Ulysses L. Houston was a pastor and state legislator in Georgia.Freedom's Lawmakers by Eric Foner Louisiana State University Press (1996) pages 109 and 110 He was elected to the

Georgia State Legislature The Georgia General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is bicameral, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. Each of the General Assembly's 236 members serve two-year terms and are directly e ...

in 1868, and was an influential organizer in

Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and is the county seat of Chatham County, Georgia, Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the Kingdom of Great Br ...

's African-American community during the mid-19th century. He was born a slave in

Grahamville, South Carolina Grahamville is an unincorporated community in Jasper County, in the U.S. state of South Carolina )'' Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Form ...

, and was taken by his master Moses Henderson to Savannah, where he served as a house servant. According to the book ''Redeeming the South religious cultures and racial identities among Southern Baptists'': "He learned to read from white sailors while he worked in the city's hospital and earned money by hiring out his time." Licensed to preach in 1855, he was the pastor of the Third African Baptist Church (later renamed the

First Bryan Baptist Church Historic First Bryan Baptist Church is an African-American church that was organized in Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia and is the county seat of Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Sa ...

) in

, a congregation of about 400, from 1861 to 1889. He was twice president of the black Baptist convention in Georgia. Houston was one of the

Original 33 The "Original 33" were the first 33 African-American members of the Georgia General Assembly. They were elected to office in 1868, during the Reconstruction era. They were among the first African-American state legislators in the United States. ...

African American legislators of the

Reconstruction era The Reconstruction era was a period in American history following the American Civil War (1861–1865) and lasting until approximately the Compromise of 1877. During Reconstruction, attempts were made to rebuild the country after the bloo ...

in Georgia, expelled or forced to resign. He was also one of the 16

freedmen A freedman or freedwoman is a formerly enslaved person who has been released from slavery, usually by legal means. Historically, enslaved people were freed by manumission (granted freedom by their captor-owners), abolitionism, emancipation (gra ...

church leaders who met with Union General William Tecumseh Sherman in 1865.

References

African-American Baptist ministers African-American activists Original 33 African-American politicians during the Reconstruction Era People from Jasper County, Georgia African-American state legislators in Georgia (U.S. state) People from Jasper County, South Carolina {{GeorgiaUS-politician-stub

See also

References