Thomas A. Sykes (born ) was an American politician and tax official. 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 ...

, he was born into slavery. After the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

, he served as a Republican member of the

North Carolina House of Representatives The North Carolina House of Representatives is one of the two houses of the North Carolina General Assembly. The House is a 120-member body led by a Speaker of the House, who holds powers similar to those of the President pro-tem in the North Ca ...

for four one-year terms (1868–1872) and as a member of the

Tennessee House of Representatives The Tennessee House of Representatives is the lower house of the Tennessee General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Tennessee. Constitutional requirements According to the state constitution of 1870, this body is to consis ...

for one two-year term (1881–82). He represented

Shelby County, Tennessee Shelby County is the westernmost county in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 929,744. It is the largest of the state's List of counties in Tennessee, 95 counties, both in terms of p ...

. He also served as a revenue collector and

gauger Gauger is a surname of German origin, meaning "to wander around or roam", referring to a vagrant or traveler. Notable people with the surname include: * Gary Gauger (born 1952), American man wrongfully convicted of murder *Martin Gauger Martin Gau ...

. He lived in Nashville.https://sharetngov.tnsosfiles.com/tsla/exhibits/blackhistory/pdfs/brochure.pdf

References

Republican Party members of the North Carolina House of Representatives Republican Party members of the Tennessee House of Representatives African-American state legislators in North Carolina African-American state legislators in Tennessee 1830s births Year of birth uncertain Year of death unknown Date of death unknown People from Nashville, Tennessee People from Pasquotank County, North Carolina 19th-century American legislators African-American politicians during the Reconstruction Era {{AfricanAmerican-stub

See also

References