conservationist, landscaper, and the first African American forester in the United States, was born in Pottsville, Pennsylvania, the fifth of six children born to Alcinda (Dickson) a homemaker, and the Reverend John Calvin Brock, an educator and minister in the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church. Reverend Brock was a veteran of the Civil War, serving as quartermaster sergeant of Company F of the 43rd Pennsylvania Regiment. The Brock family moved throughout south central and south eastern Pennsylvania, settling in West Chester, Pennsylvania, around 1890. Four of the six Brock children (including Ralph) were known to be college educated and active in the community. Maria L. (8 May 1879–1968) taught in the West Chester School District for over thirty years; she was the English and Elocution teacher of the civil rights campaigner, Bayard Rustin and bequeathed the family home to the Charles A Melton Arts ...
