Edmund Scarborough (Mississippi politician)

Edmund Scarborough (c.1912)

Edmund Scarborough (May 1840 - ?) was an American minister, farmer and state legislator in Mississippi. He represented Holmes County, Mississippi in the Mississippi House of Representatives in 1870-1871.[1][2]

He was born enslaved in Greene County, Alabama in May 1840[2] and obtained his freedom in 1863.[3] Eric Foner documented him as Edmond Scarborough[3] and another newspaper listed him as Edward Scarborough.[4]

He was married to Martha in 1857, with whom he was listed as living with in Holmes County in both the 1900 and 1910 census.[2]

In 1866, he built, along with his brother-in-law, the first "negro" Methodist church in the county.[2]

He served in the Mississippi House with William B. Williams and Cicero Mitchell from Holmes County.[5] At the 1875 Holmes County Republican Convention, he was assigned the position of Cotton Weigher.[6]

After his service to the legislature, he was a Deacon Elder of his church in which position he was reported to have baptised 500 people.[2]

He died sometime after 1912, at which point he was recorded as owning multiple urban lots and other property.[3]

  1. ^ "Members elect to the Legislature". The Weekly Mississippi Pilot. 19 February 1870. p. 4. Retrieved 7 August 2022.Open access icon
  2. ^ a b c d e "Edmund Scarborough – Against All Odds".
  3. ^ a b c Foner, Eric (1 August 1996). Freedom's Lawmakers: A Directory of Black Officeholders During Reconstruction. LSU Press. p. 190. ISBN 978-0-8071-2082-8. Retrieved August 8, 2022.
  4. ^ "Representatives (part) - Edmund Scarborough listed as Edward". Hinds County Gazette. 29 December 1869. p. 2. Retrieved 8 August 2022.Open access icon
  5. ^ Journal of the House of Representatives of the State of Mississippi. 1870.
  6. ^ "Holmes County Republican Convention (1875)". The Weekly Mississippi Pilot. 22 August 1875. p. 1. Retrieved 8 August 2022.Open access icon