African American officeholders during and following the Reconstruction era
Scholars have identified more than 1,500 African American officeholders who served during the Reconstruction Era (1865–1877)[1] after passage of the Reconstruction Acts in 1867 and 1868 as well as in the years after Reconstruction before white supremacy, disenfranchisement, and the Democratic Party fully reasserted control in Southern states. Historian Canter Brown, Jr. noted that in some states, such as Florida, the highest number of African Americans were elected or appointed to offices after 1877 and the end of Reconstruction. The following is a partial list some of the most notable of the officeholders pre–1900.
First African American U.S. Senator Hiram Revels and U.S. Representatives (R-MS), Rep. Benjamin S. Turner (R-AL), Robert DeLarge (R-SC), Josiah Walls (R-FL), Jefferson Long (R-GA), Joseph Rainey and Robert B. Elliott (R-SC)
U.S. Senate
- Hiram Rhodes Revels (R), Senator from Mississippi (1870-1871)
- Blanche Bruce (R), Senator from Mississippi (1875-1881)
- P. B. S. Pinchback was elected to the U.S. Senate by the Louisiana legislature in 1873, but the Senate refused to seat him.
U.S. House
Alabama
State Senate
- A. H. Curtis - Perry
- James K. Greene - Hale
- Jeremiah Haralson - Dallas
- John W. Jones - Lowndes
- Lloyd Leftwich - Greene
- Benjamin F. Royal representing Bullock County (1868-1876)
1868 Legislature
From 1868 to 1878 more than 100 African Americans served in the Alabama Legislature.[2]
House
- Benjamin F. Alexander representing Greene County
- James H. Alston representing Macon County
- Matt Avery representing Perry County
- Samuel Blandon - Lee
- Nathan A. Brewington - Lowndes
- Richard Burke - Sumter
- John Carraway - Mobile
- George Cox - Montgomery
- Thomas Diggs - Barbour
- Joseph Drawn - Dallas
- Ovide Gregory - Mobile
- James K. Greene - Hale
- D. H. Hill - Bullock
- George Houston - Sumter
- Benjamin Inge - Sumter
- Columbus Jones - Madison
- Edward R. Rose - Marengo
- Shandy W. Jones - Tuscaloosa
- Horace King - Russell
- Thomas Lee - Perry
- Greene S. W. Lewis - Perry
- Jefferson McCalley - Madison
- A. G. Richardson - Wilcox
- Lawrence S. Speed - Bullock
- W. L. Taylor - Chambers
- Holland Thompson - Montgomery
- William V. Turner - Elmore
- Spencer Weaver - Dallas
- L. J. Williams - Montgomery
- Henry Young - Lowndes
House
- George W. Braxdell - Talladega
- Thomas Clark - Barbour
- Henry A. Cochran - Dallas
- Henry H. Craig - Montgomery
- Alexander H. Curtis - Perry
- Thomas H. Diggs - Barbour
- John Dozier - Perry
- William D. Gaskin - Lowndes
- Edward Gee - Dallas
- James K. Greene - Hale
- Jere Haralson - Dallas
- Horace King - Russell
- R. L. Johnson - Dallas
- Henry St. Clair - Macon
- Lawrence Speed - Bullock
- Holland Thompson - Montgomery
- Mansfield Tyler - Lowndes
- Levie Wells - Marengo
- L. J. Williams - Montgomery
House
- William E. Carson - Lowndes
- Thomas J. Clarke - Barbour
- Henry A. Cochran - Dallas
- Mentor Dotson - Sumter
- John Dozier - Perry
- Hales Ellsworth - Montgomery
- Samuel Fantroy - Barbour
- Joseph H. Goldsby - Dallas
- James K. Greene - Hale
- R. L. Johnson - Dallas
- Reuben Jones - Madison
- Greene S. W. Lewis - Perry
- Perry Mathews - Bullock
- January Maull - Lowndes
- Willis Merriwether - Wilcox
- G. R. Millen - Russell
- George Patterson - Macon
- Samuel J. Patterson - Autauga
- Robert Reed - Sumter
- Bristo W. Reese - Hale
- Lawrence S. Speed - Bullock
- Henry St. Clair - Macon
- Lawson Steele - Montgomery
- William Taylor - Sumter
- B. R. Thomas - Marengo
- Frank H. Threatt - Marengo
- J. R. Treadwell - Russell
- Thomas H. Walker - Dallas
- A. E. Williams - Barbour
- L. J. Williams - Montgomery
House
- G. W. Allen - Bullock
- Elijah Baldwin - Wilcox
- Granville Bennett - Sumter
- William H. Blevins - Dallas
- James Bliss - Sumter
- Matthew Boyd - Perry
- Hershel V. Cashin - Montgomery
- Elijah Cook - Montgomery
- D. J. Daniels - Russell
- Charles Fagan - Montgomery
- Adam Gachet - Barbour
- Prince Gardner - Russell
- William Gaskin _ Lowndes
- Charles E. Harris - Dallas
- A. W. Johnson - Macon
- Samuel Lee - Lowndes
- Greene S. W. Lewis - Perry
- Edwin C. Locke - Wilcox
- Jacob Martin - Dallas
- Perry Matthews - Bullock
- Willis Merriwether - Wilcox
- Edward Odum - Barbour
- George Patterson - Macon
- Bristo W. Reese - Hale
- Robert Reid - Sumter
- Charles Smith - Bullock
- A. E. Williams - Barbour
- J. R. Witherspoon - Perry
- Manly Wynne - Hale
House
- Elijah Baldwin - Wilcox
- William H. Blevins - Dallas
- Hugh A. Carson - Lowndes
- Hershel V. Cashin - Montgomery
- Charles O. Harris - Montgomery
- Green T. Johnston - Dallas
- Captain Gilmer - Montgomery
- Greene S. W. Lewis - Perry
