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African-American officeholders during and following the Reconstruction era facts for kids

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First Colored Senator and Representatives
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)

More than 1,500 African American officeholders served during the Reconstruction era (1865–1877) 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.


U.S. Senate

U.S. House

Main article: First generation of African-American House members, 1870–1893

Alabama

State Senate

1868 Legislature

From 1868 to 1878 more than 100 African Americans served in the Alabama Legislature.

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
  • Alexander H. Curtis - representing Perry County 1870-1872
  • 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

1870 legislature

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

1872 Legislature

Senate

House

Alabama legislature 1872
Alabama legislators at the capitol in 1872
  • 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 Matthews - 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

1874 Legislature

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

1876 Legislature

House

1878 Legislature

House

Other

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.

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

Arkansas House

Local offices

Colorado

House

Local offices

Florida

Florida State Senate

Senators in italics and marked * served pre 1900 but not in the 1865–1877 main reconstruction period

  • Henry Wilkins Chandler* (1852-1938) – Served 1881-1887
  • Harry Cruse (b. 1840/1) – Served 1869-1870 (also representative)
  • Frederick Hill (b.1834/5) – Served 1871-1872 (also representative)
  • Thomas Warren Long (1839-1917) – Served 1873-1879
  • Daniel C. Martin* – Served 1885-1887
  • Robert Meacham (1835–1902) – Served 1868-1879
  • Alfred Brown Osgood (b. 1843) – Served 1875-1876 (also representative)
  • Charles H. Pearce (1817–1887) – Served 1870-1884
  • Washington Pope - Served 1873-1876
  • Samuel Spearing (born 1823/3) – Served 1874
  • John Wallace (1842-1980) – Served 1874-1879 (also representative)
  • Josiah T. Walls (1842–1905) – Served 1869-1871 and 1877-1881 (also United States congressman and state representative)

Florida House of Representatives

Representative in italics and marked * served pre 1900 but not in the 1865–1877 main reconstruction period

Florida Local offices

  • James Page (minister), Leon County commissioner

Georgia

Georgia State Senate

Georgia House of Representatives

Other officials

  • William Finch and George Graham, first two African Americans that were elected to serve on the Atlanta Board of Aldermen (now Atlanta City Council)

Illinois

Illinois House of Representatives

  • John W. E. Thomas (1847–1899) – Served 1877–1879 and 1882–1886
  • George French Ecton (1846–1929) – Served 1888–1890
  • James E. Bish (born 1859) – Served 1893–?
  • John C. Buckner (died 1913) – Served in 41st and 42nd general assemblies
  • William L. Martin –
  • Edward H. Morris (1858–1943) – Served 1890–1892 and 1902–1904

Indiana

Indiana did not have any African American legislators during the Reconstruction era, with James S. Hinton being the first African American to serve in the Indiana state legislature 1881–1882.

Kansas

Kansas did not have any African American legislators during the Reconstruction era, with Alfred Fairfax being the first African American to serve in the Indiana state legislature 1888–1889.

Louisiana

In Louisiana, 24 African Americans served in the Louisiana Senate and more than 100 served in the Louisiana House of Representatives.

In addition, six black men held statewide office in Louisiana, including the nation's first and second black acting governors.

Three African Americans served as Louisiana's lieutenant governor.

Others served as secretary of state, state treasurer, and state superintendent of education.

Members of the Louisiana Senate

Members of the Louisiana House of Representatives

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

Massachusetts House of Representatives

Local offices

Michigan

House

Local offices

  • Samuel C. Watson, State Board of Estimates, 1875; Detroit City Council, 1875, 1883-1886

Minnesota

Minnesota did not have any African American legislators during the Reconstruction era, with John Francis Wheaton being the first African American to serve in the Minnesota state legislature as a representative 1899–1900.

