African American Politics - presented by Genealogy Trails

Name	Born	Died	Political Life	Personal Life
David Abner, Sr.	Selma, Alabama, 1826	Marshall, Texas, 1902	Delegate to 1873 State Colored Men's Convention Representative in 14th (1874-75) Legislature from Marshall (Harrison and Rusk Counties) Delegate to 1875 Constitutional Convention Delegate to 1876 State Republican Convention	Born into slavery Second wife, Mollie and their eight children
Richard Allen	Virginia or Kentucky, ca. 1829	Houston, Texas, May 16, 1909	Representative in 12th (1870-71) and 13th (1873) Legislatures from Houston (Harris and Montgomery Counties) Elected from predominantly white Harris County Delegate to 1868, 1876, 1880, 1884 and 1896 National Republican Conventions Delegate to 1870 and 1872 National Colored Men's Conventions Involved with Freedman's Bureau, Union League	Born into slavery Also worked as a contractor, mechanic, carpenter and bridge builder Wife Nancy and their five children
Edward (E./Em.) Anderson	1834, place unknown	date, place unknown	Representative in 13th (1873) Legislature from Montgomery (Harris and Montgomery Counties) Unseated after being sworn into office	Born into slavery Also worked as a farmer
Alexander Asberry	Wilderville, Texas, November 2, 1861	Robertson County, Texas, ca. 1903	Representative in 21st (1889) Legislature from Calvert (Robertson County) Delegate to 1888 and 1892 National Republican Conventions Lost 1896 election by 21 votes; when attempted to contest results, reportedly shot by white judge who did not want to hear his appeal	Born into slavery Also worked in the grocery business
Houston A.P. (Pat) Bassett	Grimes County, Texas, March 14, 1857	Grimes County, Texas, July 17, 1920	Representative in 20th (1887-1888) Legislature from Anderson (Grimes County)	Wife Cordelia and their four children
Thomas Beck	Mississippi or Kentucky, ca. 1819 or 1839	date, place unknown	Representative in 14th (1874-75) Legislature from Navasota (Madison, Grimes, Walker and San Jacinto Counties) Representative in 16th (1879) and 17th (1881-82) Legislatures from Navasota (Madison and Grimes Counties)	Also worked as a farmer Wife Martha and their three children
Edward (Ed) Brown	Alabama, ca. 1840	date, place unknown	Representative in 14th (1874-75) Legislature from Marshall (Rusk and Harrison Counties)	Also worked as a carpenter
Charles W. (C.W.) Bryant	Kentucky, ca. 1840	date, place unknown	Delegate to 1868-1869 Constitutional Convention from Harris County	Born into slavery Also worked as a minister
D.W. Burley	Virginia, ca. 1844	date, place unknown	Representative in 12th (1870-71) Legislature from Calvert (Robertson, Leon and Freestone Counties)	Born into slavery
Walter Moses (W.M.) Burton	North Carolina, ca. 1829	1913, place unknown	Senator in 14th (1874), 15th (1876) Legislature from Richmond (Austin, Fort Bend, Wharton and Waller Counties) Senator in 15th (1876), 16th (1879) and 17th (1881-82) Legislatures from Fort Bend, Waller and Wharton Counties) Involved with the Union League	Born into slavery Also worked as a farmer His wife was thrown off a moving train when she refused to leave the white coach
Silas (J./Jiles/Giles) Cotton	South Carolina or Kentucky, ca. 1814	Near Hammond, Texas, ca. 1880	Representative in 12th (1870-71) Legislature from Calvert (Robertson, Leon and Freestone Counties)	Born into slavery Illiterate Also worked as a farmer Wife Rachel and their seven children
Stephen (S.) Curtis	Virginia, ca. 1806	after November 1880	Delegate to 1868-69 Constitutional Convention from Brazos County Delegate to 1867 State Republican Convention	Born into slavery Illiterate at emancipation, but learned to read and write Married Adaline Curtis July 8, 1867 Carpenter and minister (probably Methodist)
Bird (B.B.) Davis	North Carolina, ca. 1827 or 1835	date, place unknown	Delegate to 1875 Constitutional Convention from Wharton County	Also worked as a farmer Wife (unknown name)
Goldstein Dupree	Texas, ca. 1832	1873, place unknown	Representative in 12th (1870-71) Legislature from Montgomery (Harris and Montgomery Counties) Involved with the Radical Republican Association In 1872, gave damaging evidence against Richard Allen and Edward Anderson, African-American legislators in the House of Representatives causing them to be unseated in March of 1873. Reports indicate that many African Americans that cast their votes for Allen and Anderson either were not registered or did not live in the counties in which they voted.	It is a possibility that J. Goldstein Dupree is in some way associated with a Franklin Goldstein Dupree who came to Montgomery County, Texas from Georgia. There is an article in the Montgomery County History which relates the lineage of Franklin Goldstein Dupree. His slaves are mentioned in the article. There is no mention of J. Goldstein as one of the slaves. There is no known record at present that J. Goldstein was a slave. However, it is probable that there is a connecting link between the two Duprees. Killed by the Ku Klux Klan
Robert (R.) J. Evans	Louisiana, 1853	Harris County, Texas, September 27, 1921	Representative in 16th (1879) and 17th (1881-82) Legislatures from Navasota (Grimes County) Delegate to 1882 and 1884 State Republican Conventions Delegate to 1883 State Colored Men's Convention Delegate to 1884 National Republican Convention	Born into slavery Also worked as a school teacher
Jacob E. (J.E.) Freeman (Freman)	Alabama, ca. 1841	date, place unknown	Representative in 14th (1874-75) Legislature from Hempstead (Austin, Fort Bend and Wharton Counties) Representative in 16th (1879) Legislature from Hempstead (Fort Bend, Wharton and Waller Counties) Delegate to 1873 State Colored Men's Convention	Born into slavery Also worked as a mechanic Wife (unknown name)
Matthew (Matt) Gaines	Pineville, near Alexandria, Louisiana, August 4, 1840 or 1842	Giddings, Texas, June 11, 1900	Senator in 12th (1870-71) and 13th (1873) Legislatures from Brenham (Washington County) Seat was challenged by Democrat Seth Sheppard on the grounds that Gaines was a convicted felon and Gaines was removed though the charge was untrue	Born into slavery Also worked as a blacksmith, farmer, minister and sheepherder Married twice, first to Fanny Sutton in Louisiana in 1867, then to Elizabeth Harrison in 1870. Gaines was convicted of bigamy in a politically-motivated trial in 1873, but the charge was overturned on appeal. Two children.
