James H. Piles was a teacher, school principal, lawyer, and state legislator in Mississippi. He was born c. 1842 in

Springfield, Ohio Springfield is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Clark County, Ohio, Clark County. The municipality is located in southwestern Ohio and is situated on the Mad River (Ohio), Mad River, Buck Creek, and Beaver Creek, approxim ...

, and before attending

Oberlin College Oberlin College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Oberlin, Ohio. It is the oldest Mixed-sex education, coeducational liberal arts college in the United S ...

, worked as a barber. He left Mississippi after Reconstruction ended and worked in Washington, D.C., and Memphis, Tennessee.Freedom's Lawmakers by Eric Foner Louisiana State University Press 1996 page 170 He represented Panola County in the

Mississippi House of Representatives The Mississippi House of Representatives is the lower house of the Mississippi Legislature, the lawmaking body of the U.S. state of Mississippi. According to the state constitution of 1890, it is to comprise no more than 122 members elected fo ...

from 1870 to 1875 as a Republican. He served as Assistant Secretary of State in 1875.

References

People from Springfield, Ohio Republican Party members of the Mississippi House of Representatives 1840s births Year of death missing African-American schoolteachers African-American state legislators in Mississippi Ohio lawyers Schoolteachers from Ohio African-American politicians during the Reconstruction Era People from Panola County, Mississippi 19th-century American lawyers Barbers Oberlin College alumni 19th-century African-American lawyers {{Mississippi-politician-stub

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References