William U. Saunders

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

William U. Saunders (1835 - ?) was a barber and lawyer who represented

Gadsden County, Florida, in the Florida Legislature during the Reconstruction era.[1]

He was born in Baltimore, Maryland. He served in the United States Colored Infantry from 1863-1866.[2]

He was a delegate from Gadsden County to the 1868 Constitutional Convention of Florida despite having been in the county only a few days in his life, according to one account.

Radical Republican.[6]

He traveled the state rallying Black voters.[7]

Historian T. D. Allman wrote that racist revisionists tried to recast him as mulatto to deny his being a black man.[8]

References

  1. – via Google Books.
  2. ^ Florida's Black Public Officials by Canter Brown Jr. pages 122, 123.
  3. ^ Davis, William Watson (July 1, 1913). "The Civil War and Reconstruction in Florida". Columbia University Press – via Google Books.
  4. JSTOR 30147741
    .
  5. ^ a b "Negro History Bulletin". Association for the Study of Negro Life and History. July 1, 1974 – via Google Books.
  6. ^ Hanna, Kathryn Abbey (July 1, 1948). "Florida, Land of Change". University of North Carolina Press – via Google Books.
  7. ^ Randel, William Peirce (July 1, 1969). Centennial: American Life in 1876. Chilton Book Company – via Google Books.
  8. – via Google Books.