Lectured Crawford (ca. 1842-1901)

Portrait from the Atlanta Constitution, July 19, 1891.

   The name would be Lectured Crawford. A truly unusual name at that, and hiding behind that curious name is the story of an African Methodist Episcopal minister who was elected to three terms in the Georgia legislature, his service occurring after the Reconstruction period (1867-1876.) As a black man holding political office in the South at a time of intense disenfranchisement for African-Americans, Crawford represented McIntosh County during the entirety of his service, a county that had produced Georgia's first African-American legislator, Tunis Gulic Campbell, in 1868. 

  Shortly after the discovery of Crawford's name via a Georgia state register several years ago, a search on his life's backstory yielded minimal results, and this remained the case until the location of the July 19, 1891 edition of the Atlanta Constitution, which offered up not only an extremely rare portrait of Crawford but also some background on his life leading up to his career in public life. The following lines aim to give an adequate biography of this early African-American legislator and restore him to prominence, now more than a century after his death.

   Lectured Crawford's birth-year is recorded as 1842 in his brief biographical sketch in the Atlanta Constitution. It remains uncertain as to whether Crawford was born into slavery, though mention is given as to his status as a former slave in R.B. Rosenburg's Living Monuments: Confederate Soldier's Homes in the New South. While information regarding Crawford's early life remains scant at best, he is remarked in the Atlanta Constitution as having "never went to school a day in his life, but acquired a fair education by the light of the pine knot fire." He is known to have married a woman named Emma prior to 1880, as he is listed with her (under the name Lectried Crawford) in the McIntosh County portion of the 1880 U.S. Census. Notice is also given in this census to his mother, named Tena. 

   Crawford's brief biographical snippet in the Atlanta Constitution mentions his briefly teaching school and in the 1880 census lists his occupation as a carpenter. For many years he was a minister in the African Methodist Episcopal Church and was still engaged in the ministry during his legislative service. 

  Lectured Crawford' s political career in McIntosh County is intertwined with the life of Tunis Gulic Campbell (1812-1891), another curiously named black politician who in the late 1860s began building an impressive political machine in and around McIntosh County, Georgia. A former state constitutional convention delegate, Campbell was elected to the Georgia state senate in 1868 and following his service saw a number of his fellow freemen elected to political office in McIntosh County. In total, the citizens of McIntosh County would send five African-Americans to the state legislature between 1868 and 1907, including the two men mentioned above. 

  Crawford's political service prior to the legislature saw him serve four years as a justice of the peace in his native town of Darien, and in 1872 served as mayor pro tem of that town. In 1886 he was elected as a Republican to the Georgia legislature, and the 1887-88 session saw him as one of two African Americans serving in the house, Anthony Wilson of Camden County also being elected.

From the Savannah Morning News, October 15, 1886.

 Crawford's service in the 1886-88 session saw him named to the committees on Education and the Lunatic Asylum, and during his term took to the floor of the house to speak on behalf of a bill for disabled Georgia Confederate veterans. During this speech, Crawford remarked that:

"The United States government has pensioned her soldiers, both white and black, who fought for her in the late war. I do not see why Georgia should not pension her wounded veterans, although I am well aware that my race will not get a dollar of pension money."

  Looking back on Crawford's remarks from 130 years retrospect, a black legislator taking to the floor of the capitol to argue on the behalf of wounded Confederate veterans is, at least to this author, a surreal scene. One can only wonder what Crawford's fellow legislators (many of whom were Confederate veterans themselves) made of his actions, and despite the racial animus of the time, Crawford's remarks were reported on favorably by newspapers of the time, warranting notice in both the Atlanta Constitution and the Milledgeville Union-Recorder.

From the October 13, 1888 edition of the Atlanta Constitution.

From the July 19, 1891 edition of the Atlanta Constitution.

    In October 1888 Crawford was defeated in his bid for reelection by Charles M. Tyson, and despite Crawford's contesting the election results, Tyson served out a full term in the legislature. Following his loss, Crawford served as chairman of the McIntosh County Republican committee until his resignation in late 1888 and in 1890 won his second term in the house. During the 1890-92 session, he sat on the committees on Labor and Labor Statistics, the Penitentiary, and Temperance and was one of two black representatives to serve in that session, along with John M. Holtzendorff. This session also saw Crawford come out firmly against a House measure that would reinstate whipping posts for chain gangs in the state. As a member of Georgia's Colored Alliance, Crawford was the only legislator to speak against the passage of the measure, which was later passed by a house vote of 96-8.

  Lectured Crawford was defeated for reelection in October 1892 by Democrat C.H. Hopkins. Despite his loss, Crawford took his defeat in stride, remarking that the election was one "of the fairest and best" he'd seen in McIntosh County. In remarks printed in the Americus-Times Recorder, Crawford explained that

"My votes went into the ballot box and they we counted all right, and I have nothing but praise for the managers and clerks...The trouble is that I did not get enough votes, and of course I was defeated, but it was fairly and squarely done. Of course, people told lots of lies and succeeded in defeating me. However, I hope Mr. Hopkins will do all the good things he has promised. We shall see."

  In addition to his political service and his being a minister in the AME church, Lectured Crawford was also an active club man in McIntosh County, holding memberships in the Masons, Knights of Pythias, International Order of Odd-Fellows, and the Knights of Labor.  Elected to his third term in the legislature in 1900, Crawford was again one of two African-Americans serving in that session and held seats on the committees on County and County Matters, Education, Labor and Labor Statistics, and Special Agriculture.
  Lectured Crawford's final house term saw him in a state of impaired health, only being able to attend two sessions of the legislature. Crawford died in office in December 1901, succumbing to consumption in his room at an Atlanta boarding house. He was survived by his wife and a daughter (the latter's name unknown) and following his death was returned to his hometown of Darien for burial, an exact cemetery location for him being unknown at this time. In the days following his passing, Crawford's death made the pages of several Georgia newspapers, which noted that he was fondly remembered by his house colleagues and that he:

"Was always respectful and conservative. He had the good will of his white colleagues in the house and of his neighbors in McIntosh County. He was well up on public affairs and resolutions of respect to his memory were passed by the house."

                                                        From the Milledgeville Union-Recorder, Dec. 17, 1901.

From the Montgomery Monitor, December 19, 1901.