Abram Colby was an American minister and politician who served in the

Georgia House of Representatives The Georgia House of Representatives is the lower house of the Georgia General Assembly (the state legislature) of the U.S. state of Georgia. There are currently 180 elected members. Republicans have had a majority in the chamber since 2005. T ...

during the

Reconstruction era The Reconstruction era was a period in American history following the American Civil War (1861–1865) and lasting until approximately the Compromise of 1877. During Reconstruction, attempts were made to rebuild the country after the bloo ...

. He was enslaved owned by his Irish father.Freedom's Lawmakers by

Eric Foner Eric Foner (; born February 7, 1943) is an American historian. He writes extensively on American political history, the history of freedom, the early history of the Republican Party, African-American biography, the American Civil War, Reconstru ...

Louisiana State University Press 1996 page 47

Early life

Colby was the son of an enslaved woman named Mary Minnie and an Irish plantation owner John Colby. He resided in

Greene County, Georgia Greene County is a county located in the east central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 18,915. The county seat is Greensboro. The county was created on February 3, 1786, and is named for Nathanael ...

and was freed fifteen years prior to

emancipation Emancipation generally means to free a person from a previous restraint or legal disability. More broadly, it is also used for efforts to procure economic and social rights, political rights or equality, often for a specifically disenfranchis ...

. He was an early organizer of freed slaves. Colby and minister

Henry McNeal Turner Henry McNeal Turner (February 1, 1834 – May 8, 1915) was an American minister, politician, and the 12th elected and consecrated bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME). After the American Civil War, he worked to establish new A.M ...

helped form a chapter of the

American Equal Rights Association The American Equal Rights Association (AERA) was formed in 1866 in the United States. According to its constitution, its purpose was "to secure Equal Rights to all American citizens, especially the right of suffrage, irrespective of race, color o ...

. Abram was married to Anne Colby. He had three children: Ella Colby(died in 1833 in Atlanta, GA). Julia Colby(died in Greene County, GA) and Son William Colby (died March 1920 in Washington, District of Columbia). Abram son William married Emma Colby and they had 7 children. Samantha Colby (1893-1910) Cecil Colby (1894-1928) William Colby Jr (1895-1910) Keturah Colby (1899-1943) Amasa George Colby Sr (1902-1966) Henry Colby and Oliver Roy Colby.

Service

Colby was known for eloquent oratory and represented Greene County in 1865 at a freeman's convention. A

Radical Republican The Radical Republicans (later also known as " Stalwarts") were a faction within the Republican Party, originating from the party's founding in 1854, some 6 years before the Civil War, until the Compromise of 1877, which effectively ended Reco ...

, Colby was first elected in 1866. Colby could not read, so he kept his son close to him during all official legislative matters, to act as his secretary. In the election of 1868 under the "Reconstruction Constitution", roughly 1,200 of Greene County's 1,500 eligible black voters turned out to help elect two Republicans to the House. They were Colby and a former Confederate Major, moderate republican Robert McWhorter, who went on to serve as

Speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** In ...

of the House. In that same election,

Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union Ar ...

carried Greene County in the Presidential race. Unable to defeat Colby at the polls, and failing in their attempts to intimidate black voters, Greene County Democrats and local merchants offered Colby $5,000 to switch to the Democratic party, or $2,500 to simply resign his seat in the Legislature. Colby responded that he would not do it for all the wealth in Greene County. Two nights later, he was attacked and beaten.

Beating by the KKK

On October 29, 1869, he was taken from his bed and beaten by the Ku Klux Klan in front of his family. During his whipping he was asked, "Do you think you will ever vote another damned Radical ticket." He replied, "If there was an election tomorrow, I would vote the Radical ticket." After his remark, the men continued to beat him. Governor Bullock offered a reward of $5,000 for the arrest of the attackers. Faced with debilitating injury, he was unable to work and did not seek re-election. In 1872, he was called before a joint U.S. House and Senate committee investigating reports of Southern violence. His injuries were so extensive Colby was recorded saying in his testimony during the Joint Select Committee Report: "They broke something inside of me, and the doctor has been attending to me for more than a year. Sometimes I cannot get up and down off my bed, and my left hand is not of much use to me."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Colby, Abram 1822 births 1872 deaths Republican Party members of the Georgia House of Representatives African-American state legislators in Georgia (U.S. state) People from Greene County, Georgia African-American politicians during the Reconstruction Era Free Negroes Original 33 Victims of the Ku Klux Klan Ku Klux Klan in Georgia (U.S. state) American people of Irish descent