Not to be confused with Minnesota politician Jerome P. Peterson.
| Jerome Bowers Peterson | |
|---|---|
 Peterson engraving, 1904 | |
| Born | (1859-09-12)September 12, 1859 Brooklyn, New York City, New York, United States |
| Died | February 19, 1943(1943-02-19) (aged 83) Brooklyn, New York City, New York, United States |
| Burial place | Cypress Hills Cemetery |
| Other names | J.B. Peterson |
| Occupation(s) | Newspapers editor, U.S. consular official, IRS customs revenue, IRS deputy collector |
| Spouse(s) | Amelia L. White (m. ?–?), Cornelia Steele White (m. ?–1926; her death) |
| Children | 3 |
Jerome Bowers Peterson (1859–1943), was an American newspaper editor in New York City, as well as a consular official for the United States Department of State, and served as customs revenue appointee for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Peterson was a co-founding editor of The New York Age newspaper in 1887, and held a consular position to Puerto Cabello, Venezuela in 1904 to 1906.
Early life and education
Jerome Bowers Peterson was born on September 12, 1859 in Brooklyn, New York, United States. He was African American, and some records list him as "mulatto". He lived on Sullivan Street, and attended the Mulberry Street School in Manhattan, an African Free School.
Career
Newspaper
Peterson was a founding owner and editor at The New York Age, a noted African American newspaper in New York City, working alongside editor Timothy Thomas Fortune, and his brother Emanuel Fortune Jr.. Ida B. Wells was invited by Peterson and Timothy Thomas Fortune to advance her anti-lynching campaign at the New York Age newspaper. In 1907, Fred R. Moore purchased The New York Age from Timothy Thomas Fortune and Peterson; and Peterson continued to work in an advisory role for the paper until the 1930s.
Department of State
Charles William Anderson recommended Peterson to William Loeb Jr., the secretary to President Theodore Roosevelt, for a consular position in 1903 under the United States Department of State. Peterson worked as consul to Puerto Cabello, Venezuela, from 1904 to 1906. He was succeeded in the consular position by James W. Johnson.
Internal Revenue Service
He was deputy collector of Internal Revenue Service (IRS), under the leadership of Charles W. Anderson. He was appointed deputy collector in San Juan, Puerto Rico in 1913. He retired from U.S. federal service in 1931.
Death and legacy
He died on February 19, 1943 in Brooklyn. His estate papers were archived at Yale University; and he has work at the Theodore Roosevelt Center at Dickinson State University.
Personal life
He married in 1893 to Cornelia Steele White; she was the daughter of Philip A. White, a former member of the Brooklyn Board of Education. Together they had three children. She died in 1926 in New York City after surgery.
His son, Jerome Sidney Peterson (1903–1987) worked for the New York City Department of Health, and later served as a medical director for the World Health Organization (WHO).
See also
References
- "Jerome Bowers Peterson". Black Gotham Archive. Retrieved March 1, 2024.
- ^ "J. B. Peterson Promoted". The New York Age. March 27, 1913. p. 1. Retrieved March 1, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- "Jerome B. Peterson". NYPL Digital Collections. Retrieved March 1, 2024.
- ^ "Jerome B. Peterson: Former Deputy Collector of Internal Revenue Here". The New York Times. February 22, 1943. p. 17. ISSN 0362-4331 – via The Times Machine.
- "Entry for Georgie Peterson and Jerome Peterson, 1880; United States Census, 1880". FamilySearch.org. 1880.
- "Jerome Bowers Peterson, United States, Freedman's Bank Records, 1865-1874". FamilySearch.org. January 17, 1871.
- "Ida B. Wells-Barnett, journalist and civil rights activist". Black Gotham Archive. Retrieved March 1, 2024.
- "Age Always Has Battled For Improved Conditions". The New York Age. August 23, 1952. p. 6. Retrieved March 1, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- "Theodore Roosevelt Papers: Series 1: Letters and Related Material, 1759-1919; 1903, Feb. 12–May 17". Library of Congress. May 14, 1903. Retrieved March 1, 2024.
- "Peterson Placed. Appointed Consul at Puerto Cabello, Venezuela". The Appeal. May 21, 1904. p. 2. Retrieved March 1, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- "Jerome B. Peterson Retires from Federal Service After 27 Years". The New York Age. October 3, 1931. p. 1. Retrieved March 1, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Obituary for Jerome B. Peterson". Hartford Courant. February 22, 1943. p. 4. Retrieved March 1, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- "Advanced Search: "Peterson, Jerome B. (Jerome Bowers), 1859-1943"". Theodore Roosevelt Center. Retrieved March 1, 2024.
- ^ "Mrs. Jerome B. Peterson Dies After Operation". The New York Age. August 7, 1926. p. 1. Retrieved March 1, 2024 – via Newspaper.com.
- Peterson, Carla L. (February 22, 2011). Black Gotham: A Family History of African Americans in Nineteenth-Century New York City. Yale University Press. p. 12. ISBN 978-0-300-16409-1.
- "Jerome S. Peterson, 83, of Amherst, former medical director for WHO". Daily Hampshire Gazette. March 13, 1987. p. 4. Retrieved March 1, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
External links
- Photos of Peterson (1939) by Carl Van Vechten from Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Yale University