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| Field name | Value |
|---|---|
| Collection Reference Number | GLC09400.214 |
| From Archive Folder | Collection of letters of the first African American to serve a full term in the Senate |
| Title | E.K. Stafford to Blanche Kelso Bruce asking for help getting appointed Post Master of Greenville |
| Date | 5 February 1876 |
| Author | Stafford, E.K., (fl. 1877-1876) |
| Additional authors | Ward J.W. (fl 1876) |
| Recipient | Kelso Bruce, Blanche |
| Document Type | Correspondence |
| Content Description | There are two parts of this letter the first part is written by Stafford. In this letter Stafford asks for help getting appointed Post Master of Greenville. In the second part of the letter Ward seconds the request, and asks the Senator for help |
| Subjects | African American History African Americans in Government Congress Reconstruction Government and Civics Post Office Office Seeker Letter of Introduction or Recommendation |
| People | Bruce, Blanche Kelso (1841-1898) Stafford, E.K. (fl. 1876) Ward, J.W. (fl. 1876) |
| Place written | Greenville, Mississippi |
| Theme | Government & Politics; African Americans |
| Sub-collection | The Gilder Lehrman Collection, 1860-1945 |
| Additional Information | Blanche Kelso Bruce was born into slavery near Farmville, Prince Edward County, Va. on March 1 1841. He was tutored by his master's son, but left his master at the beginning of the civil war and taught school in Hannibal Mo. After the civil war Bruce became a planter in Mississippi, and a member of the Mississippi Levee Board, and Sheriff and Tax Collector for Bolivar County from 1872-1875. Bruce was then elected as a Republican to the United States Senate, where he served from March 4 1875 - March 3 1881. Bruce was the first African American to serve a full term in the U.S. Senate. In 1881 Bruce was appointed by President James Garfield as the Register of the Treasury. Bruce then went on to serve as the Recorder of Deeds for the District of Colombia from 1891-1893, returning to the office of Register of the Treasury from 1897 until his death on March 17, 1898. |
| Copyright | The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History |
| Module | Civil War, Reconstruction and the Modern Era: 1860-1945 |