Thomas Mundy Peterson was born on
October 6th 1824 in Metuchen, New Jersey. It is not known if his
father was a slave but his mother was and by the age of 21 she was
freed according to her owners will. Peterson was a school custodian
and handyman as well as a Republican. My, how times have changed. The
only Black Republicans you hear about now have money.
Under the new
15th Amendment he was able to vote in an election making him the
first Black person to vote on March 31st 1870 stating “I was
working for Mr. T. L. Kearny on the morning of the day of election,
and did not think of voting until he came out to the stable where I
was attending to the horses and advised me to go to the polls and
exercise a citizen's privilege.”
He was also the first Black person
to serve on a jury and hold an elected office on the Middlesex County
Commission. Peterson was given a gold medal as an award for being the
first Black voter. $70 was raised for it which translates to over
$1,000 now. Financial problems forced him to pawn it multiple times
but it is now housed at the African American Xavier University of
Louisiana.
Click here for previous Famous Black
Firsts.
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