People, Locations, Episodes

Cathy Williams, Buffalo Soldier born

The birth of Cathy Williams in 1844 is celebrated on this date. She was a Black domestic worker and a soldier.

Born in Independence, MO, she worked as a house slave for William Johnson, a wealthy planter in Jefferson City, until his death. About that time, the Civil War broke out and she was freed by Union soldiers. Thereafter, Williams worked for the Army as a paid servant.

Steele v. Louisville & N. R. Co. Court Case is Decided

*On this date in 1944, the Supreme Court decided Steele v. Louisville & N. R. Co..   In this case, B. W. Steele, a member of the IARE executive, argued that an agreement between the railway and the Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and Enginemen (BLFE) was illegal. A whites-only railroad union could not exclude Blacks and deny them better jobs […]

The First Black Law Practice in America Opens

*It was on this date in 1845, Macon B. Allen and Robert Morris Jr. contracted their law firm and became the first Blacks to practice law in America.

They opened their practice on May 3rd of that year in Massachusetts.

George Lawrence Mabson, Lawyer born

*The birth of George Lawrence Mabson is celebrated on this date in 1845. He was a Black soldier, lawyer, and politician. His father was George W. Mabson, a prominent white-American in Wilmington, North Carolina. His mother was Eliza Moore, a Black woman. During the American Civil War, on February 15, 1864, he enlisted in the 5th […]

Jeremiah Haralson, Politician born

*On this date in 1846, Jeremiah Haralson was born. He was a Black politician who served in the House of Representatives.

Born a slave near Columbus, Georgia, he was taken to Alabama and kept in bondage until 1865. After attaining his freedom, Haralson taught himself how to read and write. According to records he then became a farmer and a clergyman, a powerful orator and debater. In 1870 he ran for Congress as an independent and defeated the republican candidate.

Norris Cuney, Politician, and Union Leader born

*On this date, in 1846, Norris Cuney was born.   He was a Black politician, businessman, union leader, and activist in Texas.  Norris Wright Cuney was born near Hempstead, Texas, in the Brazos River valley.  He was the fourth of eight children of Adeline Stuart, a mixed-race slave of (African, European, and Native) American ancestry. Their father was Adeline’s white master, Confederate Colonel Philip Cuney, a wealthy farmer.  All his mixed-race children were born […]

John Wesley Cromwell, Lawyer and Teacher born

*John Wesley Cromwell was born on this date in 1846. He was a Black lawyer, teacher, civil servant, journalist, historian, and activist. John Wesley Cromwell was born into slavery in Portsmouth, Virginia, the youngest of twelve children. His parents were Willis H. and Elizabeth (Carney) Cromwell. Cromwell’s father worked as a ferryman on the Elizabeth […]

Liberia Gains its Independence From America

This date in 1847 marks Independence Day in the Republic of Liberia. Liberia owes its establishment to the American Colonization Society, founded in 1816 to resettle freed American slaves in Africa.

John R. Lynch, Mississippi Politician born

This date marks the birth of John Roy Lync, a Black politician, in 1847.

Born a slave in Concordia Parish, LA., Lynch was freed during the American Civil War and settled in Natchez, MS. There he learned the photography business, attended night school, and in 1869 entered public life as justice of the peace for Natchez County. In November 1869, Lynch was elected to the Mississippi House of Representatives, and reelected in 1871.

Lloyd G. Wheeler, Businessman born

*Lloyd Wheeler, born on this date in 1848, was a Black attorney, businessman, philanthropist, and political leader.   Lloyd Garrison Wheeler was born in Mansfield, Ohio. His father was active in the underground railroad movement, providing secret accommodations for escaping slaves from the South en route to freedom in Canada.  With the illegal status of […]

J.R. Clifford, News Publisher, and Lawyer born

*J.R. Clifford was born on this date in 1848.  He was a Black newspaper publisher, editor, writer, schoolteacher, lawyer, and principal.    John Robert (“J.R.”) Clifford was born in Williamsport, in what was then Hardy County, Virginia (now in Grant County), near present-day Moorefield. Clifford’s parents, Isaac and Mary Clifford, and grandparents were “free blacks” who had lived in that region of Virginia for several generations. There were […]

The Free Soil Party is Formed

This date celebrates The Free-Soil Party, a minor but influential political party in the pre-Civil War period of American history.

The party, founded in 1848, was opposed to the extension of slavery into the western territories. Representative David Wilmot of Pennsylvania in 1846 introduced into Congress his famous Wilmot Proviso, calling for the prohibition of slavery in the vast southwestern lands that had been newly acquired from Mexico.

Corvine Patterson, Politician born

*Corvine Patterson was born on this date in 1848.  He was a Black businessman and politician. He was born a slave at Roanoak in Howard Co., Missouri. At the age of fifteen, he took leave of his master and went to Glasgow, where he enlisted in the 65th regiment of U.S. Colored Volunteers. He was […]

John Ward, Black Seminole Scout born

*The birth of John Ward in 1847 is celebrated on this date. He was a Black Seminole scout in the U.S. Army and a Medal of Honor Recipient.

Thomas E. Miller, Educator, and Politician born

This date marks the birth of Thomas Ezekiel Miller in 1849. He was a Black politician and educator who was elected to the South Carolina Congress and served from 1889 to 1891.