As I noted earlier, the marker is simply wrong for the United States but is correct for Ohio. Oddly enough, blacks could not vote in Ohio but under the state constitution they could hold office. In the 1850s people who were more than half white, of mixed ancestery (which probably included John Merce Langston, could vote. He was also a county attorney in Ohio and later dean of HOward Law School. A very important person, but not the first black elected to public office in the US Paul Finkelman President William McKinley Distinguished Professor of Law and Public Policy Albany Law School 80 New Scotland Avenue Albany, New York 12208-3494 518-445-3386 [log in to unmask] >>> "Bearss, Sara (LVA)" <[log in to unmask]> 6/10/2008 2:44 PM >>> Presumably the marker in question is the Virginia historical marker pictured at http://www.hmdb.org/marker.asp?marker=5614 . It does not say that Langston was Louisa County's first African American elected official; it says: "in 1855 Langston became township clerk of Brownheim, Ohio--the first African American popularly elected to office." There's an ambiguous statement for you--does it mean in Brownheim, Ohio, in the state of Ohio, or in the whole country? The marker also notes that Langston was Virginia's first black congressman. The marker text dates from 1995. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Sara B. Bearss [log in to unmask] Senior Editor, Dictionary of Virginia Biography Friends don't let friends split infinitives. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- -----Original Message----- From: Discussion of research and writing about Virginia history [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Tarter, Brent (LVA) Sent: Tuesday, June 10, 2008 2:09 PM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: [VA-HIST] John Mercer Langston This first paragraph in the notice about Langston that has begun this conversation reads: "LOUISA, Va. -- Planted in the lawn at the courthouse on West Main Street here is a gray historical marker that draws little attention. It proudly proclaims that the country's first black elected official was native son John Mercer Langston, born in this central Virginia county, the son of a wealthy white planter and an emancipated slave of Indian and black ancestry." I think that there's merely a keyboarding mistake at fault here in the form of an erroneous "r." The second sentence should probably begin, "It proudly proclaims that the county's first black elected official," not the "country's." $0.02 worth from Brent Tarter The Library of Virginia [log in to unmask] Please visit the Library of Virginia's Web site at http://www.lva.virginia.gov ______________________________________ To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html ______________________________________ To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html ______________________________________ To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html