- Nimrod Snoddy - Greene
- William J. Stevens - Dallas
House
- Hugh A. Carson representing Lowndes County
- George English representing Wilcox County[3][4]
Other
- William Hooper Councill, clerk in the Alabama legislature in 1872 and 1874[5]
Arkansas
Between 1868 and 1893, 85 men noted as either "Colored" or "Mulatto" served in the state legislature (House and Senate) of Arkansas. They served under the 1868 Arkansas Constitution that granted them the right to vote and hold office and then the 1874 Constitution, instituted after Democrats retook control of state government. After 1893, the next African-American to serve as a state legislator in Arkansas was in 1973.[6][7]
Statewide officeholders
- Joseph Carter Corbin, chief clerk of the Little Rock Post Office (1872), state superintendent of public schools (1873-1875)
1868 Arkansas Constitutional Convention
- William Henry Grey, Arkansas Constitutional Convention (1868)
- James T. White, Arkansas Constitutional Convention (1868), commissioner of public works and internal improvements (1872)
Arkansas Senate
- James W. Mason (1871)
- James T. White (1871)
- Ruben B. White (1873)
- Samuel H. Holland (1873, 1874)
- Richard A. Dawson (1873, 1874)
- William Henry Grey (1875)
- Anthony Stanford (1877-1880)
- W. H. Logan, (1887, 1889)
- George Waltham Bell (1891)
Arkansas House
- William Henry Grey (1868-1870)
- James T. White (1868-1870)
- James M. Alexander, Arkansas House (1871), first African-American justice of the peace as well as postmaster, school trustee, and grand jury member.
- Edward A. Fulton (1871)
- James A. Robinson, (1871, 1874-75)
- John W. Webb (1871)
- John C. Rollins (1873)
- John H. Johnson (1873)
- Abraham H. Miller (1874 - 1875)
- William Murphy (Arkansas politician) (1877)
- Anderson Ebberson (1877) for Jefferson County
- Barry Coleman (1877) for Phillips County, Arkansas
- James Wofford (1877) for Crittenden County
- T. H. Sawyer (1877) for Lincoln County[8]
- Crockett Brown (1877) for Lee County
- Jacob N. Donohoo (1877, 1887, 1889, 1891) for Phillips County, Arkansas
- William Hines Furbush (1878)
- Anderson Ebberson (1881)
- W. E. Gray (1881)
- William C. Payne (1881)
- Carl Polk (1881)[9]
- Isaac George Bailey (1885)
- Joseph H. Bradford (1885)
- Joseph Brooks (1885)
- Green Hill Jones (1885 and 1889)
- George W. Bell, Arkansas House (1891 and 1893)
- Hugh C. Newsome (1887)
- John H. Carr (1889, 1891, 1893)
- Sebron Williams Dawson (1889, 1891)
- Henry A. Johnson (1891)
- R. C. Weddington (1891)
- Benjamin F. Adair (1891)
- John Gray Lucas (1891)
- George W. Lowe (1891)
- S. L. Woolfolk (1891)
- G. W. Watson (1891)
- Henry N. Williams (1891)
- Henry A. Johnson (1891)[8][10]
- Peter H. Booth (1893)
- Nathan E. Edwards (1893)
Local office
- Mifflin Wistar Gibbs, Arkansas, judge, younger brother of Jonathan Clarkson Gibbs.
Colorado
House
- John T. Gunnell (1881)
- Joseph H. Stuart (1895)
Local offices
- Henry O. Wagoner, clerk in the first Colorado State Legislature in 1876
Florida
Senate
- Charles H. Pearce, 1870 to 1884
- Samuel Spearing, 1874
- Robert Meacham, 1876
- Henry Wilkins Chandler, s 1881 to 1887
- Daniel C. Martin, Florida state senator in 1885 and 1887
House
- Edward I. Alexander representing Madison County 1877, 1879, 1885[11]
- Samuel Anderson representing Duval County in 1887
- Josiah Haynes Armstrong representing Columbia County in 1871, 1872, and 1875
- Richard Horatio Black (February 11, 1839 - May 13, 1911), soldier, teacher, Volusia County registrar, Alachua County justice of the peace, Florida House of Representative for Alachua County 1869 and 1870, custom house position in Philadelphia[12]
- William Bradwell, delegate to the 1868 Florida Constitutional Convention, and member of the Florida House from Duval County 1868 to 1870
- Richard Lewis Brown Sr. (1854 - August 24, 1948), served in the Florida House of Representatives for Duval County in 1881 and 1883[13]
- Wallace B. Carr, Leon County 1881 and 1887
- Phillip Carroll (born March 1847), served in the Florida House of Representatives in 1881 from Leon County[14]
- Joseph Newman Clinton
- Thomas Van Renssalaer Gibbs, Florida House of Representatives, son of Jonathan Clarkson Gibbs
- George C. Coleman (January 1851 - 1926) represented Nassau County, Florida in the House in 1881
- Oliver J. Coleman (1844 - May 29, 1926) represented Madison County, Florida in the House in 1871, 1872, and 1875. Also served in the Florida Senate in 1874, as a county commissioner, and Madison councilman[15]
- Coleman H. Singleton (1825 - October 11, 1874) served in the House for Marion County in 1873 and 1874[16][15]
- Zebulon Elijah
- Frederick Hill, state representative
- George A. Lewis
- John R. Scott Jr.
