Merriman Howard Explained

Merriman Howard was a state legislator and sheriff in Mississippi.^[1] He served as sheriff in Jefferson County, Mississippi.^[2]

He was born in Mississippi.^[3] He was enslaved by owner Wade Harrison.

He was a trustee of Shaw University.^[4] He was also a trustee of newly established Alcorn University.^[5] His son was one of the first "colored" candidates appointed to West Point.^[6] He eventually moved to Washington, D.C., and worked for the U.S. Treasury.

Notes and References

1. Web site: Merrimon Howard (Jefferson County) · Against All Odds: The First Black Legislators in Mississippi · Mississippi State University Libraries. msstate-exhibits.libraryhost.com.
2. Book: Reidy, Joseph P.. From Slavery to Agrarian Capitalism in the Cotton Plantation South: Central Georgia, 1800-1880. November 9, 2000. Univ of North Carolina Press. 9780807864067. Google Books.
3. Web site: Register of Officers and Agents, Civil, Military, and Naval, in the Service of the United States, on the ...: Showing the State Or Territory from which Each Person was Appointed to Office, the State Or Country in which He was Born, and the Compensation, Pay, and Emoluments Allowed to Each; Together with the Names and Compensation of All Printers in Any Way Employed by Congress, Or Any Department Or Officer of the Government. August 9, 1881. U.S. Government Printing Office. Google Books.
4. Web site: Weekly Mississippi Pilot clipping · Mississippi State University Libraries. msstate-exhibits.libraryhost.com.
5. Web site: Hinds County Gazette clipping · Mississippi State University Libraries. msstate-exhibits.libraryhost.com.
6. Web site: Weekly Mississippi Pilot clipping · Mississippi State University Libraries. msstate-exhibits.libraryhost.com.