Philanthropists
Murray, Andrew Buist
Murray was born to Scottish immigrants to South Carolina. His mother died about 1847 (1867 according to one source), and his father in 1857. Sources differ about the rest of his childhood: ... [more]
Nero Claudius Caesar (under Roman Empire)
Ancient Roman society institutionalized the adoption of adults. It was relatively common for a wealthy Roman couple to adopt an adult man, even a slave, as heir if they did not have any son... [more]
Robinson, Bill
Bojangles' early life is obscured by legends, some of them propagated by himself, but it seems that he was orphaned as a baby (or at the age of six) and raised by his grandmother. He began ... [more]
Rowell, Victoria
Rowell was a foster child for most of her childhood, in Maine and Massachusetts, sometimes with Black families and sometimes with whites. She credits her foster child experiences with givin... [more]
Scipio Africanus Minor (under Roman Empire)
Ancient Roman society institutionalized the adoption of adults. It was relatively common for a wealthy Roman couple to adopt an adult man, even a slave, as heir if they did not have any son... [more]
Stradling, John
Stradling was born the son of Francis and Elizabeth Stradling, near Bristol. He was adopted by a wealthy distant relative (they shared a common great-grandfather), Sir Edward Stradling (152... [more]
Swift, Jonathan
Swift's father died before he was born and his mother soon afterwards left him in Ireland to be raised by his uncle while she returned to England. (One version of his life states that his m... [more]
Thomas, R. David
Thomas was adopted as a baby but his adoptive mother died when he was five. His father remarried three times and Thomas had an unsettled childhood. He did not learn he was adopted until ... [more]
Thomas, William James
Thomas was born in Caerphilly, South Wales, orphaned as a young boy, and raised by his paternal grandmother in Mynyddislwyn and Pontypridd. He went to work for his grandfather, a local coal... [more]
Walker, C.J.
Walker was born Sarah Breedlove and orphaned in 1874 when both her parents died of yellow fever. She was then raised for several years by her older brother and sister, but married for the f... [more]
