William Henry Harrison, also known as Bill Thomas (born September 1843-unknown), was a state legislator from

Hancock County, Georgia Hancock County is a county located in the East Central part of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 8,735. The county seat is Sparta. The county was created on December 17, 1793, and named for John Hancock, a ...

Early life

Bill was born into slavery, the son of a woman named Eliza and Harrison McLane, who died about 1854 or 1855. He had three sisters and two brothers. After his father died, 14 year old Bill became a slave of Judge James Thomas in southwestern Hancock County, Georgia. He became his body servant and was literate, having been taught to read the bible by the judge. Seeking his freedom, he was among the about 100 people involved in the

Sparta Sparta was a prominent city-state in Laconia in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (), while the name Sparta referred to its main settlement in the Evrotas Valley, valley of Evrotas (river), Evrotas rive ...

insurrection of September 13, 1863. Bill Thomas was emancipated at the end of the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

and changed his name to William Henry Harrison. Members of his family are said to be buried at the Brown Chapel A.M.E. Church cemetery in the county.

Legislator

He was a leader of Georgia's African-American community during the

Reconstruction Era The Reconstruction era was a period in History of the United States, US history that followed the American Civil War (1861-65) and was dominated by the legal, social, and political challenges of the Abolitionism in the United States, abol ...

after the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

. He was one of two African-American representatives, along with Eli Barnes, elected to the

Georgia Legislature The Georgia General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is bicameral, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. Each of the General Assembly's 236 members serve two-year terms and are directly ...

as a Republican from

in April 1868.

Ku Klux Klan testimony

During this period, "wholesale violence broke out against black people" by the

Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to KKK or Klan, is an American Protestant-led Christian terrorism, Christian extremist, white supremacist, Right-wing terrorism, far-right hate group. It was founded in 1865 during Reconstruction era, ...

and other white people. Barnes and Harrison testified before the U.S. Congress on Ku Klux Klan violent activity in Georgia under the Ku Klux Act of 1871. Barnes stated that it was common for black families to be visited in the night by white men who assaulted their wives and daughters and caused mayhem. Harrison said that after the

more blacks were whipped than under slavery. Many people were murdered.

References

African-American state legislators in Georgia (U.S. state) People from Hancock County, Georgia African-American politicians during the Reconstruction Era Year of death missing Original 33 19th-century American slaves 1843 births Georgia (U.S. state) Republicans People enslaved in Georgia (U.S. state) 19th-century members of the Georgia General Assembly {{GeorgiaUS-politician-stub