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William Harper (Louisiana politician)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
William Harper
Louisiana House of Representatives
In office
1870–1872
Louisiana State Senate
In office
1872–1880
Personal details
Born1839/34
Tennessee
Died1909
Political partyRepublican

William Harper (died 1909) was a state legislator who served in the Louisiana House of Representatives and Louisiana State Senate during the Reconstruction era.[1]

Biography

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Harper was born enslaved in Tennessee and was taken to Louisiana by his owner in 1845.[1] He was freed from slavery by federal troops in 1864.[1]

Harper lived in Caddo Parish, Louisiana and was selected as one of the Republican nominations to run for the house to represent the parish.[2] He was elected in 1870 to represent the parish along with George Luke Smith and John Conway Moncure.[3] At the time he also ran a small coffee shop with senator Caesar Antoine.[1]

In 1871 he along with several others organised and incorporated a new charitable association called the Morning Star Benevolent Association of Shreveport.[4]

Harper ran a small store selling groceries from 1872 to 1873 a trade he returned too later in the decade.[1]

In November 1872 Harper was elected to serve in the Louisiana State Senate serving the twenty-first senatorial district[5] and was re-elected in 1876[6] and he served until 1880.[1]

He was made director of the charity hospital in Shreveport in April 1874 along with four others, appointed by governor William Pitt Kellogg.[7]

Harper was selected to represent the forth congressional district along with Raford Blunt at the National Convention of Colored Men in Tennessee in 1876.[8]

He died in 1909.[1]

See also

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Notes

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  • Not to be confused with Wiliam Poynot Harper (1834 - 1874) a soldier and civil sheriff who lived and served at the same time in Louisiana.[9]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g Foner, Eric (1 August 1996). Freedom's Lawmakers: A Directory of Black Officeholders During Reconstruction. LSU Press. p. 95. ISBN 978-0-8071-2082-8. Retrieved October 15, 2022.
  2. ^ "Caddo Parish - Republican Nominees". New Orleans Republican. 21 September 1870. p. 5. Retrieved 22 October 2022.Open access icon
  3. ^ "The State Election". The Times-Picayune. 13 December 1870. p. 2. Retrieved 22 October 2022.Open access icon
  4. ^ "Morning Star Benevolent Association of Shreveport incorporated". St. Landry Democrat. 3 June 1871. p. 4. Retrieved 22 October 2022.Open access icon
  5. ^ "Election Results". New Orleans Republican. 8 December 1872. p. 5. Retrieved 22 October 2022.
  6. ^ "A Republican Legislature". New Orleans Republican. 14 November 1876. p. 1. Retrieved 22 October 2022.Open access icon
  7. ^ "Directors of Charity Hospital, Shreveport". New Orleans Republican. 4 April 1874. p. 4. Retrieved 22 October 2022.Open access icon
  8. ^ "Del agates to the National Convention of Colored Men in Tennessee". New Orleans Republican. 11 March 1876. p. 1. Retrieved 22 October 2022.Open access icon
  9. ^ "Dictionary of Louisiana Biography - H". Louisiana Historical Association. Retrieved 22 October 2022.