Harlem to New York: Zara Cully Brown - A Letter to my Mom

Zara Cully Brown, [my great-aunt] was a boarder in the same New York Apartment with her sister Agnes Cully Peters,  for a number of years between 1935-1940's.  My mother was quite young at the time, and I had not known that Aunt Zara ever lived in New York with my grandmother.  This discovery of their living arrangements was documented in the 1940's Census.

Aunt Zara had been living between Duval, Florida where she taught drama and was a elocutionist and New York.  She traveled to various states of the U.S. performing, speaking and doing readings.  Zara was not fully recognized as a talented & skilled actress until she landed the role of Olivia in "The Jeffersons."

Zara eventually moved to Los Angeles in the late 1950's taking my grandmother Agnes, her brother in-law "Unkie" Brown, and my mom.

I found this letter written to my mother regarding the movie role Zara took in "Sugar Hill" as the Voodoo high priestess..

Letter written to My mother Betty Mae Peters Porter

And here again, I have to take note that My brother and I were thought of indirectly.

" Kiss the children for me and excuse all errors."

Aunt Zara

I wanted to see what the home looked like that Aunt Zara lived in at the time this letter was written.  I do not remember this home, only the high-rise apartment she resided in a few years before her death in 1978.

What an adorable home.  Wonder if she chose this home as it seems similar to the homes Zara resided in Worcester, MA.

New Yorker Makes Marian Anderson's Clothes: Newspaper Article #2

I received an inbox facebook message from a Mr. Adams informing me of a news article outlining the relationship of Marian Anderson to my grandmother Agnes Peters and how they were introduced.  He also informed me that some of my grandmother's dresses are held at the Museum of the City of New York.  I hope to have the opportunity of seeing some of Agnes' handiwork.

The article was written by Ollie Stewart of the Baltimore Afro-American dated April 19, 1941 on Page 17.

By Ollie Stewart

Next to her voice, the most outstanding thing about Marian Anderson is her wardrobe.

On the concert stage, as social gatherings, at home or wherever, she may be, America’s High Priestess of song is always a picture of what the well-dressed woman will soon be wearing.  She loves beautiful clothes, has lots of them and wears them well.  But if you think they’re all expensive Paris or Fifth Avenue creations, then you don’t know Marian Anderson.

The exquisite satin gown she wore at Carnegie Hall on the night of January 3, 1941 was designed and made by a modest little woman in Harlem, who is a wizard with needle and thread.  Her name is Mrs. Agnes Peters, and the telegram she received the day after the concert is among her most cherished possessions:

“Dress tremendous success last night,” the wire read.  “Enjoyed very much wearing it.  Congratulations.  Marian Anderson.”

Mrs. Peters has many more telegrams from the noted contralto, and she preserves them every one.  Most of them are sent from the Algonquin Hotel, where Marian Anderson stops when she comes to New York, and most of them are requests for Mrs. Peters to make, repair or design some article of clothing.

Plans Wardrobe

“Miss Anderson is a marvelous person,” the modiste (Mrs. Peters refers to herself as dressmaker) will tell you. “She is easy to fit, has many ideas of her own and looks well in anything she puts on.

“She plans her wardrobe months ahead.  Naturally she is very particular about an evening gown, but for many of her other things she gives me a general idea of what she wants and tells me to go ahead.”

A telegram dated November 3, 1939, marked the turning point in Mrs. Peters’ career.  It was sent to the wrong address, but when it finally arrived it brought a thrill that comes seldom in a lifetime.  Here it is:

“Please call me at your earliest convenience.  Miss Roberta Bosley recommended you.  Marian Anderson.”

Nervous and trembling, Mrs. Peters presented herself at the door of Marian Anderson’s suite in the Algonquin in a very short time.  She is barely five feet four in high heels ordinarily—but on this occasion she must have seemed even smaller, for Miss Anderson remarked after greeting her and making her feel at ease:

“Little” Person

“My, I never expected you would be such a little mite of a body!”

