Benjamin F. Livingston (April 1841 – 1926) was a politician, grocer, and brick mason in the United States. An African American, he was born into slavery. After emancipation, he was appointed a County Commissioner for Jackson County, Florida, serving from 1868 until 1870. He served from 1871 until 1875 in the

Florida House of Representatives The Florida House of Representatives is the lower house of the Florida Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida, the Florida Senate being the upper house. Article III, Section 1 of the Constitution of Florida, adopted ...

representing Jackson County, Florida 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 ...

. While there he voted for a civil rights bill in 1873. In 1876 he was a delegate at the Republican Party's national convention. By 1877 he was reported to be living in Marianna, Florida. After serving in the

he became the Marianna postmaster for five years from 1880 until 1885. While the postmaster he was also a Marianna councilman from 1882 until 1884. Livingston's 2-year-old son was killed in September 1869 during an assassination attempt on an African American

constable A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in criminal law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. A constable is commonly the rank of an officer within the police. Other peop ...

who was escorting a church group. After 1900, Livingston and his remaining eight children moved to

Bartow, Florida Bartow ( ) is the county seat of Polk County, Florida, United States. Founded in 1851 as Fort Blount, the city was renamed in honor of Francis S. Bartow, the first brigade commander of the Confederate Army to die in combat during the American C ...

, where he died in 1926. He is buried in Evergreen Cemetery in Bartow.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Livingston, Benjamin F. 1841 births 1926 deaths Members of the Florida House of Representatives African-American state legislators in Florida County commissioners in Florida Florida postmasters Florida city council members American grocers 19th-century American slaves 20th-century African-American politicians