PoliticalGraveyard.com
The Political Graveyard: A Database of American History
Politicians Born in Slavery

Very incomplete list!

in chronological order
  Stephen Curtis (born c.1806) — of Brazos County, Tex. Born in slavery in Virginia, about 1806. Delegate to Texas state constitutional convention, 1868-69. African ancestry. Burial location unknown.
  Giles Cotton (born c.1814) — of Robertson County, Tex. Born in slavery in South Carolina, about 1814. Member of Texas state house of representatives, 1871. African ancestry. Burial location unknown.
  Henry Highland Garnet (1815-1882) — Born in slavery in New Market, Frederick County, Md., December 23, 1815. Minister; U.S. Minister to Liberia, 1881-82, died in office 1882. Presbyterian. African ancestry. Member, American Anti-Slavery Society. On February 12, 1865, was the first Black person to make a speech to the U.S. House of Representatives. Died in Liberia, February 13, 1882 (age 66 years, 52 days). Interment at Palm Grove Cemetery, Monrovia, Liberia.
  Relatives: Married 1841 to Julia Williams; married to Sarah Smith Tompkins.
  See also Wikipedia article — U.S. State Dept career summary — Find-A-Grave memorial
Frederick Douglass Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey Douglass (1818-1895) — also known as Frederick Douglass — of Rochester, Monroe County, N.Y.; Washington, D.C. Born in slavery in Maryland, 1818. Republican. Candidate for Presidential Elector for New York; speaker, Republican National Convention, 1888 ; U.S. Charge d'Affaires to Santo Domingo, 1889-91; U.S. Minister to Haiti, 1889-91. African ancestry. Member, American Anti-Slavery Society. Lecturer and advocate of the abolition of slavery, starting in 1841. Publisher of The North Star, an abolitionist paper. In 1848, he attended the meeting in Seneca Falls, N.Y., which started the women's rights movement. Died, of a heart attack, in Washington, D.C., February 20, 1895 (age about 76 years). Interment at Mt. Hope Cemetery, Rochester, N.Y.; statue erected 1899 at Highland Park, Rochester, N.Y.
  Relatives: Married 1838 to Anna Murray; married, January 24, 1884, to Helen Pitts; granduncle of Charles Edward Mitchell.
  See also Wikipedia article — U.S. State Dept career summary
  Books by Frederick Douglass: Life and Times of Frederick Douglass — Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave: Written by Himself
  Books about Frederick Douglass: John Stauffer, Giants: The Parallel Lives of Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln
  Image source: William C. Roberts, Leading Orators (1884)
  Samuel P. Bolling (1819-1900) — of Cumberland County, Va. Born in slavery in Cumberland County, Va., January 10, 1819. Farmer; builder; brick manufacturer; member of Virginia state house of delegates from Buckingham & Cumberland counties, 1885-87. Baptist. African ancestry. Died in Cumberland County, Va., February 8, 1900 (age 81 years, 29 days). Interment a private or family graveyard, Cumberland County, Va.
  Relatives: Son of Lenaeus Bolling and Olive Bolling; married to Ellen Gantt; father of Phillip S. Bolling.
  See also Wikipedia article
  Shack Roberts (born c.1821) — of Marshall, Harrison County, Tex. Born in slavery in Arkansas, about 1821. One of the founders, in 1873, of Wiley College, Marshall, Tex.; member of Texas state house of representatives, 1872. Methodist. African ancestry. Burial location unknown.
  Benjamin Sterling Turner (1825-1894) — also known as Ben Turner — of Alabama. Born in slavery near Weldon, Halifax County, N.C., March 17, 1825. Republican. U.S. Representative from Alabama 1st District, 1871-73; defeated, 1872; delegate to Republican National Convention from Alabama, 1880. African ancestry. Died in Selma, Dallas County, Ala., March 21, 1894 (age 69 years, 4 days). Interment at Live Oak Cemetery, Selma, Ala.
  See also congressional biography — Govtrack.us page
  David Abner (1826-1902) — of Texas. Born in slavery in Selma, Dallas County, Ala., 1826. Farmer; member of Texas state house of representatives, 1874; delegate to Texas state constitutional convention, 1875. Baptist. African ancestry. Died in 1902 (age about 76 years). Interment at Old Powder Mill Cemetery, Marshall, Tex.
  See also Find-A-Grave memorial
  Bird B. Davis (born c.1827) — of Wharton County, Tex. Born in slavery in North Carolina, about 1827. Delegate to Texas state constitutional convention, 1875. African ancestry. Burial location unknown.
