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Collection Reference Number GLC09400.422
From Archive Folder Collection of letters of the first African American to serve a full term in the Senate 
Title Blanche Kelso Bruce to F.E Smith regarding the health of Mr. Leachman
Date 1 August 1879
Author Bruce, Blanche Kelso (1841-1898)  
Recipient Smith, F.E.  
Document Type Correspondence
Content Description Glad to hear Mr. Leachman is recuperating
Subjects African American History  African Americans in Government  Congress  Reconstruction  Government and Civics  Health and Medical  
People Bruce, Blanche Kelso (1841-1898)  Bruce, Blanche Kelso (1841-1898)  
Place written Meridian, Mississippi
Theme Government & Politics; African Americans
Sub-collection The Gilder Lehrman Collection, 1860-1945
Additional Information Blanche Kelso Bruce was born into slavery near Farmville, Prince Edward County, Va. on March 1 1841. He was tutored by his master's son, but left his master at the beginning of the civil war and taught school in Hannibal Mo. After the civil war Bruce became a planter in Mississippi, and a member of the Mississippi Levee Board, and Sheriff and Tax Collector for Bolivar County from 1872-1875. Bruce was then elected as a Republican to the United States Senate, where he served from March 4 1875 - March 3 1881. Bruce was the first African American to serve a full term in the U.S. Senate. In 1881 Bruce was appointed by President James Garfield as the Register of the Treasury. Bruce then went on to serve as the Recorder of Deeds for the District of Colombia from 1891-1893, returning to the office of Register of the Treasury from 1897 until his death on March 17, 1898.
Copyright The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History
Module Civil War, Reconstruction and the Modern Era: 1860-1945
Related documents F.E. Smith to Blanche Kelso Bruce regarding the health of Mr. Leachman