Back in 1937 Marian Anderson attracted nation-wide attention when she appeared as soloist at the Lewisohn stadium in New York City.  Among the thousands who heard her was Mrs. Peters – then a struggling unknown, seamstress with no husband, but with a growing daughter to rear and educate.

Mrs. Peters watched Miss Anderson in her hour of triumph, and inspiration touched her.  On the way home she said to her companion: “Some day I hope to do some sewing for Marian Anderson.  Maybe I’ll even make a dress for her to sing in.  Who knows?”

Wishing and working made it so.  Roberta Bosley, 135^th Street librarian, knew Marian Anderson.  She also knew what miracles the tiny seamstress could work with a scrap of cloth, a needle, a thimble and a spool of thread.  So she brought the two together, with success.

Last summer, Mrs. Peters spent many weekends at Marianna Farm, Marian Anderson’s country place in Connecticut, sewing, relaxing and enjoying the intimate contact with the famous singer that millions will never know.

Wears Slacks

“Miss Anderson wears slacks most of the time.” She says.  “She raises all the green vegetables used in the house, she nourishes her flowers and then she rehearses.  Every day she rehearses with her accompanist.”

What about amusements?

“At night Miss Anderson would show us movies of her travels.  She has a first-class motion picture camera and a projector.  The pictures are Technicolor, and were taken in all parts of the world.  Miss Anderson operated the machine herself.”

Designs Simple

Mrs. Peters has been sewing practically all her life.  Born in Worcester, Massachusetts, one of a larger family of children, she became an expert on doll dresses at an age when she was scarcely any bigger than a large doll herself.

She has done work for a host of people, many of them outstanding—but she thinks Marian Anderson is unique in one respect.  “What I mean is,” she says, “Miss Anderson will have nothing but the best – in material, workmanship, etc.  But in designs she demands utmost simplicity.  The best on her does not look expensive, it just looks right, and nice.”

What Happens to A Dream Deferred?

When I think about the process of writing my mother's memoirs of Sugar Hill, my mind reflects on  Langston Hughes and one of his famous poems, "A Dream Deferred".

What Happens to A Dream Deferred?

Does it dry up

like a raisin in the sun?

Or fester like a sore--

And then run?

Does it stink like rotten meat?

Or crust and sugar over?

like a syrupy sweet?

Maybe it just sags

like a heavy load.

Or does it explode?

I will not allow my mother's dream of being published die and rot.  I feel the urgency of her stories wanting to be shared.  Did she feel like Langston Hughes when he scribed these words on paper? She deferred her dreams of pursuing her career in journalism, because as she put it, "Discrimination was live and well" and "I must be practical."  She took no risk...Why?

I could hear her say, "One day I will..."  "One day when I have time.."

That time never came...or did it?

"Does the Dream come first or does the dreamer?"

Is it the dreamer that moves on?  Is it the Dream that remains?  Who will pick up the mantel of the dream?
Will it be you?

I will not listen to the word, "wait!"  "We have waited far too long!"

"Why must we wait?"

"If not now?

When?"

Finding Burton Deane

I wrote the first draft of chapter #1 for "A Taste of Sugar Hill" a few days ago. The first chapter was in my mother's words; a recollection of a date she went on with Burton Deane around 1948. Now I don't recollect of ever hearing of Burton.

After transcribing Betty's story, I decided I wanted to know more about this man.  I decided to research Burton through genealogy records and city directories.

Burton was born in New York and went to school with my mother Betty.  Burton was born the same year as Betty, and from my mother's notes, he had served in World War II.  I went online to Ancestry.com and found Burton's 1930 Census in New York.  I also looked up his WWII record, and found it.  From there, I decided to look up his name in the death index before trying to find him through city directories.

I could not find Burton in the death index, so I felt confident that he had to still be living.  I decided to put a family tree together for Burton, which included his parents from the 1930 Census.  I attached the WWII document to his tree and then I began to look for information in the various city directories.  Burton Deane showed up in a Florida directory from 1998.  The number was listed, but I was unsure if this was the correct Burton as there were many others, and I was unsure if the phone still belonged to this Burton.