- Noah Graham, Leon County
- Scipio Jasper, Marion County
- Lucien Fisher, Marion County
- Samuel Small, Marion County
- Birch Gibson, Marion County
- Singleton Coleman, Marion County
Local officials
- James Page (minister), Leon County commissioner
Georgia
Senate
- Aaron Alpeoria Bradley, state senator from Chatham County
- Tunis Campbell, State Senator from Georgia
- George Wallace, State Senator from Hancock, Baldwin and Washington counties
House
- Eli Barnes, state legislator from Hancock County
- Abram Colby, state representative from Greene County
- James Ward Porter, state legislator from Chatham County
- Henry McNeal Turner, state legislator from Bibb County
- William Guilford, state legislator from Upson County
- William Henry Harrison, state legislator from Hancock County
- Thomas M. Allen, state representative from Jasper County
- Thomas Beard, state representative from Richmond County
- Edwin Belcher, state representative from Wilkes County
- George H. Clower, state representative from Monroe County
- Abram Colby, state representative from Greene County
- Romulus Moore, state representative from Columbia County
- John T. Costin, state representative from Talbot County
- Madison Davis, state representative from Clarke County
- Monday Floyd, state representative from Morgan County
- F. H. Fyall, state representative from Macon County
- Samuel Gardner, state representative from Warren County
- William A. Golden, state representative from Liberty County
- Ulysses L. Houston, state representative from Bryan County
- James M. Simms, state representative from Chatham County
- Philip Joiner, state representative from Dougherty County
- George Linder, state representative from Laurens County
- Robert Lumpkin, state representative from Macon County
- Peter O'Neal, state representative from Baldwin County
- Alfred Richardson, state representative from Clarke County
- Alexander Stone, state representative from Jefferson County
- Abraham Smith, state representative from Muscogee County
- John Warren, state representative from Burke County
- Samuel Williams, state representative from Harris County
- Hercules Wilson, state representative from McIntosh County (1882-1885)
- Amos Rogers, state representative from McIntosh County (1878-1879)
- Lectured Crawford, state representative from McIntosh County (1886-1887, 1890-1891, 1900-1901)
- Jack Heard, state representative from Greene County (1873-1874)
- A. Simmons, state representative from Houston County (1871-1872)
- James Blue, state representative from Glynn County (1871-1877)
- J.A. Lewis, state representative from Stewart County (1871-1872)
- Thomas M. Butler, state representative from Camden County (1878-1879)
- John M. Holzendorf, state representative from Camden County (1890-1891)
Illinois
House
- John W. E. Thomas
- George French Ecton
- James E. Bish
- John C. Buckner
- William L. Martin
- Edward H. Morris
Indiana
House
- James S. Hinton (1881)
Kansas
House
- Alfred Fairfax, 1889
Louisiana
In Louisiana, 24 African Americans served in the Louisiana Senate and more than 100 served in the Louisiana House of Representatives.[17]
In addition, six black men held statewide office in Louisiana, including the nation's first and second black acting governors.
- Oscar James Dunn, acting governor of Louisiana, May - July 1871[18]
- P.B.S. Pinchback, acting governor of Louisiana, December 1872 - January 1873
Three African Americans served as Louisiana's lieutenant governor.
- Oscar James Dunn, lieutenant governor, 1868–1871, first African American elected to a state-level position in the United States
- P.B.S. Pinchback, lieutenant governor, 1872
- Caesar Antoine, lieutenant governor, 1873-1877
Others served as secretary of state, state treasurer, and state superintendent of education.
- Pierre G. Deslonde, secretary of state
- Antoine Dubuclet, state treasurer
- William G. Brown, state superintendent of education
Senate
- Theophile T. Allain, Louisiana House of Representatives and Louisiana Senate
- A. E. Barber
- J. Henry Burch
- John Gair
- T. B. Stamps
House
- Thornton Butler
- Aristede Dejoie
- Robert Isabelle
- Pierre Caliste Landry
- Charles Leroy
- Joseph Mansion
- Milton Morris, represented Ascension Parish
- William Murrell
- William Murrell Jr.
- Anthony Overton, Sr., father of Anthony Overton[19]
- Robert R. Ray
- Roberta Taylor
- R. M. J. Kenners[20]
- W. C. Williams[20]
Local offices
- Pierre Caliste Landry, mayor of Donaldsonville, the first African American mayor elected in the United States
- Thomas Morris Chester, superintendent of school district (1875)
- James Lewis, administrator of public improvements in New Orleans in 1872, appointed New Orleans naval officer in 1877
- Pierre Magloire, Avoyelles Parish Sheriff, Louisiana (1872)
- Alexander Noguez, Avoyelles Parish Sheriff, Louisiana (1868–1872)
Maryland
Local offices
- William Butler, Member of the Annapolis Board of Aldermen (1873)
- William H. Day Baltimore Inspector of Schools, in 1878 he was elected to the school board of directors at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Massachusetts
House
- Edward G. Walker, 1866
- Charles L. Mitchell, 1866
- John J. Smith, Massachusetts House, 1868, 1872
- George Lewis Ruffin, Massachusetts House, 1870
- Lewis Hayden, Massachusetts House, 1873
- Joshua Bowen Smith, Massachusetts House, 1873
- George W. Lowther, Massachusetts House, 1878
- Julius C. Chappelle, Massachusetts House, 1883
- William O. Armstrong, Massachusetts House, 1887
- Andrew B. Lattimore, Massachusetts House, 1889
- Charles E. Harris, Massachusetts House, 1892
- Robert T. Teamoh, Massachusetts House, 1894
- William L. Reed, Massachusetts House, 1896
Local offices
- James Monroe Trotter, mail agent
Michigan
House
- William Webb Ferguson, 1893
- Joseph H. Dickinson, 1897
local offices
- Samuel C. Watson, State Board of Estimates, 1875; Detroit City Council, 1875, 1883-1886
Minnesota
House
- John F. Wheaton, 1898
Mississippi
The Mississippi Plan was part of an organized effort campaign of terror and violence the Democratic Party and Ku Klux Klan used to disenfranchise African Americans in Mississippi, block them from holding office, end Reconstruction, and restore white supremacy in the state.