Harriel G. (Hal/H.G.) Geiger	South Carolina, ca. 1839	ca. 1886, place unknown	Representative in 16th (1879) and 17th (1881-82) Legislatures from Hearne (Robertson County)	Born into slavery Also worked as a blacksmith and lawyer Reportedly killed by a white judge for rude remarks made in courtroom
Melvin Goddin	date, place unknown	date, place unknown	Delegate to 1875 Constitutional Convention from Walker County Inexplicably, he resigned from the Constitutional Convention one day after it convened	Unknown
Bedford (B.) A. Guy	Virginia, ca. 1842	date, place unknown	Representative in 16th (1879) Legislature from William Penn (Washington County)	Born into slavery Also worked as a farmer
Nathan H. (N.H.) Haller	Charleston, South Carolina, July 8, 1845	after 1910, place unknown	Representative in 23rd (1893) Legislature from Matagorda (Brazoria and Matagorda Counties) Representative in 24th (1895) Legislature from Matagorda (Brazoria and Matagorda Counties) Won contested 1895 election by 50 votes	Born into slavery Also worked as a farmer, blacksmith and wagon driver Second wife Annie and their five children
Jeremiah J. (J.J.) Hamilton	Tennessee, July of 1838	ca. 1905, place unknown	Representative in 12th (1870-71) Legislature from Bastrop (Fayette and Bastrop Counties) Delegate to 1873, 1883 and 1891 State Colored Men's Conventions Delegate to 1876, 1878 and 1883 State Republican Conventions Involved with the Freedman's Bureau	Born into slavery Owned and worked with newspapers; also worked as a teacher and carpenter Wife Ellen and their five children
William H. (W.H.) Holland	Marshall, Texas, ca. 1841 or 1849	Mineral Wells, Texas, May 27, 1907	Representative in 15th (1876) Legislature of Wharton (Wharton, Fort Bend and Waller Counties) Delegate to 1873 State Colored Men's Convention Delegate to 1876 State Republican Convention Delegate to 1876 and 1880 National Republican Conventions	Born into slavery Served in the Union Army's Sixteenth United States Colored Troops, organized in Nashville, Tennessee. Participated in the battles of Nashville and Overton Hill and in the pursuit of John Bell Hood to the Tennessee River. Also worked as a post office clerk, teacher, principal and superintendent for the Deaf, Dumb and Blind Institute for Colored Youth Wife Eliza and their two daughters
Wiley W. (W.) Johnson	Arkansas, ca. 1841	date, place unknown	Delegate to 1868-69 Constitutional Convention from Harrison County	Born into slavery Also worked as a shoemaker
Mitchell Kendall (Kendal)	Georgia, ca. 1822	Marshall, Texas, ca. 1885	Delegate to 1868-69 Constitutional Convention from Harrison and Panola Counties Representative in 12th (1870-71) Legislature from Marshall (Harrison County) Involved with the Union League and Radical Republican Association	Born into slavery Also worked as a farmer and blacksmith Wife Adeline and their five children
Robert A. Kerr	New Orleans, Louisiana, 1842	Bastrop, Texas, January 12, 1912	Representative in 17th (1881-82) Legislature from Bastrop (Bastrop County) Delegate to 1868 and 1892 National Republican Conventions	Also worked as a barber and shipping clerk Wife Sarah and their adopted son
Doc (D.) C. Lewis	ca. 1843, place unknown	date, place unknown	Representative in 17th (1881-82) Legislature from Wharton (Fort Bend, Wharton and Waller Counties)	Also worked as a farmer
Ralph (R./Rafe) Long	Tennessee, December of 1843	June 6, 1921, place unknown	Delegate to 1868-69 Constitutional Convention from Limestone, Navarro and Hill Counties	Born into slavery Also worked as a farmer Wife Kate and their adopted child
Lloyd Henry (Mac) McCabe	Troy, New York, December 21, 1847	March 26, 1930, place unknown	Delegate to 1875 Constitutional Convention from Fort Bend County	Also worked as a customs clerk, farmer and teacher Wife Melissa and their ten children