Profile of Maggie Lena Walker, who became the first American woman bank founder and president when she founded St. Luke Penny Savings Bank in Richmond, Virginia.
Maggie Lena Mitchell Walker was born on July 15, 1867 in Richmond, Virginia. Her mother, Elizabeth Draper Mitchell, was born a slave and freed before the Civil War ended. Maggie's father was Eccles Cuthbert, a white man who was a writer and abolitionist. Maggie's mother married another man, William Mitchell, a mulatto, before she was born. After the death of her stepfather, Maggie assisted her mother, who worked as a laundress, and cared for her brother.
When Maggie was eleven years old she was baptized at the First African Church. She became a Sunday school teacher. When she was fourteen, she joined the Grand United Order of St. Luke. The Order was an African-American fraternal and cooperative insurance society, which was founded in Baltimore, Maryland in 1867. The Order was founded by Mary Prout, a former slave, who established headquarters in Richmond in 1889. The Order was established to assure burial arrangements and health care for its members. It promoted racial solidarity and self-help programs. The Order provided aid for people in need. In addition to working at the Order of St. Luke as a volunteer, Maggie attended the Lancaster School and then the Armstrong Normal School. She received her diploma in 1883 with honors. After graduation, she worked for the Women's Union as a part time insurance agent, and studied bookkeeping at night school.
In 1883, she became a teacher at her alma mater, Lancaster School, and taught there for three years. While teaching she continued to work for the Women's Union, volunteer at St. Luke and study accounting at night school. On September 14, 1886, Maggie married Armstead Walker, a building contractor. They had three sons, one of which died in infancy.
In 1899, the thirty-second annual convention of the Grand United Order of St. Luke was held in Hinton, West Virginia. Walker had worked her way up the ranks of the Order and was elected Right Worthy Grand Secretary-Treasurer at the convention. The Order was renamed the Independent Order of St. Luke. Because the order was in debt, she served in the position at one-third the salary, receiving eight dollars a month. Walker was responsible for implementing successful programs for the Order, causing it to progress. She traveled to organize councils and encourage new people to join. Her speaking ability became her trademark. As a result of her business acumen, the Order became financially successful. The business consisted of an insurance component, a printing press, a newspaper and an Educational Loan Fund for college students. She also organized the Juvenile Branch of the Order. When speaking at Juvenile Society meetings, Walker would encourage the youth to save money. A special day was set aside called Sunshine Day on which the youth sent out a ray of sunshine by visiting the sick or taking food to a needy family. She established an Order newsletter called the "St. Luke Herald." The newsletter devoted a section to children, where their articles, stories, and poems were featured. By 1922, the death claims of the insurance department were nearly $1 million. By 1924, the Order had 50,000 members, 1500 local chapters and assets of almost $400,000.
Walker dreamed of founding a bank owned and operated by African Americans. She believed that people could turn "nickels into dollars" by pooling their money and lending it out. She said, "let up put our money together; let us use our money; Let us put our money out at usury among ourselves, and reap the benefit ourselves." She realized her dream when the St. Luke Penny Savings Bank opened on November 2, 1903 with Walker as president. Maggie Lena Walker became the first woman bank founder and president in the United States. On the opening day, the receipts totaled $9,430.44. Many people opened Christmas savings accounts in which they deposited a penny or a nickel a week. In 1911, St. Luke Penny Savings Bank had to sever its ties with St. Luke Order because a law was passed in Virginia that required all banks to separate from fraternal organizations. The St. Luke Penny Savings Bank prospered. The bank had helped purchase 600 homes by 1920. In 1930, the Bank merged with two other black-owned banks in Richmond and became the Consolidated Bank and Trust Company. Walker became the chairman of the board.
In addition to operating a bank, Walker was cofounder and president of the Richmond Council of Colored Women, which supported the Janie Porter Barrett Virginian Industrial School for Colored Girls, as well as other charities. She was a member of the National Urban League, the Virginia Interracial Committee, the International Council of Women of the Darker Races and cofounder and vice president of the Richmond branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).
In 1915, Walker's son, Russell, accidentally shot and killed his father, mistaking him for an intruder. Although he was found not guilty, members of the St. Luke Order disliked the negative publicity the incident caused and asked for Walker's resignation. Walker addressed the members of the organization in a fiery speech, in which she recalled her dedication and hard work for the Order and the successes that were the result of her efforts. The members were moved by the dramatic, heart-wrenching speech and gave her a standing ovation. Walker remained grand secretary of the Order for many years thereafter.
Walker's house at 110-1/2 East Leigh Street in Richmond was built in 1883. She bought the house in 1904 and adding central heating and electricity. The original home consisted of 9 rooms and after Walker's renovations, expanded to 25 rooms. Maggie's mother lived with her in her elegant home until her death on February 12, 1922. Maggie's son, Russell, never recovered from the accidental shooting of his father and after long bouts of depression and excessive drinking, he died on November 23, 1923.
In 1908, Walker injured her kneecap and was confined to a wheelchair. She installed an elevator in her house and had her car adjusted to accommodate the wheelchair. Maggie Lena Walker died on December 15, 1934 in Richmond, Virginia. Her house, located on East Leigh Street is a Maggie L. Walker National Historic Site. The house was purchased in 1979 by the National Park Service and contains the original furnishings and family memorabilia. Maggie Walker School in Richmond is named in her honor.
The St. Luke Penny Savings Bank still exists today as the Consolidated Bank and Trust Company, the oldest continuously operating minority-owned bank in the United States. The bank has assets of over $116 million. According to Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Consolidated Bank and Trust, Vernard W. Henley, " I think what she (Maggie Walker) had in mind was that African Americans ought to help themselves, and they ought to provide the opportunities for employment and development." Walker's philosophy is still upheld by the Bank she founded.