U.S. Senate
Mississippi was the only U.S. state that elected African American candidates to the U.S. Senate during the Reconstruction Era:
- Hiram Rhodes Revels (R), Senator from Mississippi (1870-1871)
- Blanche Bruce (R), Senator from Mississippi (1875-1881)
Photo composite of Mississippi state legislators in 1874 by E. von Seutter
State Senate
- George W. Albright
- Peter Barrow, State Senator from Mississippi
- Blanche Bruce, Bolivar County sheriff, tax collector, supervisor of education; sergeant-at-arms for the Mississippi state senate in 1870; state senator in 1874 (U.S. Senate in 1875-1881)
- Charles Caldwell
- Alexander K. Davis
- Robert Gleed
- William H. Gray
- James Hill, Mississippi Secretary of State, Mississippi House of Representatives
- George C. Smith
- Isham Stewart
- T. W. Stringer (1870)[21]
- Jeremiah M. P. Stewart
State House
- Anderson Boyd
- Jesse Freeman Boulden
- George W. Boyd
- Orange Brunt
- J. W. Caradine
- James D. Cessor
- G. W. Chavis
- Benjamin Chiles
- Richard Christmas
- C. P. Clemons
- P. A. Cotton
- Willis Davis
- Weldon W. Edwards
- Samuel W. Fitzhugh
- George W. Gayles, Mississippi House of Representatives
- David S. Green
- Alfred Handy
- W. H. Harris
- Henry Harrison
- Wilson Hicks
- Perry Howard
- J. H. Johnson
- William H. Jones
- Reuben Kendrick
- William Landers
- John R. Lynch, Mississippi House of Representatives, elected to U.S. House of Representatives
- William H. Lynch
- D. F. J. Matthews
- Thomas.McCain
- J. W. McFarland
- Marshall McNeese
- Joseph E. Monroe
- John H. Morgan
- George G. Mosley
- Cato Nathan
- Randle Nettles
- James G. Patterson
- A. Peal
- J. W. Randolph
- Charles Reese (1872-1873)
- E. A. Richards
- A. A. Rodger
- Nathan Shirley
- James S. Simmons
- Gilbert Smith
- Haskin Smith
- Joseph Smothers
- James J. Spelman Mississippi House of Representatives, justice of the peace and alderman of the city of Canton, Mississippi
- Thomas Sykes
- Robert Thompson
- Harrison H. Truehart
- Jefferson C. Walker
- George Washington (Mississippi)
- Tenant Weatherly
- Eugene B. Welbourne
- George White (Mississippi)
- Ralph Williams[22]
Other
- Thomas Cardozo, Mississippi Superintendent of Education
- Alexander K. Davis, Lieutenant Governor, Mississippi House of Representatives
- James D. Lynch, Secretary of State of Mississippi
Nebraska
House
- Matthew O. Ricketts (1893 - 1897)[23]
Local offices
- Edwin R. Overall, appointed mail carrier in 1869
North Carolina
- Israel Abbott, member of the North Carolina House of Representatives (1872-1874)[24]
- John O. Crosby, 1875 delegate from Warren County, North Carolina to the North Carolina State Constitutional Convention[25]
- James Walker Hood, commissioner for the states public schools and assistant superintendent of public instruction in North Carolina (1868-1871)[26]
- John S. Leary, North Carolina State legislature (1868-1871), alderman in Fayetteville, North Carolina (1876-1877)
Ohio
Senate
- John P. Green, 1892
House
- George W. Williams, 1879
- John P. Green, 1882
- Benjamin W. Arnett, 1886
- Jere A. Brown, 1886
- Robert Harlan, 1886
- William H. Copeland, 1888
- George H. Jackson, 1892
- William H. Clifford, 1894
- Samuel B. Hill, 1894
- Harry Smith, 1894-1898, 1899-1902
- William H. Parham, 1896
- William R. Stewart, 1896
- George A. Myers, 1897
Local offices
- Jeremiah A. Brown, Cleveland, bailiff of the county probate court, deputy sheriff and county prison turnkey, then clerk of the City Boards of Equalization and Revision.[27]
- Robert James Harlan, mail agent
South Carolina
A composite image of 63 "Radical Republicans" in the South Carolina Legislature in 1868 including 50 "negroes or mullatoes"
- Richard H. Cain, South Carolina Senate (1868 – 1870), later U.S. House and U.S. Senate
- Francis Lewis Cardozo, Secretary of State of South Carolina (1868 – 1872), South Carolina State Treasurer (1872 – 1877)
- Robert B. Elliott, State House lawmaker, and U.S. Representative from South Carolina
- Richard Theodore Greener, South Carolina school system commissioner, 1875.[28]
- Albert Osceola Jones, clerk of South Carolina House of Representatives, 1868-1876.[29]
- Robert Smalls, South Carolina Representative, South Carolina Senator, U.S. Representative
- D. Augustus Straker, South Carolina House of Representatives, also Inspector of Customs at the port of Charleston and clerk in the auditors office of the treasury in Washington
- Alonzo J. Ransier, Lt. Governor of South Carolina (December 3, 1870 – December 7, 1872) and later served as US Congressman (March 3, 1873 – March 3, 1875)
