Ovide Gregory Explained

Ovide Gregory, sometimes written as Ovid Gregory,^[1] (d. September 2, 1869) was a politician in Alabama during the Reconstruction era. A Creole, he was multilingual and freeborn.^[2] He served in the Alabama House of Representatives.^[3]

There was open hostility and racial to Gregory and the other black member of the legislator, with some questioning the legislator and constitution,^[4] with racism openly expressed on the front pages of papers.^[5]

He supported legislation to outlaw African Americans "going" with Creoles. He was a rival of John Carraway.^[6] He advocated for more schools.^[7]

He died September 2, 1869, in Pascagoula, Mississippi, after an illness that had persisted for six months.^[8]

Notes and References

1. News: Negro members of the last republican legislature in Alabama . 29 January 2021 . The Montgomery Advertiser . 21 September 1928 . 4.
2. Book: Bailey, Richard. Neither Carpetbaggers Nor Scalawags: Black Officeholders During the Reconstruction of Alabama, 1867-1878. January 1, 2010. NewSouth Books. 9781588381897. Google Books.
3. News: Clipped From Daily State Sentinel . 29 January 2021 . Daily State Sentinel . 2 April 1868 . 4.
4. News: So-called legislature . 29 January 2021 . Jacksonville Republican . 28 March 1868 . 1.
5. News: Highly distinguished arrivals . 29 January 2021 . Alabama Reporter . 12 August 1868 . 1.
6. Book: Fitzgerald, Michael W.. Urban Emancipation: Popular Politics in Reconstruction Mobile, 1860–1890. September 1, 2002. LSU Press. 9780807128374. Google Books.
7. Book: Confederate Cities: The Urban South during the Civil War Era. 9780226300344. Slap. Andrew L.. Towers. Frank. December 2015.
8. News: Dead - Ovide Gregory . 29 January 2021 . The Weekly Advertiser . 7 September 1869 . 3.