  Walter Moses Burton (c.1829-1913) — also known as Walter M. Burton — of Fort Bend County, Tex. Born in slavery in North Carolina, about 1829. Fort Bend County Sheriff, 1869-73; member of Texas state senate, 1874-75, 1876-82. African ancestry. Died in 1913 (age about 84 years). Interment at Morton Cemetery, Richmond, Tex.
  Richard Allen (1830-1909) — of Houston, Harris County, Tex. Born in slavery in Richmond, Va., June 10, 1830. Republican. Member of Texas state house of representatives 14th District, 1870; candidate for Lieutenant Governor of Texas, 1878; delegate to Republican National Convention from Texas, 1884, 1896. Baptist. African ancestry. Member, Freemasons. Died in Houston, Harris County, Tex., May 16, 1909 (age 78 years, 340 days). Interment at City Cemetery, Houston, Tex.
Joseph H. Rainey Joseph Hayne Rainey (1832-1887) — also known as Joseph H. Rainey — of Georgetown, Georgetown County, S.C. Born in slavery in Georgetown, Georgetown County, S.C., June 21, 1832. Republican. Barber; delegate to South Carolina state constitutional convention from Georgetown County, 1868; member of South Carolina state senate from Georgetown County, 1868-70; resigned 1870; U.S. Representative from South Carolina 1st District, 1870-79. African ancestry. First Black member of the U.S. House of Representatives. Died in Georgetown, Georgetown County, S.C., August 2, 1887 (age 55 years, 42 days). Interment at Baptist Cemetery, Georgetown, S.C.
  See also congressional biography — Govtrack.us page
  Image source: James G. Blaine, Twenty Years of Congress, vol. 2 (1886)
  Frederick Albert Clinton (1834-1890) — also known as Albert Clinton — of Lancaster County, S.C. Born in slavery, South Carolina, 1834. Republican. Farmer; delegate to South Carolina state constitutional convention from Lancaster County, 1868; member of South Carolina state senate from Lancaster County, 1870-77; resigned 1877; chair of Lancaster County Republican Party, 1874-78. African ancestry. Died in Lancaster County, S.C., 1890 (age about 56 years). Burial location unknown.
  Relatives: Married to Celesta Robinson.
  Jefferson Franklin Long (1836-1901) — also known as Jefferson F. Long; Jeff Long — of Macon, Bibb County, Ga. Born in slavery near Knoxville, Crawford County, Ga., March 3, 1836. Republican. Merchant tailor; U.S. Representative from Georgia 4th District, 1870-71; delegate to Republican National Convention from Georgia, 1876, 1880. African ancestry. Died in Macon, Bibb County, Ga., February 4, 1901 (age 64 years, 338 days). Interment at Linwood Cemetery, Macon, Ga.
  See also congressional biography — Govtrack.us page — Find-A-Grave memorial
  James Milton Turner (1840-1915) — also known as J. Milton Turner — of Kansas City, Jackson County, Mo.; St. Louis, Mo. Born in slavery in St. Louis, Mo., 1840. Served in the Union Army during the Civil War; U.S. Minister to Liberia, 1871-78; stabbed in the chest by George W. Medley, in St. Louis, October 9, 1872. African ancestry. First African-American to serve as a U.S. diplomat. Died, as the result of a railroad tank car explosion, in Ardmore, Carter County, Okla., November 1, 1915 (age about 75 years). Interment at Father Dickson's Cemetery, St. Louis, Mo.
  Turner School (opened 1924, renamed Turner 1932, closed 1976), in Kirkwood, Missouri, was named for him.
  See also Wikipedia article — U.S. State Dept career summary
  John Adams Hyman (1840-1891) — of North Carolina. Born in Warrenton, Warren County, N.C., July 23, 1840. Republican. Delegate to North Carolina state constitutional convention, 1868; member of North Carolina state senate, 1869-75; U.S. Representative from North Carolina 2nd District, 1875-77. African ancestry. Died in Washington, D.C., September 14, 1891 (age 51 years, 53 days). Original interment at Columbian Harmony Cemetery (which no longer exists), Washington, D.C.; reinterment in 1959 at National Harmony Memorial Park, Landover, Md.
  Presumably named for: John Adams
  See also congressional biography — Govtrack.us page — Find-A-Grave memorial
  John Robert Scott (c.1841-1929) — also known as John R. Scott — of Jacksonville, Duval County, Fla. Born in slavery in Virginia, about 1841. Republican. Clergyman; member of Florida state house of representatives, 1868-73, 1879; U.S. Collector of Customs, 1873-77; delegate to Republican National Convention from Florida, 1876, 1896 (alternate), 1916 (alternate), 1920 (alternate), 1924 (alternate), 1928 (alternate); offered prayer, Republican National Convention, 1896. African Methodist Episcopal. African ancestry. Died in Jacksonville, Duval County, Fla., February 18, 1929 (age about 88 years). Burial location unknown.