- Jonathan J. Wright, lawyer, South Carolina State Senator (November 24, 1868 – January 30, 1870) and First Black Associate Justice of South Carolina Supreme Court (January 11, 1870 – December 1, 1877)
State Senate
- Henry E. Hayne representing Marion County
- William E. Johnston representing Sumter County
- William B. Nash representing Richland County
- William R. Hoyt
- William F. Myers Colleton
- Jonathan Jasper Wright Beaufort
- Samuel Green Beaufort
- Thomas E. Miller Beaufort
- Thomas J. Reynolds Beaufort
- Hamilton Robinson Beaufort
- Robert Smalls Beaufort
- Stephen A. Swails Williamsburg
- Joseph H. Rainey Georgetown
- Reverend Bruce H. Williams representing Chester County
- John Lea Chester
- Dublin I. Walker Chester
- Lucius Winbush Chester
- George W. Barber Fairfield
- Isreal R. Bird Fairfield
- Sanders Ford Fairfield
- Moses Martin Fairfield
- Charles D. Hayne Aiken
- Robert Simmons Berkeley
- Reverend Jared D. Warley Clarendon
- Henry Cardozo Kershaw
- Frederick A. Clinton Lancaster
- Hiram W. Duncan Union
- Benjamin F. Randolph Orangeburg
- Joseph A. Green Orangeburg
- Samuel L. Duncan Orangeburg
- James L. Jamison Orangeburg
- Richard H. Cain Orangeburg
- Lawrence Cain Edgefield
House of Representatives
- William Adamson representing Kershaw County from 1868 until 1870
- Frank Adamson representing Kershaw County from 1870 until 1874
- Jacob C. Allman representing Marion County from 1872 until 1876
- Robert B. Artson representing Charleston County from 1872 until 1874
- R. B. Anderson Georgetown County from 1890 to 1898
- William J. Andrews Sumter County from 1874 to 1876
- Samuel J. Bampfield Beaufort
- George W. Barber Fairfield County from 1868 until 1872
- John B. Bascomb representing Beaufort County
- J. A. Baxter Georgetown County from 1884 to 1890
- W. W. Beckett representing Berkeley Countyfrom 1882 to 1884
- W. A. Bishop representing Greenville Countyfrom 1868 until 1870
- J. W. Bolts Georgetown County from 1898 to 1900 also served from 1900 to 1902
- Benjamin A. Bosemon representing Charleston County from 1868 until 1873
- John Boston representing Darlington County
- Joseph D. Boston representing Newberry County from 1868 until 1876
- James A. Bowley representing Georgetown County from 1869 until 1874
- E. M. Brayton Aiken
- Sampson S. Bridges Newberry
- Peter Bright Charleston
- William Brodie Charleston
- Stephen Brown Charleston
- Richard Bryan Charleston
- Benjamin Byos representing Berkeley County/Orangeburg County from 1870 until 1872
- H. Z. Burchmeyer Charleston
- Barney Burton Chester
- Everidge Cain Abbeville
- Edward J. Cain Orangeburg
- Lawrence Cain Edgefield
- Richard H. Cain Orangeburg
- Christian Wesley Caldwell representing Orangeburg from 1876 to 1878
- John A. Chestnut Kershaw
- Caesar P. Chisolm Colleton
- Simon P. Coker Barnwell
- Wilson Cooke Greenville
- Samuel Coleman Chester in 1875 and 1876
- Augustus Collins Clarendon
- Andrew W. Curtis Richland
- Abram Dannerly representing Orangeburg County
- Nelson Davies York County from 1873 to 1876
- James Davis Richland
- Thomas A. Davis representing Charleston County from 1870 until 1876
- Robert C. DeLarge Charleston
- Eugene Herriot Dibble Kershaw
- John Dix Orangeburg
- Samuel B. Doiley Charleston
- Paul B. Drayton representing Charleston County from 1880 to 1882
- William A. Driffle Colleton
- Samuel L. Duncan Orangeburg County
- S. C. Eckhard representing Charleston County from 1878 to 1880
- W. T. Elfe Charleston
- Robert B. Elliott representing Barnwell/Edgefield/Aiken
- William E. Elliott Charleston
- Henry H. Ellison Abbeville
- John Evans Williamsburg
- Philllip E. Ezekiel Beaufort
- Simeon Farr Union
- Simeon Farrow Union
- T. R. Fields Beaufort
- Adam P. Ford Charleston
- Ellis Forrest Orangeburg
- William H. Frazier Colleton
- B. G. Frederick Orangeburg
- John M. Freeman, Jr. Charleston
- Florian Henry Frost Williamsburg
- William H. Gardner Sumter
- Stephen Gary Kershaw
- Hastings Gantt Beaufort
- John Gardner Edgefield
- Stephen Gary Kershaw
- Ebenezer F. George Kershaw
- John Gibson Fairfield
- Fortune Giles representing Williamsburg County
- John T. Gilmore Richland
- William C. Glover Charleston
- Mitchell Goggins Abbeville
- Aesop Goodson Richland
- David Graham Edgefield
- John G. Grant Marlboro
- William A. Grant Charleston
- Charles S. Green Georgetown
- John Green Edgefield
- Samuel Greene representing Beaufort County from 1870 until 1875
- Ishom Greenwood Newberry
- Thomas Hamilton Beaufort
- James J. Hardy representing Charleston County in 1870 and 1871
