Religion:Shack Roberts
Meshack R. Roberts was enslaved, worked as a blacksmith, became a minister in the Methodist church, and served as state legislator and Republican Party official in Texas.[1]
His slaveowner, O. B. Roberts moved him to Gilmer, Texas in 1844.[1] He was a caretaker of Roberts family during the American Civil War and Roberts gave him and his family some land and materials for a log cabin after the war.[2] Two years later he was attacked and left for dead by the Ku Klux Klan in Gilmer, and moved to Marshall, Texas after recovering.[1]
In Marshall, he worked as a blacksmith and was a Methodist minister.[3] He won a seat in the state legislature in the 1873 election to the Thirteenth Legislature as a representative for the Fifth District including Rusk County, Texas and Harrison County, Texas, succeeding Mitchell Kendall.[1] He won two subsequent terms in office, the last for the Tenth District, representing Harrison County. The Citizen's Party of Harrison County came to power in a disputed 1878 election as Democrats increasingly regained control after the Reconstruction era ended and restored white supremacy.[1][2]
Illiterate, he was known for his speeches in the "camp meeting" style and being clear, logical and irresistible.[4] He signed documents with an X.[2] He was also a preacher and with his church helped establish Wiley College.[2][5] He was recorded as having a wife and daughter.[6]
He was honored by the 79th Texas Legislature in 2005, along with other early African-American legislators, for their service to Texas.[5]
See also
- African American officeholders during and following the Reconstruction era
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 "TSHA | Roberts, Meshack". https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/roberts-meshack.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Craddock, Van. "Craddock: Shack left his mark on East Texas". https://www.news-journal.com/opinion/craddock-shack-left-his-mark-on-east-texas/article_c4b04463-4dcf-5255-83ff-d60644f168a8.html.
- ↑ "Meshack Roberts thrives after move to Marshall". The Marshall News Messenger: pp. 3. 12 February 2008. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/73857254/meshack-roberts-thrives-after-move-to/.
- ↑ "The colored statesman - Old Shack Roberts". Austin American-Statesman: pp. 2. 15 March 1877. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/73856812/the-colored-statesman-old-shack/.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Shack left his mark on East Texas". Longview News-Journal: pp. A2. 17 August 2014. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/73857547/shack-left-his-mark-on-east-texas/.
- ↑ "Roberts". http://afrotexan.com/harrison/politicians/roberts.htm.
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