Thomas Askew
*On this date in 1847, the birth of Thomas E. Askew was celebrated. He was a Black photographer.
He was born a slave in Atlanta, GA, and began his photography career after the American Civil War. In 1868, Askew married Mary E. Askew, and to their union were born Minnie N., Arthur C., Clarence E.J., Walter F., Norman M., Everett E., and Nellie E. His daughter Minnie N. Askew-Davis had a daughter, Georgia H. Davis, as recorded in the Atlanta Ward 4, Fulton County 1900 and 1910 U.S. Federal Census.
Askew worked at Motes Studio in downtown Atlanta. He later operated his studio from home on Summit Avenue in the Northwest area of Atlanta. He was instrumental in photographing numerous African Americans, people, locations, and subjects for W.E.B. Du Bois' 1900 Paris Exposition. Thomas Askew died on July 12, 1914, in Atlanta, Georgia. He is buried in Atlanta's Oakland Cemetery. The Great Atlanta Fire of 1917 destroyed his studio and equipment.
