Edward Parker Duplex (1830 – January 5, 1900) was an American entrepreneur, politician, and civil rights activist in California. He was the first Black mayor in California, elected to office in Wheatland in 1888, and was a leader in the state's

Colored Conventions movement The Colored Conventions Movement, or Black Conventions Movement, was a series of national, regional, and state conventions held irregularly during the decades preceding and following the American Civil War. The delegates who attended these convent ...

. Born in Connecticut, he migrated to California during the

Gold Rush A gold rush or gold fever is a discovery of gold—sometimes accompanied by other precious metals and rare-earth minerals—that brings an onrush of miners seeking their fortune. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, New Z ...

, and was a partner in the

Sweet Vengeance Mine The Sweet Vengeance Mine was a gold mine in Browns Valley, California, discovered by African American miners during the Gold Rush. The mine was later owned and operated by a French company, which used one of the first stamp mills in California the ...

. Duplex used his share of profits from the mine to start his own barbershop in

Marysville, California Marysville is a city and the county seat of Yuba County, California, located in the Gold Country region of Northern California. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 12,072, reflecting a decrease of 196 from the 12,268 counted ...

, where he employed other Black barbers. He later moved to Wheatland, where his barbershop became one of the two longest running businesses in the town.

Early life and family

Born free in

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,02 ...

, Edward was the grandson of Revolutionary War veteran Prince Duplex Sr. His paternal grandfather was born a "servant for life", but was a "free man of color" by the time he enlisted. His paternal grandmother was Lement Parker. His father, Prince Duplex Jr., worked as a steward on the New Haven Steamship Line which ran between Long Island and New York City. Prince Jr. was an active member of the Temple Street African Congregational Church, the first Black church in New Haven, and died in 1832, when Edward was very young. His mother, Adaline Duplex (née Francis), was a professional seamstress. After the death of his father, Adaline was briefly married a second time to a man named Whiting, and raised Edward's older brother Elisha and his sister Adeline Frances. Both Edward and Elisha trained as barbers and moved to California in 1852, but his brother died a few years later of consumption.

Career

Mining

Duplex arrived in California in 1852. He became a partner in a gold mine in Brown's Valley, the

, which was owned and operated by African Americans. Despite the Black testimony exclusion law which had passed in California in 1851, Duplex was allowed to testify in court against a white assailant who was convicted of robbery in 1853. He later served on the board of trustees of the Rare, Ripe Gold and Silver Mining Company, incorporated in 1868, as secretary.

Marysville

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In 1854, he moved to Marysville, Yuba County, where he became the town's best-known Black citizen. Duplex opened a barbershop in Marysville, Yuba County, using his profit from the gold mine. His barbershop was called the Metropolitan Shaving Saloon, and was on D Street, which was known as "barber row." An employer of other Black barbers, Duplex advertised in 1858 that he would have seven barbers in attendance at the

California State Fair The California State Fair is the annual state fair for the state of California. The fair is held at Cal Expo in Sacramento, California. The Fair is a 17-day event showcasing California's industries, agriculture, and diversity of people. The CSF ...

. In 1859, ''The Daily National Democrat'' reported that Duplex had constructed a row of fans, powered by a steam engine, above the chairs at the Metropolitan Barber Shop. The newspaper praised the constant circulation of air as "truly delightful". That year, he traveled to New Haven to bring his mother Adaline back with him to California, where she continued working as a dressmaker. Duplex was active in the Mount Olive Baptist Church in Marysville, and was a

Freemason Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

, belonging to the Prince Hall Masonic Lodge.

Colored Conventions Movement

From the 1850s through the 1870s, Duplex was a leader in the

Colored Conventions Movement The Colored Conventions Movement, or Black Conventions Movement, was a series of national, regional, and state conventions held irregularly during the decades preceding and following the American Civil War. The delegates who attended these convent ...

in California, traveling long distances to attend every meeting in Sacramento and San Francisco. He served as a delegate from Yuba County at the California Colored Citizens Convention in 1855, and was a state executive committee member for the convention in 1856. He was an advocate for allowing Black testimony in the court system, and lobbied for equal educational opportunities for African Americans. In 1874, E. P. Duplex spoke in front of the Board of Education in Marysville to request that Black primary school children, who were taught in an underfunded segregated school, receive access to intermediate and grammar school education. Duplex occasionally wrote articles about California for ''

Frederick Douglass' Paper ''The North Star'' was a nineteenth-century anti-slavery newspaper published from the Talman Building in Rochester, New York, by abolitionist Frederick Douglass. The paper commenced publication on December 3, 1847, and ceased as ''The North Star' ...

'', an anti-slavery newspaper. He supported the creation of the ''

Mirror of the Times The ''Mirror of the Times'' was an African-American newspapers, African American weekly newspaper in San Francisco, California. It was published during the mid-1850s, though its exact foundation and dissolution dates are not known (roughly found ...

'', California's first Black newspaper, in 1857. In 1861, his name appeared on a petition sent to the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...

. The petition listed the names of 240 California Blacks requesting funding to cover the cost of leaving the United States. Historian Rudolph Lapp argues that the petition was a symbolic protest against the narrow objectives of the Civil War prior to the Emancipation Proclamation, rather than a genuine request. After the Civil War, Duplex continued his involvement with the Black press. He was an agent for ''The Elevator'' newspaper and occasionally contributed content to that paper, as well as the ''

Pacific Appeal ''Pacific Appeal'' was an African-American newspaper based in San Francisco, California and published from April 1862 to June 1880. History ''Pacific Appeal'' was co-founded by Philip Alexander Bell, an African-American civil rights and antisl ...

''. Edward and Sophie Duplex became friends of

Jennie Carter Jennie Carter (c. 1830 – August 1881) was an American journalist and essayist who wrote for the California African-American newspaper '' The Elevator'' from her home in Nevada County, California during the Reconstruction Era. She used the pen ...

, who wrote under the pen name Semper Fidelis.

Wheatland

In the 1870s, he moved his barbershop, the Hairdressing and Shaving Saloon, to Wheatland, a small, nearly all-white community near Sacramento. He sold a hair care product, "Eau Lustral Hair Restorative", and also opened a bath house. On April 11, 1888, Edward Duplex was elected as mayor by the city of Wheatland's board of trustees. He became the first Black mayor of California, two years before a state law passed eliminating segregated schools. He served one term and returned to running his businesses.

Personal life

At some point in the early 1860s, Edward married Sophie Elizabeth, who was originally from New York. They had at least five children, two of whom survived to adulthood. Their son Edward became a barber in Oakland, California; they also had a daughter named Louisa.

Death and legacy

Duplex died in Sacramento on January 5, 1900, but is buried at the Marysville City Cemetery. His barbershop on 410 Main Street was one of the oldest business in continuous operation in Wheatland. The Edward P. Duplex Continuation High School, which opened in March 2019 in Wheatland, is named after him.

Notes

References

External links

Biographical sketch of Edward Duplex at the National Park Service
{{DEFAULTSORT:Duplex, Edward 1830 births 1900 deaths African-American mayors in California American hairdressers Politicians from New Haven, Connecticut 19th-century American politicians People from Yuba County, California Mayors of places in California California Republicans People of the California Gold Rush African-American history of California