"Christiana Carteaux Bannister" (1819-1902)

Is mostly remembered  as the wife of 19th century African-American artists Edward Mitchell Bannister.In her own right, she was active in the abolitionist movement and a successful businesswoman who ran a hairdressing business and raised funds for the families of African-American soldiers who had fought  in the Civil War.Later in life, she opened a home for aged African-American women who had been domestic workers;the home is now known as the Bannister House.Little is known about  the early years of Christiana.She was born in North Kingston,Rhode Island in 1819 and was part African-American and part Native American Naragansett.As a young woman she moved to Boston,where she worked as a wigmaker.She had a natural ability for styling hair and by the time she was in her 30s,she had opened her own hairdressing salon in Boston.Before long,she had her own salons in Boston and Worcester,Massachusetts,and she opened one in Providence.It was in 1853 that Christiana met Edward, a 25-year-old aspiring artists.He applied for work as a barber at her Boston salon and she hired him.Edward,who was born and raised in New Brunswick,Canada,had been a sailor before coming to Boston.He wanted to study art but found that the opportunities for African-American artists were almost nonexistent.Eventually,he was able to attend art classes at the Lowell Institute,and he also secured a position studying with the sculptor and anatomist Dr.William Rimmer.During these years Edward and Christiana fell in love,and they married on June 10, 1857.Edward gave up his barber job and devoted his time to painting and studying.Christiana  ofencouraged her husband while continuing to run the salons.For diversion,the couple turned to music, theatre, and art. By this time tensions between the Nothern and Southern United States were nearing the breaking point,and many believed that civil war of some was inevitable.The Bannister hair salons became popular meetings places for African-American and white abolitionists,and they themselves were active in the abolition movement. Christiana became active in charitable causes for underprivileged African-Americans.During the Civil War she became an outspoken advocate of equal pay for the soldiers of the 54th Regiment-a regiment had not immediately met with support from Union forces.Northerners may have opposed slavery,but prejudice against African-Americans were strong.Many union soldiers objected to the idea of African-American soldiers serving with them,even when they had their own regiments.Gradually,this objection faded-primarily because the white soldiers saw the black troops as adding much-manpower against the Confederate forces.By the end of the war,some 150,000 African-Americans soldiers had been recruited.They were not,treated as equals by their counterparts.As historian Bruce Catton noted in his book The Civil War,"A man had worn the country's uniform and faced death at its service could not,ultimately,be anything less than a full-fledged citizen."But merely getting them equal pay was a struggle.Christiana worked toredress this imbalance.In addition to trying to raise the wages for African-American soldiers. She became president of the Sanitary Fair for Colored Ladies.This group's mission was to raise funds to provide relief for the wives and children of the underpaid African-American soldiers. In 1869 the Bannisters moved to Providence.In part this may have been because she was a native Rhode Islander,but another reason was almost certainly the fact that Rhode Island was a much more tolerant environment than Massachusetts.Bostonians overwhelmingly opposed slaverly,that did not mean they welcomed African-Americans to be on a completely equal footing with them.Edward career as a painter flourished in Rhode Island.He helped found the Providence Art Club and the Rhode Island School of Design,and one of his paintings took first prize at the Centennial Exhibition of 1876 in Philadelphia.(Apparently,the judges had not known he was African-American and wanted to reconsider the award when they found out,but his white competitors insisted that he receive the award.)Throughout his career Edward consistently credited Christiana with his success. He said many times that it was his wife's critical eye that helped him hone his skills and talents as a painter-and it was her business acumen that helped him generate sales and make a successful living,In ensuing years,Edward became particularly celebrated for his landscapes and ocean scenes. Less frequently he painted portraits,one of which was of his wife.The Bannisters continued to be active within their community,and in 1890 Christiana took on a new project.Disturbed by the plight of elderly African-American women who had worked as domestics but who were now too old to work-and were often homeless an destitute as a result-she founded the Home for Aged Colored Women on East Transit Street in Providence.This provided a safe,clean, and comfortable home for women who could no longer take care of themselves as a result of age, infirmity, or poverty.The facility still operates in Providence,it has since moved to Dodge Street.It is currently known as the Bannister Nursing Care Center. At some point in the next few years the Bannister hair salons closed.The Bannisters continued to live Providence,age slowed their activity.Early in 1901,Edward suffered a heart attack while at church and died. Christiana over 80 and herself in poor health,ended up herself moving into the Bannister Nursing Care Center,where she died.