Robert Meacham (1835–1902) was an

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

leader in

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

during

Reconstruction Reconstruction may refer to: Politics, history, and sociology *Reconstruction (law), the transfer of a company's (or several companies') business to a new company *'' Perestroika'' (Russian for "reconstruction"), a late 20th century Soviet Unio ...

. He was born with slave status in

Quincy, Florida Quincy is a city in and the county seat of Gadsden County, Florida, United States. The population was 7,972 at the 2010 census, up from 6,982 at the 2000 census. Quincy is part of the Tallahassee metropolitan area. History Established in 1828, ...

; as one of the sons of his enslaver, he was educated by him. He purchased his freedom and that of his mother with money he had saved out of gratuities given to him by his enslaver. He helped to establish the

African Methodist Episcopal Church The African Methodist Episcopal Church, usually called the AME Church or AME, is a Black church, predominantly African American Methodist Religious denomination, denomination. It adheres to Wesleyan-Arminian theology and has a connexionalism, c ...

in Florida and acted as a minister. He helped write Florida's new Constitution of 1868. In 1868 he was appointed clerk of the Circuit Court for

Jefferson County, Florida Jefferson County is a County (United States), county located in the Big Bend (Florida), Big Bend region in the North Florida, northern part of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 14,510 ...

. The following year he was named "superintendent of common schools". After a two-year term he became

postmaster A postmaster is the head of an individual post office, responsible for all postal activities in a specific post office. When a postmaster is responsible for an entire mail distribution organization (usually sponsored by a national government), ...

Monticello, Florida Monticello ( ) is the only city in Jefferson County, Florida, United States. The population was 2,506 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Jefferson County. The city is named after Monticello, the estate of the county's namesake, Thomas ...

, county seat of Jefferson County. In 1871 he was reappointed to the school position, renewed again when the two-year term ran out. He went on to win a seat in the

Florida state legislature The Florida Legislature is the legislature of the U.S. State of Florida. It is organized as a bicameral body composed of an upper chamber, the Senate, and a lower chamber, the House of Representatives. Article III, Section 1 of the Florida Const ...

as a

state senator A state senator is a member of a state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. Description A state senator is a member of an upper house in the bicameral legislatures of 49 U ...

serving from 1868 until 1879. In 1880 he was made postmaster of

Punta Gorda, Florida , nickname = , settlement_type = City , motto = , image_skyline = Punta Gorda City Hall.jpg , imagesize = 250px , image_caption = Punta Gorda City Hall , image_fla ...

. He retired to

Tampa Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and the seat of Hillsborough County ...

in 1896, due to failing health, and died in 1902.

References

People of the Reconstruction Era Republican Party Florida state senators African-American state legislators in Florida African Methodist Episcopal Church clergy 1835 births 1902 deaths People from Gadsden County, Florida African-American politicians during the Reconstruction Era Florida postmasters Free Negroes People from Jefferson County, Florida People from Charlotte County, Florida School superintendents in Florida 19th-century American clergy {{florida-politician-stub

See also

References