Henry Young was a member of the Alabama Legislature about 1868 and 1869-70. He was a slave who could read and write, having been taught by his master's children. He would, somewhat like Frederick Douglass, spell out the words on letters that he was called upon to deliver or to get from the post office, and in this way he also increased his ability to read.

Conway, Ark.,—October 14, 1916.

NEGROES IN POLITICS IN ARKANSAS DURING RECONSTRUCTION

In the constitutional convention of 1868, there were 8 Negro delegates, that is, J. W. Mason, Richard Samuels, William Murphy, Monroe Hawkins, William Grey, James T. White, Henry Rector and Thomas P. Johnson. (Proceedings of the Constitutional Convention of 1868, pages 2 to 5.)

Negroes in the Arkansas Legislature: Session April 2 to July 23, 1869, and session November 17, 1868, to April 10, 1869, were seven Negro members of whom J. W. Mason, the leading Negro in the Senate; W. H. Grey, leading Negro in the House. (Daily Republican, Oct. 1, 1868).

In the Legislature of January 2 to March 25, 1871, there were eleven Negro members: J. W. Mason and J. T. White in the Senate: J. M. Alexander, Austin Barrow, Conway Barbour, John Webb, Adam Johnson, Jeff Haskins, A. Mays, William Young, Carl Pope, A. J. Robinson, E. A. Fulton in the House. (Daily Republican, March 25, 1871.)

In the 19th session, January 6 to April 25, 1873, the last session before Baxter called his special session, something less than one fifth of all the members were Negroes. I have been unable to ascertain the exact number in this session, but from the standpoint of numbers, I would judge that there is no great difference between this session and the previous one. The Arkansas Gazette of January 12, 1873, says of the Negro members: "There are a few men among these colored members who are bright and intelligent, and much superior to some white members, but as a rule, this is not the case."

(Signed) Thomas S. Staples,

Hendrix College
Conway, Arkansas

Negro Members of the Florida Legislature during Reconstruction Period and After

Senate

YearNameCounty
1880-1888H. W. ChandlerMarion
1881T. V. GibbsDuval
80'sJoseph E. LeeDuval
....Thomas W. LongMarion
1881Robert MeachamJefferson
1881-1865Daniel C. MartinAlachua
....G. W. ProctorJefferson
1863John E. ProctorLeon
80'sEgbert C. SammisDuval
....John WallaceLeon

Representatives

YearNameCounty
1885Edward I. Alexander[7]Madison
....Josiah ArmstrongColumbia
....Henry BlackJefferson
1879Kellis B. BonnerMarion
....James Dean BryantMonroe
....William BradwellDuval
1881-83Joseph N. ClintonAlachua
1881Wallace B. CarrLeon
....Lucian FisherLeon
....John FordLeon
....Samuel FrazierLeon
....Robert GabrielMonroe
....Alfred GrantDuval
1881David E. JacobsMarion
Before 1881Isaac JenkinsLeon
....A. J. JuniusJefferson
....Thorns W. LongMarion
1889-91George A. Lewis[8]
80'sJoseph E. LeeDuval
....Samuel PettyNassau
1881-83 (about)A. B. Osgood
....Charles H. PierceLeon
80'sRiley E. RobinsonNassau
....Henry St. ClairHernando
....John R. Scott, Sr.Duval
....I. E. PurcellPutnam

Representatives

YearNameCounty
1889-91John R. Scott, Jr.Duval
....Charles ShaversMonroe
....Rev. Catherine B. SimmonsDuval
80'sPeter OkesJefferson
....W. G. StewartLeon
Before 1881John N. StokesLeon
....N. TrentonAlachua
....Josiah T. WallsAlachua
Probably before 1881R. W. WashingtonJefferson
80'sGeorge W. WetmoreDuval
1881-83W. A. WilkinsonMarion
....George W. WitherspoonEscambia