Thomas Frank Cassels ( – April 2, 1903) was an attorney and politician in

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...

who served a term in 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 the 42nd General Assembly (1881–1882). A

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

, 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 was the first

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 ...

admitted to the bar association in Memphis. He represented

Ida B. Wells Ida B. Wells (full name: Ida Bell Wells-Barnett) (July 16, 1862 – March 25, 1931) was an American investigative journalist, educator, and early leader in the civil rights movement. She was one of the founders of the National Association for ...

in her lawsuit against C&O Railroad. He served as Assistant Attorney General in Memphis and was a presidential elector in 1888.https://sharetngov.tnsosfiles.com/tsla/exhibits/blackhistory/pdfs/brochure.pdf Black History Brochure

References

Republican Party members of the Tennessee House of Representatives African-American state legislators in Tennessee 1840s births 1903 deaths People from Jackson County, Ohio Politicians from Memphis, Tennessee 19th-century American politicians African-American politicians during the Reconstruction Era 20th-century African-American politicians 20th-century American politicians Lawyers from Memphis, Tennessee {{AfricanAmerican-stub