Henry Harmon facts for kids

Henry S. Harmon (born 1839 – died 1889) was an important lawyer and politician in Florida after the American Civil War. He made history as the first African-American person allowed to practice law in Florida.

Early Life and Military Service

Henry Harmon was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1839. His parents, Timothy and Robinet Harmon, had been enslaved in Virginia. They bravely escaped to the North before Henry was born. We don't know much about his early childhood. However, people later described Henry as a very educated man.

In 1863, Henry joined the 3rd United States Colored Infantry Regiment. This was a special army unit made up of African-American soldiers. He quickly became a sergeant. He fought with his regiment in important battles like the sieges of Fort Wagner and Fort Gregg. During his time in the army, Harmon became good friends with Josiah T. Walls, who would later become a congressman. After the Civil War ended, Harmon's regiment was stationed in Gainesville, Florida. He left the army there in late 1865.

After the war, Harmon wrote letters to a newspaper called the Philadelphia Christian Recorder. He shared his concerns about how African-Americans were being treated in the South. After the war, some Southern states created "black codes". These were unfair laws that limited the rights of African-Americans. When African-Americans resisted these codes, they often faced violence. Because of this, Alachua County, Florida, where Gainesville is located, was placed under military rule in 1866.

A Career in Politics

In 1867, the United States government passed the Reconstruction Acts. These laws put the former Confederate states back under military control. They also made sure that African-Americans had the right to vote. Former Confederate leaders were temporarily not allowed to vote or hold office. Henry Harmon was soon chosen to help people register to vote in Alachua County.

In March 1868, Harmon became a leader in the Alachua County Republican Party. He and his friend Josiah Walls were chosen to run for seats in the Florida House of Representatives. They both won and served until 1870. Harmon worked hard to improve how the government was run. He is remembered for helping to pass laws that created free public education in Florida. In 1869, Harmon was also elected to the Gainesville town commission.

In 1870, Harmon and Josiah Walls faced discrimination while campaigning. They were running for office and were denied a proper cabin on a steamboat called the Oklawaha. They had to sleep on the deck. Even the Republican governor of Florida, Harrison Reed, joined them on deck in support.

In 1871, the governor of Florida appointed Harmon as the clerk of the court for Alachua County. This was a very important job. He was in charge of keeping county records, overseeing government operations, and recording important documents like deeds. Harmon continued to be respected in the Republican Party. He was appointed chief clerk of the Florida House of Representatives in 1873. He was re-elected to this position in 1874 and 1875.

The Compromise of 1877 marked the end of Reconstruction in Florida. This meant that Democrats gained control of the state government. Even though it became harder for African-Americans to hold political office, Harmon stayed active in the Republican Party. He attended the 1876 Republican National Convention. He also held important roles in the State Republican Executive Committee in 1880. That same year, he was appointed as the deputy United States collector of revenue for Florida. However, when Grover Cleveland became President in 1885, many federal jobs for African-Americans in the South ended. Harmon did not hold any elected or appointed office after that.

His Legal Career

In May 1869, Henry Harmon applied to become a lawyer. The court asked two other lawyers to test his knowledge. They reported that he was ready to practice law in Florida. This made Henry Harmon the first African-American lawyer in Florida.

In 1874, Harmon started a law firm in Gainesville with Josiah Walls and William U. Saunders. The next year, Harmon and Saunders opened another law office in Tallahassee. They specialized in helping people with government land claims. Even after Reconstruction ended in 1877, Harmon could still practice law in Tallahassee. African-Americans were still serving on juries, and the United States court system was still supportive. When Harmon became deputy collector of revenue in 1880, he stopped practicing law for a while.

Other Activities

Henry Harmon was also very involved in education. In 1867, he helped start the Union Academy in Gainesville. This was the first school for African-American children in Gainesville and Alachua County. In 1875, Harmon and other African-American leaders asked for some money from another school to be used to support schools for African-Americans.

In 1876, Harmon led a committee on education at a meeting of "colored men" in Florida. His committee called for the creation of an agricultural college for African-Americans. That same year, Harmon was appointed principal of the recently rebuilt Lincoln Academy in Tallahassee. However, he lost this job the next year when Democrats regained power.

Around 1880, Harmon also became involved in the newspaper business. He was reported to be the publisher of three newspapers in east central Florida. These included the Volusia County News, the Florida Star, and the Indian River Times. After 1885, when he lost his federal job, it became harder for Harmon to practice law. So, he opened a successful business in Tallahassee that made and repaired furniture.

Family Life

Henry Harmon married Sophia Ligon in Gainesville in November 1865, soon after leaving the army. When he moved to Tallahassee in 1876, Sophia stayed in Gainesville. Harmon transferred his property in Alachua County to Sophia in 1877. It's not clear how their marriage ended, but by the early 1880s, he had married again.

In 1883, Henry and Nancy Harmon adopted a girl named Lydia DeCoursey. Lydia might have been the daughter of Phillip DeCoursey, who was a sheriff in Leon County before he passed away in 1875. In 1885, the Florida state census listed Harmon as "widowed." Henry Harmon passed away in Tallahassee on December 24, 1889.