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:

Members of the Legislature, State of Mississippi, 1874-'75 - photographed by E. Von Seutter, Jackson, Miss. LCCN2006687066
Photo composite of Mississippi state legislators in 1874 by E. von Seutter

Members of the Mississippi Senate

Members of the Mississippi House of Representatives

Representative in italics served pre 1900 but not in the 1865–1877 main reconstruction period

Other

Nebraska

Members of the Nebraska House of Representatives

Local offices

North Carolina

  • Israel Abbott, member of the North Carolina House of Representatives (1872-1874)
  • John O. Crosby, 1875 delegate from Warren County, North Carolina to the North Carolina State Constitutional Convention
  • James Walker Hood, commissioner for the states public schools and assistant superintendent of public instruction in North Carolina (1868-1871)
  • John S. Leary, North Carolina State legislature (1868-1871), alderman in Fayetteville, North Carolina (1876-1877)

Ohio

Members of the Ohio Senate

Members of the Ohio House of Representatives

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.
  • Robert James Harlan, mail agent

South Carolina

Radical Republicans in the South Carolina Legislature
A composite image of 63 "Radical Republicans" in the South Carolina Legislature in 1868 including 50 "negroes or mullatoes"
  • 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.
  • Albert Osceola Jones, clerk of South Carolina House of Representatives, 1868-1876.
  • 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)

Members of South Carolina Senate

Members of South Carolina 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
  • 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
  • Reuben Gaither representing Kershaw County from 1870 until 1877
  • William H. Gardner Sumter
  • Stephen Gary representing Kershaw County from 1870-1872 and 1874-1876
  • Hastings Gantt Beaufort
  • John Gardner Edgefield
  • 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 Samuel 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 1868-69 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
  • Jonas W. Nash representing Kershaw County
  • William Nelson Clarendon
  • Richard Neabitt Charleston
  • Frederick Nix Jr. Barnwell
  • Charles F. North Charleston
  • Samuel Nuckles Union
  • Nathaniel B. Myers Beaufort County 1870-75 and 1876–77
  • 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 in 1868
  • 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
  • James Wagoner, trial justice in York County

Tennessee

Only one African American served in the Tennessee Legislature during the 1870s, but more than a dozen followed in the 1880s as Republican's retook the governorship. They advocated for schools for African Americans, spoke against segregated public facilities some of which were off limits completely to African Americans, and advocated for voting rights protections.

Texas

Four African-Americans won election to the Texas Senate and 32 others served in the Texas House of Representatives during the Reconstruction era.

Members of the Texas Senate

  • George Thompson Ruby (1870-1871 and 1873)
  • Walter Moses Burton represented District 13 (Austin, Fort Bend, and Wharton Counties) 1874-1876 and District 17 (Fort Bend, Waller, and Wharton Counties) 1876-1883
  • Matthew Gaines represented District 16 from 1870-1873
  • Walter E. Riptoe (Riptoe/Ripeton)

Members of the Texas House of Representatives

Virginia

The Virginia Senate enacted Joint Resolution No. 89 in 2012 recognising that although federal Reconstruction ended in 1877 due to Jim Crow laws Reconstruction in Virginia lasted from 1869 to 1890.

Members of the Virginia Senate

Members of the Virginia House of Delegates

Virginia Constitutional Convention

Other offices

  • P. H. A. Braxton, constable in King William County in 1872, collector at the United States Custom House in Westmoreland County

Washington

Washington did not have any African American legislators during the Reconstruction era. William Owen Bush was the first African American to serve in the Washington state legislature 1889–1891.

West Virginia

West Virginia did not have any African American legislators during the Reconstruction era, Christopher Payne was the first African American to serve in the West Virginia state legislature in 1896.

Wyoming

Wyoming did not have any African American legislators during the Reconstruction era. William Jefferson Hardin was the first African American to serve in the Wyoming state legislature 1879 - 1883.

Washington, D.C.

  • Solomon G. Brown, House of Delegates for Washington D.C. (1871-1874), employee at the Smithsonian
  • 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
  • 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

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African-American officeholders during and following the Reconstruction era Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.