- Alfred Hart Darlington
- R. M. Harriett Georgetown
- David Harris Edgefield
- Eben Hayes representing Marion County
- Charles D. Hayne Barnwell
- James N. Hayne Barnwell
- William A. Hayne Marion
- Plato P. Hedges Charleston
- John T. Henderson Newberry
- James A. Henderson Newberry
- Gloster H. Holland Aiken County
- Abraham P. Holmes Colleton
- A. H. Howard Marion
- Allison W. Hough Kershaw
- Richard H. Humbert Darlington
- Barney Humphries Chester
- Allen Hudson Lancaster
- Alfred T. B. Hunter, state representative from Laurens County (1874 – 1876)
- Austin Jackson Barnwell
- Henry Jacobs Fairfield
- Burrell James Sumter
- James L. Jamison Orangeburg
- Paul W. Jefferson Aiken
- William R. Jervay Charleston
- Griffin C. Johnson Laurens
- John W. Johnson Marion
- D. J. J. Johnson Chesterfield
- Henry Johnson Fairfield
- William E. Johnston representing Sumter County in 1868 and 1769
- Samuel Johnson Charleston
- Marshall Jones Orangeburg
- A. H. Jones Charleston
- Paul E. Jones Orangeburg
- William H. Jones Georgetown
- Samuel I. Keith Darlington
- Jordan Lang Darlington
- John Lee Chester
- Levi Lee Fairfield
- George H. Lee Charleston
- Samuel J. Lee representing Edgefield County/Aiken County from 1868 until 1874
- Joseph W. Lloyd Charleston
- John Lilley Chester
- Aaron Logan Charleston
- Hutson J. Lomax representing Abbeville County
- William Lowman Richland
- William Maree Colleton
- Thomas Martin Abbeville
- Julius Mayer Barnwell
- James P. Mays Orangeburg
- Harry McDaniels Laurens
- Thomas D. McDowell Georgetown
- William J. McKinlay representing Orangeburg/Charleston
- John W. Meade York
- George M. Mears Charleston
- Edward C. Mickey Charleston
- Benjamin Middleton Barnwell
- Isaac Miller Fairfield
- M. Miller Fairfield
- Thomas E. Miller Beaufort from 1874 until 1880
- James Mills Laurens
- L. S. Mills Beaufort
- Syphax Milton Clarendon
- Charles S. Minort Richland
- F. S. Mitchell Beaufort
- Junius S. Mobley Union
- Alfred M. Moore Fairfield
- Shadrack Morgan Orangeburg
- William C. Morrison Beaufort
- William J. Moultrie Georgetown
- William F. Myers Colleton
- Jonas W. Nash representing Kershaw County
- William Nelson Clarendon
- Richard Neabitt Charleston
- Frederick Nix Jr. Barnwell
- Charles F. North Charleston
- Samuel Nuckles Union
- Joseph Alexander Owens Barnwell County
- Robert John Palmer Richland
- Joseph Parker Charleston
- Jeffrey Pendergrass Williamsburg
- Wade Perrin Laurens
- James F. Peterson Williamsburg County from 1872 to 1878
- Edward Petty Charleston
- William G. Pinckney Charleston
- Thomas Pressley Williamsburg
- Isaac Prioleau Charleston
- Henry W. Purvis Lexington
- Warren W. Ramsey representing Sumter County from 1869 until 1876
- Alonzo J. Ransier Charleston
- Cain Ravenel Berkeley
- George A. Reed Beaufort
- A. C. Reynolds Beaufort
- J. C. Rice Beaufort
- Thomas Richardson Colleton
- Mark P. Richardson Berkeley
- Henry Riley Orangeburg
- Prince R. Rivers Edgefield/Aiken
- J. R. Rivers Beaufort
- Joseph Robinson Beaufort
- J. C. Rue Beaufort
- Alfred Rush Darlington
- Thaddeus K. Sasportas Orangeburg
- Sancho Saunders Chester
- William C. Scott Williamsburg
- Robert F. Scott Williamsburg
- W. H. Sheppard Beaufort
- Henry L. Shrewsburg Chesterfield
- Augustus Simkins Edgefield
- Paris Simpkins Edgefield
- Hercules Simmons Colleton
- Aaron Simmons Orangeburg
- Benjamin Simmons Beaufort
- Limus Simons Edgefield
- William Simons Richland
- Charles Sims Chester
- Andrew Singleton Berkeley
- James Singleton Berkeley
- Asbury L. Singleton Sumter
- J. P. Singleton Chesterfield
- Robert Smalls Beaufort
- Sherman Smalls Colleton
- Rev. W. Smalls Charleston
- James E. Smiling Sumter
- Abraham W. Smith Charleston
- Jackson A. Smith Darlington
- Powell Smythe Clarendon
- Butler Spears Sumter
- James A. Spencer Abbeville
- Nathaniel T. Spencer Charleston
- Charles H. Sperry Georgetown
- Henry Steele York
- Caesar Sullivan Laurens
- Robert Tarlton Colleton
- John W. Thomas Marlboro
- Benjamin A. Thompson Marion
- Samuel B. Thompson Richland
- Joseph Thompson Richland
- William M. Thomas Colleton
- Julius C. Tingman Charleston
- Robert Turner representing Charleston County from 1872 until 1873
- Richard M. Valentine representing Abbeville County in1868
- John Vanderpool Charleston
- Thomas H. Wallace Berkeley
- Dublin Walker Chester from 1874 until 1877
- John Wallace Orangeburg
- Jared D. Warley Clarendon
- J. J. Washington Beaufort
- Archie Weldon Edgefield
- James Wells Richland
- John W. Westberry Sumter
- Ellison M. Weston Richland
- William James Whipper Beaufort
