Gilbert C. Harris
American businessperson (1853–1921)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Gilbert C. Harris (1853 – 1921) was an American businessperson, community leader and wig maker in Boston, Massachusetts. He served as treasurer of the National Negro Business League.[1]
Life and career
Gilbert C. Harris was born in c. 1853, in Petersburg, Virginia.[2][3] He moved from Virginia to Boston in 1892.[4][5] A 1918 book documented him as being "mulatto".[6]
He acquired and continued to operate Frenchman M. Alphonse Gilbert's Gilbert & Co. wig business at 732 Washington Street.[2] He supplied wigs to theater companies including via a mail order business.[7] Henry Wilson Savage,[4] Charlotte Cushman, and Henry Irving were among his clients.[2]
He co-founded a Colored Odd Fellows Lodge in Boston.[7]
See also
- Mary L. Johnson, maker of the Johnson Hair Food pomade and a wig maker, scientific scalp specialist, and hair "culturist"
- L. C. Parrish, wig maker and hair weaver in Boston
- T. J. Jones (businessman), Boston manufacturer of Lusterine
