Early Life
The grandson of a slave, A. G. Gaston was born in a log cabin in Demopolis, Alabama, to Tom and Rosa McDonald Gaston; however, he grew up in the home of his grandparents, Joe and Idella Gaston. He moved to Birmingham in 1905 with the Loveman family, who employed his mother as a cook.
Although he had aspired to attend Tuskegee Institute, Gaston’s formal education ended with the 10th grade. After earning his certificate from Tuggle (which only went through the 10th grade. He served in the army in France during World War I, then went to work in the mines run by Tennessee Coal, Iron and Railroad Company in Fairfield, Alabama.
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