  See also Wikipedia article
Blanche K. Bruce Blanche Kelso Bruce (1841-1898) — also known as Blanche K. Bruce — of Floreyville (unknown county), Miss. Born in slavery near Farmville, Prince Edward County, Va., March 1, 1841. Republican. School teacher; planter; Bolivar County Sheriff and Tax Collector, 1872-75; U.S. Senator from Mississippi, 1875-81; delegate to Republican National Convention from Mississippi, 1880, 1884; Register of the U.S. Treasury, 1881, 1897-98; District of Columbia Recorder of Deeds, 1891-93. African ancestry. Died in Washington, D.C., March 17, 1898 (age 57 years, 16 days). Interment at Woodlawn Cemetery, Washington, D.C.
  The Blanche K. Bruce Foundation (supporitng arts and high-risk youth) is named for him.
  See also congressional biography — Govtrack.us page — NNDB dossier
  Image source: James G. Blaine, Twenty Years of Congress, vol. 2 (1886)
  Samuel Green (b. 1847) — also known as Samuel Greene — of Beaufort County, S.C. Born in slavery in South Carolina, August, 1847. Republican. Member of South Carolina state house of representatives from Beaufort County, 1870-75; resigned 1875; member of South Carolina state senate from Beaufort County, 1875-77. African ancestry. Burial location unknown.
  Relatives: Married 1869 to Amelia Moultrie.
John R. Lynch John Roy Lynch (1847-1939) — also known as John R. Lynch — of Natchez, Adams County, Miss. Born in slavery in Concordia Parish, La., September 10, 1847. Republican. Member of Mississippi state house of representatives, 1869-73; Speaker of the Mississippi State House of Representatives, 1871-73; Mississippi Republican state chair, 1871-89; delegate to Republican National Convention from Mississippi, 1872, 1884 (Temporary Chair), 1888, 1892; U.S. Representative from Mississippi 6th District, 1873-77, 1882-83; major in the U.S. Army during the Spanish-American War. African ancestry. Died in 1939 (age about 91 years). Interment at Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Va.
  Relatives: Son of Patrick Lynch and Catharine Lynch; married, December 18, 1884, to Ella W. Somerville.
  See also congressional biography — Govtrack.us page
  Image source: James G. Blaine, Twenty Years of Congress, vol. 2 (1886)
  Phillip S. Bolling (c.1849-1892) — of Cumberland County, Va. Born in slavery in Buckingham County, Va., about 1849. Brickmason; member of Virginia state house of delegates from Buckingham & Cumberland counties, 1883. African ancestry. Died, from tuberculosis, in the Central Lunatic Asylum, Petersburg, Va., April 18, 1892 (age about 43 years). Burial location unknown.
  Relatives: Son of Samuel P. Bolling and Ellen (Gantt) Bolling; married, March 31, 1887, to Harriet T. Jackson.
  See also Wikipedia article
John L. Waller John Lewis Waller (1850-1907) — also known as John L. Waller — of Topeka, Shawnee County, Kan.; Wyandotte (now part of Kansas City), Wyandotte County, Kan.; Yonkers, Westchester County, N.Y. Born in slavery in New Madrid County, Mo., January 12, 1850. Republican. Barber; lawyer; candidate for Presidential Elector for Kansas; U.S. Consul in Tamatave, 1891-93; in March 1895, during France's military takeover of Madagascar from the Hova monarchy, he was arrested by French forces and tried in a French military court, purportedly for the offense of corresponding with (or spying for) the Hovas, but more likely because the Queen of the Hovas had granted him 2.5 square miles, rich with rubber and mahogany trees; sentenced to twenty years in a French prison; his case became an international cause celebre, and the U.S. government protested his imprisonment; ultimately pardoned in February 1896 by French president Félix Faure, and freed after ten months in prison, in exchange for U.S. acquiesance to French rule over Madagascar; served in the U.S. Army during the Spanish-American War; newspaper editor. Died, from pneumonia, in Yonkers, Westchester County, N.Y., October 13, 1907 (age 57 years, 274 days). Interment at Oakland Cemetery, Yonkers, N.Y.
  Relatives: Son of Anthony Waller and Maria (Nicholas) Waller.
