Sarah was the descendant of slaves owned by the Creek Indian tribe. After the Civil War, her grandparents were freed and granted tribal rights under an 1866 treaty. Former slaves of the five Native tribes, (and their descendants) received land allotments of 160 acres each — Sarah received a parcel valued at $556.50, but it seemed she was cheated. Tribal leaders often made sure black members got the worst allotments. Sarah's land was dry, full of rocks - and no good for farming. BUT the joke was on them, oil was discovered on her parcel — and overnight, she became RICH!
Sarah leased her land to Standard Oil and started receiving a daily income of $300.00 (the modern equivalent of around $7,500, every day). In 1914, she paid more income tax in Oklahoma than any other resident, and she was only 12 years old! Sarah was earning over $112,000 a year, the equivalent of around $3 million today. The Oklahoma legislature legally declared Sarah white, allowing her to avoid Jim Crow laws that banned Black people from first-class railroad cars. In just two generations, the Rectors went from slaves to one of the richest families in the country.
Curt Autry NBC12
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