determination to carry out his personal agenda.

Though Jeremiah Hamilton’s methods were questionable; one might say selfish and corrupt, it can’t be denied that they were effective. While we as a people enjoy inspiring stories of those dynamos in our culture who have surpassed the literal and figurative chains geared to ‘keep us in our places’, I think it’s important to embrace the full range of these stories. Hamilton was not a hero in the usual sense, but his efforts as a mover, shaker and undeniable game changer; in the days of Wall Street’s infancy, make his story worth knowing. He was a man who didn’t allow his race to determine his station in life. This is perhaps the most valuable lesson from Hamilton's life story.

[Bianca · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an interesting yet weird biography of Jeremiah G. Hamilton. Weird in that there is no real fact about him, just bits and pieces from 3rd party perspectives and a few court cases. There are no surviving pictures of this man, nor any history about his birth or childhood, because of this it felt more like a history of the financial district of New York and a overall racial history of antebellum New York than a bio of someone.
But with as little is known about Mr. Hamilton, I do believe that Shane White does a great job in researching this mystery man and also putting us in 1840's New York.

[Amona · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jeremiah G. Hamilton was a piece of work! I think in his heart he actually thought he was white and although society tried to prove him otherwise he yet and still refused to believe the contrary.

[Book · Rating 4 out of 5]

With ‘Prince of Darkness’ Shane White, the Australian Professor of History specialized in African-American history, managed to write a powerful biography of man that is not known these days, yet as a black man he reached up to the very top, in times when such things were almost impossible to achieve.

His main protagonist, Jeremiah G. Hamilton, was a well-known figure on Wall Street though what was not known, then and now, is that Jeremiah was African American. Yet for a colored man it seems surreal to realize what he succeeded to achieve during the 19th century when this story is taking place.

I received this book from publisher for review, and though the biographical part of this book was emphasized, actually Shane White’s work is much more than that – besides talking about man known as “Wall Street’s first black millionaire”, ‘Prince of Darkness’ gives a clear picture about America in years before and those that followed the Civil War, display of the U.S. still painfully divided in which one group of people is deeply oppressed, and nicely presented piece of New York rich history including the consequences of Great Fire back in 1835.

While reading Shane White’s book, reader feels as if transported through a time machine almost 200 years back in time – the events, people, affairs, Wall Street and NYC as a whole, all seem as though we ourselves are part of this story and life its characters are leading.

Taking into account that so detailed and convincing story of not so recent history is challenging to write, the author cannot be disputed extraordinary effort on collecting data and research conducted, but also can be congratulated for great style that will keep reader interested for his work until the very end.

Therefore, I can recommend ‘Prince of Darkness’ by Shane White as a truthful reflection of subject and time it discusses and certainly intrigued with this one I plan to read the other works made by this author.

I was given a copy of this novel by the author for the purpose of unbiased review, while all the presented information is based on my impressions.

[Mandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is not exactly a fun read read although a very admirable one, and I am grateful to the author for attempting it at all – it must have been daunting writing a biography of someone about whom virtually no records or documentation are available, and none at all in the subject’s own voice. Well done to Shane White for unearthing what information there is. Jeremiah G Hamilton was the first African American to become prominent on Wall Street and was reportedly the richest coloured man in the US at one stage. He married a white woman and lived in a mansion in New Jersey and was the equal of any white man in the 19th century American financial world. The author manages to piece together Hamilton’s life and career from the scant resources that are available, but inevitably he has to flesh out his narrative with many a “perhaps” and “possibly”. Much of the surviving information comes from court cases and White recounts some of these verbatim – which actually makes for some tedious reading. Nevertheless, attempting to bring this enigmatic man to life is a worthy aim indeed, and although the book is very dry and dull on occasion, it’s definitely worth reading and learning what we can about Jeremiah G Hamilton, a man who took on the white world and triumphed.

[Jerrika Rhone · Rating 3 out of 5]

DNF @ 35%
This book is less about Mr. Hamilton(because there is little to no written history about him) and more about race relations in NY at the turn of the century. It's well written and well researched but just not that interesting. Mr. White says there was racism in the north...well, yea. There was a lot of fraud going on in five points...uhhh duh. The rest was just flourish with a mention on JGH when he made the papers.

[David Petersen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was so impressed by the author. The amount of research for this book was astronomical! His only sources were court records and newspapers from 1820-1860 from new York City. I thought the story and conclusions were really well done. The complete story of Jeremiah G Hamilton would be amazing and fascinating but that is not to be. Worth the read.

[Ava M. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was eye opening for me personally!

[Jazzy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall this was a good book. One big problem is because there exists very little information about the title subject, the author spends over 70% of the book writing about other topics and people. Even when Jeremiah Hamilton is the focus, the lack of historical writing about/by Jeremiah Hamilton results in the author practicing guesswork about exactly what happened and what Hamilton's personal thoughts were at any time whatsoever.

If this book had another title, I'd be tempted to raise my rating. Because it feels like a case of bait&switch, I feel 3 stars is more than fair. This is worth reading, but it should be renamed.

[Dynah Zale · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF. Jeremiah Hamilton was the biggest swindler. I guess that why I never heard of him before because he was a black man who could pass as white but everybody knew he was white.

This book was not well written. It was about everything except Hamilton life. It gave too much backstory and I believe that’s because Hamilton didn’t leave behind much documentation cause he wanted to fly under the radar.

