United State-Virginia Archives •

Benjamin F. Hicks (1846-1925)

Benjamin F. Hicks is a 19th-century African inventor in Virginia who was born into slavery to Lottie Ricks and an unidentified man in May 1846 in Courtland, Berlin-Ivor District, Southampton County, Commonwealth of Virginia. Three years following his birth in 1849, the state passed a law … Read MoreBenjamin F. Hicks (1846-1925)

John Mercer Langston (1829-1897)

John Mercer Langston, the youngest of four children, was born a free black in Louisa County, Virginia on December 14, 1829. Langston gained distinction as an abolitionist, politician, and attorney. Despite the prominence of his slaveowner father, Ralph Quarles, Langston took his surname from his mother, … Read MoreJohn Mercer Langston (1829-1897)

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Tag: United State-Virginia

Benjamin F. Hicks (1846-1925)

John Mercer Langston (1829-1897)