- John H. White
- Hannibal A. Wideman Abbeville County
- James Wigg Beaufort
- Charles M. Wilder Richland
- Bruce H. Williams Georgetown
- James Clement Wilson Sumter
- Zachariah W. Wines Darlington
- John B. Wright Charleston York County
- Smart Wright Charleston
- Prince Young Chester
- James M. Young Laurens
Local offices
- Harrison N. Bouey, probate judge in Edgefield County
Tennessee
- Sampson W. Keeble (1873)
- John W. Boyd (1881 - 1884)
- Thomas F. Cassels (1881 - 1882)
- Isaac F. Norris (1881 - 1882)
- Thomas A. Sykes (1881 - 1882), also served in the North Carolina House of Representatives
- Leon Howard
- David F. Rivers (1883 - 1884)
- Greene E. Evans
- William A. Feilds (1885 - 1886)
- William C. Hodge
- Monroe W. Gooden (1887-1889)
- Samuel A. McElwee, member of the Tennessee General Assembly (1883 - 1888)
- Styles Linton Hutchins (1887 - 1888)
- Jesse M. H. Graham[30]
Texas
Three African-Americans won election to the Texas Senate and 32 others served in the Texas House of Representatives during the Reconstruction era.[31]
Senate
- George T. Ruby (1870 - 1873)
- Walter Moses Burton
- Matthew Gaines (1869 - 1873)
- Walter E. Riptoe (Riptoe/ Ripeton)[32]
House
- Richard Allen (1869), ran for Lieutenant Governor in 1878
- Edward Anderson
- Alexander Asberry
- Houston A. P. Bassett
- Thomas Beck
- D. W. Burley
- Silas Cotton
- Bird Davis
- Goldsteen Dupree
- Robert J. Evans[33]
- Jacob E. Freeman
- Harriel G. Geiger
- Melvin Goddin
- Bedford G. Guy
- Nathan H. Haller
- Jeremiah J. Hamilton
- William H. Holland
- Mitchell Kendall
- Robert A. Kerr
- Doc C. Lewis[34]
- Robert A. Kerr (1842–1912)
- David Medlock
- John Mitchell (Texas legislator)
- Henry Moore (Texas legislator)
- Robert J. Moore
- Sheppard Mullens
- Edward Patton
- Henry Phelps (Texas legislator)
- Meshack R. Roberts
- Alonzo Sledge
- Robert Lloyd Smith
- Henry Sneed
- James H. Washington[35]
- Allen W. Wilder[36]
- Benjamin Franklin Williams[37]
- Richard Williams[38]
- George W. Wyatt[39]
- E. C. Mobley (1883) representing Robertson County
Virginia
- William H. Ash
- Thomas Bayne
- Samuel P. Bolling
- Phillip S. Bolling
- Tazewell Branch
- Peter J. Carter
- Asa Coleman
- Johnson Collins
- Aaron Commodore
- John Wesley Cromwell, Clerk of the Virginia Constitutional Convention (1867), Washington D.C. government clerk
- Isaac Dabbs
- William Gilliam
- Joseph P. Evans
- Peter K. Jones
- Peter G. Morgan
- Armistead S. Nickens
- Richard G. L. Paige
- James E. Fuller, Norfolk City Council (c. 1885)
- P. H. A. Braxton, constable in King William County in 1872, collector at the United States Custom House in Westmoreland County
Washington
House
- William Owen Bush, 1889
West Virginia
House
- Christopher Payne, 1896
Wyoming
House
- William Jefferson Hardin, 1879
Washington, D.C.
- Solomon G. Brown, House of Delegates for Washington D.C. (1871-1874), employee at the Smithsonian[40]
- John Mercer Langston, appointed member of the Board of Health of the District of Columbia
- John H. Smythe, 1872, clerk in the U.S. Census Bureau, clerk in the Treasury department, 1878 ambassador to Liberia
- William E. Matthews, clerk in the United States Postal Service in Washington D.C. in 1870, the first black person to receive an appointment in that department[41]
- Josiah T. Settle, reading clerk of the Washington, D.C. House of Delegates (1872), clerk in the Board of Public Works, as an accountant in the Board of Audits, and as a trustee of the county schools for the district
See also
United States portal
References
- "Reconstruction | Definition, Summary, Timeline & Facts". Encyclopedia Britannica.
- "x-index :: Reconstruction :: Politics :: Lest We Forget". lestweforget.hamptonu.edu.
- https://archives.alabama.gov/afro/AfricanAmerican%20Legislators%20in%20Reconstruction%20Alabama1867.pdf
- "Black members of the Alabama Legislature who served during reconstruction - Alabama Historical Markers on Waymarking.com". www.waymarking.com.
- Simmons, William J., and Henry McNeal Turner. Men of Mark: Eminent, Progressive and Rising. GM Rewell & Company, 1887. p390-393
- "A family legacy: Local woman recounts grandfather's public service following Reconstruction". texarkanagazette.com.
- https://www.arkansashouse.org/news/post/2071/black-history-month-2021
- "Carl H. Moneyhon". peace.saumag.edu.
- Dawson, R. (December 31, 1881). "1881 House of Representatives composite photo of the Twenty-Second General Assembly of the State of Arkansas". Arkansas General Assembly Composite Images, 1866-2011.
- "Arkansas Times - February 5, 2015". Issuu.