Overall this book could have cut at 100 pages

[Sara · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF I just don't care about wall street douchebags no matter what color their skin... There is some interesting setting information that give you a sense of what early 19th century NYC was like, but not worth slogging through all the financial schemes.

[Mike Wenzel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting. The author paints a picture of the life of Hamilton from newspapers and court records, which are a bit overly focused on business. He fills in some of the gaps by sharing the lives of other successful black people of the day.

[MalNich · Rating 1 out of 5]

Is this a biography about Jeremiah G. Hamilton or a history book about New York? I don't know and the author doesn't seem to know either.

[Jennifer Espinoza Coates · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not even close to what I was expecting. I couldn't get past the 4th chapter. Basically written in author's point of view with no meat to the information he researched. You will read more over how much the author thinks of himself.

[Shenard Robinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyed reading about the life of this unknown man during antebellum America. What promise his legacy ushered forth for many African Americans whether acknowledged or known. I found it fascinating that Douglass knew of this man, and his power within the New York financial scene in addition to his interracial marriage, as mentioned in the Frederick Douglass Paper, especially since the abolitionist called on blacks to do more for the uplift of the race. A must read, and re-read as White undergirds the narrative with a fluid backstory of race and privilege in colonial America as class status began to ferment itself in other hues.

[Al Berry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Behind Every Great Fortune is a crime;

For Jeremiah G Hamilton; who was sentenced to death in Haiti in Absentia; it was multiple crimes. America’s first black millionaire built his financial empire through Counterfeiting and insurance fraud.

[Autumn · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wish this had been an essay and not a full-length book. The author repeats a lot of phrases (for example, lily-white) and there just isn't enough information in the archives about Hamilton to fill a book. Still - an interesting read about a very interesting man.

[Will Patton · Rating 1 out of 5]

This should have been an article. There are not enough sources on the subject to warrant a 300 page book. The author partakes in guesswork a lot too, because the sources are do not fill in the picture. The author spends a lot of time covering adjacent history to set the scene. I do not recommend.

[Jim OBrien · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to like it but...

[Christine Sears · Rating 4 out of 5]

African American millionaire in the Civil War period. Definitely charted his own course through early capitalism and racism.

[Rick Hammond · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is tricky, I’m giving this book a less than favorable review, based on the lack of available info about the subject not because a lack of ability of the author.

[Juan Carlos · Rating 2 out of 5]

There are few reasons you've never heard of Jeremiah G Hamilton. Mostly, there's just not that much to say about him. That is, there's not much recorded information available out here. The author deserves a lot of credit for researching and scraping info together to create this book. While you can see it's well researched, you can also see that it is essentially archived news articles, court cases, and census records strewn together with enough of a backstory to create a 13-chapter book. There were large segments of the book that went into great detail about adjacent topics such as forgery and newspaper wars which dragged on so long without mentioning Hamilton himself that I forgot what I was reading.

Another likely reason you've never heard of Hamilton: while the wealth he accumulated was astonishing for a black man in antebellum America, he wasn't an inspiring man. His wealth was largely accumulated from dishonest acts that were common at the time such as counterfeiting, suing, counter-suing, and avoiding creditors. While adventuring into related topics to add depth to book, it gave great detail into the daily life of black New Yorkers during the antebellum period. These accounts were often, in my opinion, the most interesting parts of the book. The blatant and vulgar acts of racism committed against blacks in the 'free' North are what made the uninteresting Hamilton even more curious. He operated with confidence on Wall Street and in court rooms versus people who were against him by default due to him being a black man. Even with that stacked against him, he was still able to convince, negotiate, and swindle himself into wealth. His legacy as a successful black man is not one to be celebrated and may be another reason he's not remembered fondly, or frankly at all. Hamilton purposely tried to ignore, disguise, and lie about his blackness. He also purposely avoided and dissociated himself from the black community. He chose consciously not to interact or do business with other black New Yorkers but rather would try to befriend whites on Wall Street at times to his detriment with his 'friend' Moses Beach admitting to hating Hamilton's daily visits to his office. Hamilton would claim to be Indian, Spanish, or Puerto Rican rather than African-American but was unable to fool anyone on the matter. By the end of his life, he somewhat got his wish by essentially using his wealth to buyout his blackness. He married a young white woman, had mixed children, and in latter years started being recorded as white in the Census not because of his outward appearance, but because the Census takers who knocked on the door of his large mansion and saw the white wife who answered assumed her to be married to a wealthy white merchant. By the end of his life long documented as a black man, the entry for race on his death certificate was left blank.

As far as the story of Hamilton's financial accumulation, I was hoping for more detail about the finance and stock-trading aspects of early Wall Street than the book provided. There was little information in that regard, but it was partly detailed how sharply Hamilton understood trading. He would detail companies stock values and sell the insights as books. He invested in failing companies and flipped his shares for a short profit, early acts of vulture capitalism. He also would pool investors money and use the collective funds to buy stock positions larger than any individual investor could buy on their own, what would be called a hedge fund today. There was also an interesting segment about real estate in early New York that was a highlight of the book for me.

Overall, I can't say that I enjoyed the book nor would I recommend it. No fault to the author who did the best with the material before him. In fact, I give Shane White a lot of credit for his research. If the book was solely about antebellum black life in New York City I would have rated it higher because those segments were the most interesting parts, a lot more interesting than Hamilton's actions. However, the fact that the book often goes into detail on large segments of topics indirect to Hamilton and the fact that Hamilton himself was not that interesting of a character often left me bored and resulted in my 2-star rating.