Robert Meacham (1835–1902) was an educational, religious and political leader in

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

during and after

Reconstruction Reconstruction may refer to: Politics, history, and sociology *Reconstruction (law), the transfer of a company's (or several companies') business to a new company *''Perestroika'' (Russian for "reconstruction"), a late 20th century Soviet Union ...

. An

African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...

, he was a slave in

Quincy, Florida Quincy is a city in and the county seat of Gadsden County, Florida, United States. Quincy is part of the Tallahassee metropolitan area, Tallahassee, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 7,970 as of the 2020 census, almost eve ...

; one of the sons of his enslaver, he was educated by him. He purchased his freedom and that of his mother with money he had saved out of gratuities given to him by his father. He helped to establish the

African Methodist Episcopal Church The African Methodist Episcopal Church, usually called the AME Church or AME, is a Methodist denomination based in the United States. It adheres to Wesleyan theology, Wesleyan–Arminian theology and has a connexionalism, connexional polity. It ...

in Florida and acted as a minister. He helped write Florida's new Constitution of 1868. In 1868 he was appointed clerk of the Circuit Court for

Jefferson County, Florida Jefferson County is a county located in the Big Bend region in the northern part of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 14,510. Its county seat is Monticello. Jefferson County is part of the Tallahassee, F ...

. The following year he was named "superintendent of common schools". After a two-year term he became

postmaster A postmaster is the head of an individual post office, responsible for all postal activities in a specific post office. When a postmaster is responsible for an entire mail distribution organization (usually sponsored by a national government), ...

Monticello, Florida Monticello ( ) is the only city in and the county seat of Jefferson County, Florida, United States. The city is named after Monticello, the estate of the county's namesake, Thomas Jefferson, on which the Jefferson County Courthouse was modeled. ...

, county seat of Jefferson County. In 1871 he was reappointed to the school position, renewed again when the two-year term ran out. He went on to win a seat in the Florida state legislature as a

state senator A state senator is a member of a State legislature (United States), state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. History There are typically fewer state senators than there ...

serving from 1868 until 1879. In 1880 he was made postmaster of

Punta Gorda, Florida Punta Gorda (; ), a city located in Southwest Florida, is the county seat of Charlotte County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 19,471, up from 16,641 at the 2010 census ...

. He retired to

Tampa Tampa ( ) is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. Tampa's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and t ...

in 1896, due to failing health, and died in 1902. His met his wife Stella, while both worked as servants in Tallahassee. His daughter-in-law Christina Meacham (1865-1927) was a teacher and school principal in Tampa for whom the Meacham Early Childhood Center is named.African Americans in Florida by Maxine D. Jones and Kevin M. McCarthy Pineapple Press (1993) page 38

References

People of the Reconstruction Era Republican Party Florida state senators African-American state legislators in Florida African Methodist Episcopal Church clergy 1835 births 1902 deaths People from Gadsden County, Florida African-American politicians during the Reconstruction Era Florida postmasters Free Negroes People from Jefferson County, Florida People from Charlotte County, Florida School superintendents in Florida 19th-century American clergy 19th-century members of the Florida Legislature {{Florida-FLSenate-stub

See also

References