- Florida's Black Public Officials, 1867 - 1924 by Carter Brown Jr. University of Alabama Press (1998) page 71
- Florida's Black Public Officials by Canter Brown Jr. page 75
- Florida's Black Public Officials page 77
- Florida's Black Public Officials page 78
- Florida's Black Public Officials 1867 - 1924 by Canter Brown Jr., University of Alabama Press, 1998
- "The Reverend Singleton H. Coleman - Marion County, Florida".
- Vincent, Charles (January 28, 2011). Black Legislators in Louisiana during Reconstruction. SIU Press. ISBN 9780809385812 – via Google Books.
- Edwards, Barrington S.., Weldon, Nick., Mitchell, Brian K.. Monumental: Oscar Dunn and His Radical Fight in Reconstruction Louisiana. United States: The Historic New Orleans Collection, 2021.
- Obituary: Anthony Overton Sr." (Lawrence KS) Western Recorder, April 18, 1884, p.3
- Vincent, Charles (1976). "Louisiana's Black Legislators and Their Efforts to Pass a Blue Law During Reconstruction". Journal of Black Studies. 7 (1): 47–56. doi:10.1177/002193477600700104. JSTOR 2783730. S2CID 143949628 – via JSTOR.
- Work, Monroe N.; Staples, Thomas S.; Wallace, H. A.; Miller, Kelly; McKinlay, Whitefield; Lacy, Samuel E.; Smith, R. L.; McIlwaine, H. R. (1920). "Some Negro Members of Reconstruction Conventions and Legislatures and of Congress". The Journal of Negro History. 5 (1): 73. doi:10.2307/2713503. ISSN 0022-2992.
- Freedom's Lawmakers page xlv
- Fletcher, ~ Adam F. C. (March 18, 2019). "A History of North Omaha's African American Legislators".
- Foner, Eric (August 1, 1996). Freedom's Lawmakers: A Directory of Black Officeholders During Reconstruction. LSU Press. ISBN 9780807120828.
- Simmons, William J., and Henry McNeal Turner. Men of Mark: Eminent, Progressive and Rising. GM Rewell & Company, 1887. p422-425
- Simmons, William J., and Henry McNeal Turner. Men of Mark: Eminent, Progressive and Rising. GM Rewell & Company, 1887. p133-143
- Simmons, William J., and Henry McNeal Turner. Men of Mark: Eminent, Progressive and Rising. GM Rewell & Company, 1887. p113-117
- Simmons, William J., and Henry McNeal Turner. Men of Mark: Eminent, Progressive and Rising. GM Rewell & Company, 1887. p327 – 335
- Eichelberger, Julia; Fick, Sarah. "14 Green Way - Built for an African American during Reconstruction, later served as a women's residence hall". Discovering Our Past: College of Charleston Histories. Retrieved March 6, 2020.
- "African American Legislators". tennsos.org.
- "Early African-American Senators | TSLAC". www.tsl.texas.gov.
- "Texas Legislators: Past & Present - Mobile". lrl.texas.gov.
- "Legislative Reference Library | Legislators and Leaders | Member profile". lrl.texas.gov.
- "Texas Legislators: Past & Present - Mobile". lrl.texas.gov.
- "TSHA | Washington, James H." www.tshaonline.org.
- "TSHA | Wilder, Allen W." www.tshaonline.org.
- "TSHA | Williams, Benjamin Franklin". www.tshaonline.org.
- "TSHA | Williams, Richard". www.tshaonline.org.
- "TSHA | Wyatt, George W." www.tshaonline.org.
- Simmons, William J., and Henry McNeal Turner. Men of Mark: Eminent, Progressive and Rising. GM Rewell & Company, 1887. p291-295
- Simmons, William J., and Henry McNeal Turner. Men of Mark: Eminent, Progressive and Rising. GM Rewell & Company, 1887. p246-251
Further reading
- A Brief Biography of John Willis Menard from Southern University's John B. Cade Library
- Bailey, Richard. Black Officeholders During the Reconstruction of Alabama, 1867-1878 (Pyramid Publishing) Available from author.
- Bailey, Richard. Neither Carpetbaggers Nor Scalawags: Black Officeholders During the Reconstruction of Alabama, 1867-1878. Montgomery: Richard Bailey Publishers, 1995.
- Canter Brown, Jr. Florida's Black Public Officials, 1867-1924. Tuscaloosa and London: The University of Alabama Press, 1998.
- Eric Foner ed., Freedom's Lawmakers: A Directory of Black Officeholders During Reconstruction Revised Edition. (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1996). ISBN 0-8071-2082-0. Between 1865 and 1877, about two thousand blacks held elective and appointive offices in the South. A few are relatively well-known, but most have been obscure and omitted from official state histories. Foner profiles more than 1,500 black legislators, state officials, sheriffs, justices of the peace, and constables in this volume.
- John Hope Franklin "John Roy Lynch: Republican Stalwart from Mississippi" in Howard Rabinowitz (ed.), Southern Black Leaders of the Reconstruction Era, (Urbana: 1982) and reprinted in John Hope Franklin, Race and History: Selected Essays, 1938-1988, Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1989
- Mifflin Wistar Gibbs Shadow and Light: An Autobiography Autobiography with Reminiscences of the Last and Present Century, Lincoln and London: University of Nebraska Press, 1995.
- Rabinowitz, Howard N. Southern Black Leaders of the Reconstruction Era (University of Illinois Press: 1982) Section on "Congressmen" includes profiles of "John R. Lynch: Republican Stalwart from Mississippi" by John Hope Franklin, "James T. Rapier of Alabama and the Noble Cause of Reconstruction" by Loren Schweninger, and "James O'Hara of North Carolina: Black Leadership and Local Government" by Eric Anderson.
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