Moses Martin

This article is about the Reconstruction Era South Carolina legislator. For the son of Chris Martin, see Chris Martin § Personal life.

Moses Martin was an American farmer, A.M.E. Church organizer, county commissioner, elections commissioner, and state legislator in South Carolina.[1] He represented Fairfield County, South Carolina in the South Carolina Senate.[2][3] He helped found White Hall A.M.E. Church in Jenkinsville.[4]

Martin was enslaved from the time of his birth in South Carolina. He was documented as being "mulatto".[1]

He submitted his resignation as county commissioner in 1871 after receiving a death threat from the Ku Klux Klan, but South Carolina governor Robert Kingston Scott refused to accept it.[1]

In 2020, descendants of Martin were among those who gathered at the White Hall Church for a Black History Month celebration and campaign rally for U.S. presidential candidate Bernie Sanders.[4]

  1. ^ a b c Freedom's Lawmaker by Eric Foner Louisiana State University Press (1996) page 141
  2. ^ "South Carolina Legislature Online - Search". www.scstatehouse.gov.
  3. ^ Byrd, Caitlin (May 9, 2020). "Her journey to Charleston began in a slave ship. Her family legacy is a story in triumph". Post and Courier.
  4. ^ a b Bustos, Joseph (February 27, 2020). "Sanders surrogate to join Black History Month event celebrating 1867 SC legislature". The State.