I just found out that one of my relatives was P. B. S. Pinchback, the FIRST "Black" U.S. Governor!

[Up2Late]

(Sorry, African-American wouldn't fit in the headline space)

I've been working on my Family tree at Ancestry.com and knew I had a few Pinchback's from Louisiana in my tree, and then today on NPR Ken Ruden mentioned that the new New York Governor would be the "4th African-American Governor of a U.S. State 'since reconstruction'" and that the first was P.B.S. Pinchback was the first, so I checked the records again (went one more generation back) and it was a match!

Pinckney Benton Stewart Pinchback (May 10, 1837 – December 21, 1921) was the first African American to become Governor of a U.S. state. He was also the first non-white (biracial) Governor of Louisiana. Pinchback, a Republican, served as the Governor of Louisiana for thirty-five days, from December 9, 1872, to January 13, 1873.

Here's the link to his Wikipedia page: <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P._B._S._Pinchback>

One thing I noticed though, about the Wikipedia data, it doesn't say why he was Governor of Louisiana for only thirty-five days? Anyone know? Here's a little more info about his political life:

After the war, he became active in the Republican Party and participated in Reconstruction state conventions. In 1868, Pinchback organized the Fourth Ward Republican Club in New Orleans. That same year, he was elected as a Louisiana state senator, where he became the state Senate president pro tempore. In 1871 he became acting lieutenant governor upon the death of Oscar Dunn, the first elected African American lieutenant governor of a U.S. state.

In 1872, the incumbent Republican governor Henry Clay Warmoth, was impeached and convicted, removing him from office. Pinchback, as lieutenant governor, succeeded as governor on December 9.

Anyone know why he was only Governor for 35 days?

Btw, he died in 1921 in Washington D.C., so it wasn't violent end to his Governorship. And does anyone know why they always say "since reconstruction?" Was there a "black" U.S. Governor BEFORE Reconstruction?

[better tomorrow]

1. here's a good link

http://www.africanamericans.com/PBSPinchback.htm

[Up2Late]

5. Cool! That link has a lot of info...

.. and I bet it has few of my other relatives too, like Jean Toomer (his real name was Eugene Nathan Pinchback Toomer), but he seems to have gone by a few different names at times.

[TheWraith]

2. He left office because his replacement was sworn in.

He was filling out the rest of the term, and the guy elected the previous November took the oath on January 13th.

[Up2Late]

3. Oh O.K., that makes sense.

Thanks!

[TheWraith]

4. Glad to help, and congrats on your relative.

[goclark]

6. Congratulations!

Have you ever visited www.afrigeneas.com ?

You may find lots of cousins there.

[Up2Late]

7. Oh Cool! Thanks!

That site might help too!

If the very least, it gives me a way to double check some stuff I found at other sites, some of the ages listed in the records at ancestry and the dates people have entered in the Family trees they uploaded don't match exactly, this might help me settle the dates one way or the other.

[aquart]

8. It must be so nice to have a distinguished family tree. Or any.

It's marvelous to have such a history to pass on.

Mine is lost in the rubble of Europe, so mostly we just guess.

I know we had another poet, because I found his book in the Public Library. But that was here. Over there is a blur.

[Up2Late]

10. Have you tried Ancestry.com? I was in the same boat only about a month ago...

...as it sounds like you are now.

My Dad fled France with his parents in 1939 ahead of the Nazi Army who murdered most of my Grandfathers family (on my Father's side) which left my Father traumatized and Grand-father so angry that they never talked about family history or relatives. As you may have guessed, I was one of those kids who grew up without cousins. I did have five 1st cousins on my mothers side, but that was it.

In the last 20 years or so, my father has found a few French 2nd and 3rd cousins in Paris and just recently a few German 2nd and 3rd cousins with the help of my sister, but they are all in Europe, and I only speak English, so that's not so good for me. The German relatives we found though the Yad Vashem records.


Thankfully, my Grandmother's Father, on my Father's side, had been born in Columbus, Georgia, and I knew his brothers had done well in New York City while he was in Paris, but that's all I had to start with, but with the help of about 45 days on Ancestry, I was able to find records for over 1200 members of our family tree and have even found (but have yet to contact) about a dozen 3rd and 4th cousins in this country.