I waited till the next day to call.  When I called a lady answered the phone, who identified herself as his wife, once I had told her who I was and why I was calling.  I shared the story with her, and she informed me that he was busy and I would need to call back.

I called back that evening and Mrs. Deane answered the phone.  She was very excited that I called back, and started to share with me about her husband.  She then had me speak with him.

Without revealing anything, he confirmed the story my mother wrote, and we talked for a little while.  Mr. Burton shared with me that he was a retired Biochemist/Clinical Chemist.  We exchanged emails so that we could share family photos.  I received these photo's on February 24, 2012.

The Deane's
Their three children in the photo in background

Burton Deane

Mr. Deane was very glad that someone who knew someone from his past had contacted him.  We promised to stay in touch.

Agnes Cully Peters Dressmaker for Marian Anderson: Newspaper Article #1

Over the next few weeks, I will be posting newspaper articles of my family, who were living in Harlem, New York during the 1920's to the 1950's. 

Below is an article of my maternal grandmother Agnes Mae Cully Peters, who was a fashion designer in new York in the 1930's through the 1950's.  Agnes was Marian Anderson's fashion designer for a period of twenty years until she relocated to Los Angeles, California about 1952.

Agnes is seen measuring Marian Anderson, the Great Opera Singer of her time, who had been denied the use of Constitution Hall to hold a concert due to racism.  First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt disgusted by the Hall's discriminatory practices opened the Lincoln Memorial for Marian to sing on Easter Sunday of 1939.

[Transcribed]


New York Amsterdam News
May 15, 1948
Pg. 9
[courtesy of ProQuest Historical Newspapers]

Marian Anderson, known not only as one of the world's greatest singers but also as one of America's best dressed women, gets together with her dressmaker, Agnes Cully Peters, on the new length of a street frock.  Mrs. Peters will show what the well dressed woman will wear for summer at her "New Look" fashion show scheduled for the Club Sudan, Sunday, May 23 from 8 to 11 pm. [A. Hansen-Photo]

Copyright by Yvette Porter Moore unless otherwise stated.

Welcome to "A Taste of Sugar Hill"

I have always been intrigued by the life of my late mother Betty Mae Peters.  She divided her life in three distinct phases by the places she lived.  The first phase of her life began in New York. She and her mother Agnes Cully Peters migrated to Los Angeles, and eventually settled in San Diego, California.


My mother was a double major at New York University (NYU), earning a degree in English and Journalism.  She had hopes and dreams to be a journalist and possibly an author.  My mother's dream had been deferred as she felt that the racism of the day would hold her back from her interests.  My mother settled, and became an elementary school teacher for over 35 years.


I sometimes wonder, what would have been my mother's outcome if she would have been willing to take the risk and step out of her comfort zone, would she have succeeded?  


As I was growing up, I remember my mother always talking about the memoir she was going to write when she had time.  That time ran out!  So I have chosen to write her stories and her life and that of the people she knew.  When my mother was in her late 70's, I started to help her with her genealogical research because she wanted to include some of it in her book.  I promised her I would get it done.


I like to keep my promises...So here I am beginning this process and not waiting as I have learned, "Time waits for no one."


The purpose of this blog is to present what I have uncovered through my research in archives, and databases regarding  my family in Harlem during the 1920's and 1950's.  Some of the information will be about people during the time of the Harlem Renaissance, as this will be the beginning backdrop of Harlem and then moving into the Roaring Twenty's, The Great Depression, World War II and around the time of the "New Deal." 


I intend on publishing my mother's personal journals and recollections of her life in Harlem, with my commentary of that time period.


I will not be revealing the very personal stories until the time of publication, but I hope that the information I do disclose will be interesting enough to hold your interest.


My mother's memoirs along with mine will be published and debut on January 1, 2013.