The strange career of William Ellis : the Texas slave who became a Mexican millionaire

A Prize-winning Historian Tells A New Story Of The Black Experience In America Through The Life Of A Mysterious Entrepreneur. To His Contemporaries In Gilded Age Manhattan, Guillermo Eliseo Was A Fantastically Wealthy Mexican, The Proud Owner Of A Luxury Apartment Overlooking Central Park, A Busy Wall Street Office, And Scores Of Mines And Haciendas In Mexico. But For All His Obvious Riches And His Elegant Appearance, Eliseo Was Also The Possessor Of A Devastating Secret: He Was Not, In Fact, From Mexico At All. Rather, He Had Begun Life As A Slave Named William Ellis, Born On A Cotton Plantation In Southern Texas During The Waning Years Of King Cotton. After Emancipation, Ellis, Capitalizing On The Spanish He Learned During His Childhood Along The Mexican Border And His Ambivalent Appearance, Engaged In A Virtuoso Act Of Reinvention. He Crafted An Alter Ego, The Mexican Guillermo Eliseo, Who Was Able To Access Many Of The Privileges Denied To African Americans At The Time: Traveling In First-class Train Berths, Staying In Upscale Hotels, And Eating In The Finest Restaurants. The Strange Career Of William Ellis Reads Like A Novel But Offers Fresh Insights On The History Of The Reconstruction Era, The Us-mexico Border, And The Abiding Riddle Of Race. At A Moment When The United States Is Deepening Its Connections With Latin America And Recognizing That Race Is More Than Simply Black Or White, Ellis's Story Could Not Be More Timely Or Important--provided By Publisher. Prologue: Through History's Cracks -- Part I. Victoria -- Gone To Texas -- Juneteenth -- Part Ii. San Antonio/tlahualilo -- Military Plaza -- The Land Of God And Liberty -- Part Iii. Manhattan/mexico City -- A Picturesque Figure -- The City Of Happy Homes -- Epilogue: Trickster Makes This World -- Afterword. Karl Jacoby. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. A prize-winning historian tells a new story of the black experience in America through the life of a mysterious entrepreneur. To his contemporaries in Gilded Age Manhattan, Guillermo Eliseo was a fantastically wealthy Mexican, the proud owner of a luxury apartment overlooking Central Park, a busy Wall Street office, and scores of mines and haciendas in Mexico. But for all his obvious riches and his elegant appearance, Eliseo was also the possessor of a devastating secret: he was not, in fact, from Mexico at all. Rather, he had begun life as a slave named William Ellis, born on a cotton plantation in southern Texas during the waning years of King Cotton. After emancipation, Ellis, capitalizing on the Spanish he learned during his childhood along the Mexican border and his ambivalent appearance, engaged in a virtuoso act of reinvention. He crafted an alter ego, the Mexican Guillermo Eliseo, who was able to access many of the privileges denied to African Americans at the time: traveling in first-class train berths, staying in upscale hotels, and eating in the finest restaurants. Eliseo's success in crossing the color line, however, brought heightened scrutiny in its wake as he became the intimate of political and business leaders on both sides of the US-Mexico border. Ellis, unlike many passers, maintained a connection to his family and to black politics that also raised awkward questions about his racial status. Yet such was Ellis's skill in manipulating his era's racial codes, most of the whites he encountered continued to insist that he must be Hispanic even as Ellis became embroiled in scandals that hinted the man known as Guillermo Eliseo was not quite who he claimed to be. The Strange Career of William Ellis reads like a novel but offers fresh insights on the history of the Reconstruction era, the US-Mexico border, and the abiding riddle of race. At a moment when the United States is deepening its connections with Latin America and recognizing that race is more than simply black or white, Ellis's story could not be more timely or important To his contemporaries in Gilded Age Manhattan, Guillermo Eliseo was a fantastically wealthy Mexican, the proud owner of a luxury apartment overlooking Central Park, a busy Wall Street office, and scores of mines and haciendas in Mexico. But for all his obvious riches and his elegant appearance, Eliseo also possessed a devastating secret: he was not, in fact, from Mexico at all. Rather, he had begun life as a slave named William Ellis, born on a cotton plantation in southern Texas during the waning years of King Cotton. After emancipation, Ellis, capitalizing on the Spanish he learned during his childhood along the Mexican border and his ambivalent appearance, engaged in a virtuoso act of reinvention. He crafted an alter ego, the Mexican Guillermo Eliseo, who was able to access many of the privileges denied to African Americans at the time: traveling in first-class train berths, staying in upscale hotels, and eating in the finest restaurants. The Strange Career of William Ellis reads like a novel but offers fresh insights on the history of the Reconstruction era, the US-Mexico border, and the abiding riddle of race. At a moment when the United States is deepening its connections with Latin America and recognizing that race is more than simply black or white, Ellis's story could not be more timely or important Winner of the Ray Allen Billington Prize and the Phillis Wheatley Book Award "An American 'Odyssey,' the larger-than-life story of a man who travels far in the wake of war and gets by on his adaptability and gift for gab." —Wall Street Journal A black child born on the US-Mexico border in the twilight of slavery, William Ellis inhabited a world divided along ambiguous racial lines. Adopting the name Guillermo Eliseo, he passed as Mexican, transcending racial lines to become fabulously wealthy as a Wall Street banker, diplomat, and owner of scores of mines and haciendas south of the border. In The Strange Career of William Ellis, prize-winning historian Karl Jacoby weaves an astonishing tale of cunning and scandal, offering fresh insights on the history of the Reconstruction era, the US-Mexico border, and the abiding riddle of race in America.