But the best part was finding relatives with Wikipedia pages!

Here are a few notables, in no particular order:

Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright

Abraham Abraham, founder or Abraham & Straus Department store

Ivan Albright -- a magic realist painter and artist

Joseph Medill Patterson (founded the New York Daily News)

Alicia Patterson (founded New York Newsday) and was married to

Harry Frank Guggenheim, former Ambassador to Cuba

Elinor Josephine Medill "Cissy" Patterson -- first women to head a major daily newspaper, the Washington Times-Herald in Washington D.C.

Joseph Medill -- former Mayor of Chicago and part owner and business manager and managing editor of the Chicago Tribune

Meyer Guggenheim -- father of the famous New York Guggenheim family

Isidor Straus -- co-owner of the Macy's department store

There are more, but I think my favorite person, who I would have loved to have met was

Marjorie A Content, who was a New York City Artist and Photographer

<http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F04EFDD... >

She was a close friend Georgia O'Keeffe and her fourth marriage was to Harlem Renaissance poet Jean Toomer.

[aquart]

13. Never for me.

I've found myself googled onto genealogy websites trying to track down other people though. Found out the whole family tree of an ex-boyfriend (just wanted to see if he was still breathing) which was kind of endearing.

But that is one hell of a list of relatives you have. You could sell that DNA on eBay.

I do have a cousin who is mentioned in a Wikipedia page as a film critic. Unfortunately, they used my name instead of hers which still confuses me. (I tried correcting it at the site, but google doesn't believe me. When I google my name, that film critic mention keeps coming back.)

[Up2Late]

15. Nah, most of them are rather distant through 2nd or 3rd marrages...

...and most of the really cool relatives are long dead, but I did just recently get the email address of a family genealogist who told me I do have a few 3rd or 4th cousins here in Georgia and that there is going to be a family meet up in a town about 2 1/2 hours South of here in November, so I'm looking forward to that.

The best one, that I think I left off the list, is that I found I'm the 7th Cousin 5 times removed of the German Composer Felix Mendelssohn. Ancestry.com has this little button that they put on each persons page called "Find Famous Relatives" and, most of the time, when you hit that button on someone's page, it turns up nothing, but when I did it on mine (and my Dad's page) I got Felix Mendelssohn. I don't know that much about his music, but I think he's the one who wrote the "here comes the bride" wedding song.

The worst part about finding this info now is that, if I or my parents had done this in the 1970s or 1980s, I would probably have been able to meet some of them. I use to go to New York when I was a kid, to visit my Grand-parents and I know my Grand-mother, who was a painter, would gotten along well with some of the relative I've found. Now that I think about it, I don't remember her ever mentioning having any friends in New York. Sad.

One who died only few years ago, did work for a few places I'd love to work, like The Natural Resources Defense Council and and The Rocky Mountain Institute. I might try to contact one of her kids, but I doubt she will have a much pull as her mother had.

So tell me a little info, where were they from? I may have a few idea or websites you could try. I do know a few really good people search/background check websites that I use to find lost people, here in this country, that you might want to try.

[jackson_dem]

9. Cool!

The reason they say since reconstruction is because there of your relative and I believe there were one or two black senators at the time as well. African-Americans briefly had the franchise and this is when these folks were elected. After Jim Crow was imposed no black senator was elected for another century (Ed Brooke in the 60's) and no black governor until 1990.

It is a sign of progress that we now have two black governors at the same time and a black front-runner for president. Still, for 12% of the population to account for 1% of the senate and only 4% of governorships shows we still have a way to go on the road to equality.

[Up2Late]

11. Oh, I see.

Looks like he was Elected to the US Congress too in 1873, but then was forced him out of office by cooking up a "rigged election" story not long after he got there.

[jackson_dem]

12. Yeah and it isn't just race

This is why you hear "first Republican elected since Reconstruction" because the Republicans used to be pro-civil rights and they won seats with the black vote in the South during Reconstruction. It is a shame that party has now become the haven of bigots of every stripe.

[nadinbrzezinski]

14. COOL

good for you