  See also Wikipedia article — Find-A-Grave memorial
  Image source: New York World, March 24, 1895
  Owen Lun West Smith (1851-1926) — also known as Owen L. W. Smith — of Wilson, Wilson County, N.C. Born in slavery at Giddinsville, Sampson County, N.C., 1851. U.S. Minister to Liberia, 1898-1902. African ancestry. Died January 5, 1926 (age about 74 years). Interment at Masonic Cemetery, Wilson, N.C.
  See also U.S. State Dept career summary
  R. J. Evans (1853-1921) — of Navasota, Grimes County, Tex. Born in slavery in Louisiana, 1853. School teacher; member of Texas state house of representatives, 1879-82; defeated (Republican), 1882; delegate to Republican National Convention from Texas, 1884. African ancestry. Died in Harris County, Tex., September 27, 1921 (age about 68 years). Burial location unknown.
  George Washington Murray (1853-1926) — also known as George W. Murray — of Sumter, Sumter County, S.C. Born in slavery at Rembert, Sumter County, S.C., September 22, 1853. Republican. Farmer; school teacher; customs inspector; U.S. Representative from South Carolina, 1893-97 (7th District 1893-95, 1st District 1895-97). African ancestry. Died in Chicago, Cook County, Ill., April 21, 1926 (age 72 years, 211 days). Interment at Lincoln Cemetery, Blue Island, Ill.
  Presumably named for: George Washington
  See also congressional biography — Govtrack.us page — Find-A-Grave memorial
  George Washington Buckner (1855-1943) — also known as George W. Buckner — Born in slavery near Greensburg, Green County, Ky., December 1, 1855. U.S. Minister to Liberia, 1913-15; U.S. Consul General in Monrovia, as of 1914. African ancestry. Died in Evansville, Vanderburgh County, Ind., February 17, 1943 (age 87 years, 78 days). Interment at Oak Hill Cemetery, Evansville, Ind.
  Presumably named for: George Washington
  The Buckner Towers public housing development, in Evansville, Indiana, is named for him.
  See also U.S. State Dept career summary
  George Washington Lovejoy (1859-1933) — also known as George W. Lovejoy — of Mobile, Mobile County, Ala. Born in slavery in Coosa County, Ala., February 22, 1859. Republican. Lawyer; Consul for Liberia in Mobile, Ala., 1899-1907; alternate delegate to Republican National Convention from Alabama, 1900. African ancestry. Died in Prichard, Mobile County, Ala., August 31, 1933 (age 74 years, 190 days). Interment at Magnolia Cemetery, Mobile, Ala.
  Presumably named for: George Washington
  Relatives: Married to Sarah E. Ogden.
  See also Find-A-Grave memorial
Judson W. Lyons Judson Whitlocke Lyons (1860-1924) — also known as Judson W. Lyons — of Augusta, Richmond County, Ga. Born in slavery, in Burke County, Ga., August 15, 1860. Republican. Delegate to Republican National Convention from Georgia, 1880, 1892, 1896, 1904, 1908; lawyer; first African-American licensed to practice law in Georgia; orator; member of Republican National Committee from Georgia, 1896-1908; Register of the U.S. Treasury, 1898-1906. African ancestry. Died in Augusta, Richmond County, Ga., June 22, 1924 (age 63 years, 312 days). Interment at Cedar Grove Cemetery, Augusta, Ga.
  Relatives: Married 1890 to Jane Hope.
  See also Wikipedia article — Find-A-Grave memorial
  Image source: New York Public Library
  Archibald James Carey (1868-1931) — also known as Archibald J. Carey — of Jacksonville, Duval County, Fla.; Chicago, Cook County, Ill. Born in slavery, in Georgia, August 25, 1868. Republican. School teacher and principal; president, Edward Waters College, Jacksonville, Fla., 1895; minister; bishop; delegate to Illinois state constitutional convention 3rd District, 1920-22; alternate delegate to Republican National Convention from Illinois, 1924; member, Chicago Civil Service Commission, 1927-29; indicted in 1929 on charges of accepting bribes from job applicants; the case never came to trial. African Methodist Episcopal. African ancestry. Died, from heart disease, in Billings Memorial Hospital, Chicago, Cook County, Ill., March 23, 1931 (age 62 years, 210 days). Interment at Lincoln Cemetery, Blue Island, Ill.
  Relatives: Son of Ann Carey and Jefferson Alexander Carey; married to Elizabeth D. Davis; father of Archibald James Carey Jr..
  See also Find-A-Grave memorial

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The Political Graveyard is a web site about U.S. political history and cemeteries. Founded in 1996, it is the Internet's most comprehensive free source for American political biography, listing 320,919 politicians, living and dead.
 
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