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Samuel Wakefield (c. 1834–1883), was an American postmaster, tax collector, school official, and state legislator in Louisiana. During the Reconstruction era, he represented Iberia Parish in the Louisiana Senate.

Biography

Samuel Wakefield was born c. 1834, in St. Martin Parish, Louisiana. He was documented as being mulatto, literate, and having worked as a cooper and tax collector. In 1874, he served as the tax collector, elected by the Republicans.

He founded the Wakefield Institute (?–1874) in New Iberia, Louisiana, a two story private school for African American students, during the time of racial segregation. The school was destroyed by a tornado in 1874.

Wakefield represented Iberia Parish in the Louisiana Senate, from 1877 to 1879. He was deposed from office during the term of governor Francis T. Nicholls, and his seat was passed to George Wailles.

He was married to Amelia Valentine, and they had seven children. In 1879, his daughter Emma Wakefield-Paillet was the first black woman to qualify as a physician in Louisiana. An older child, Adolph J. Wakefield, served as Clerk of Court for Iberia Parish, between 1884 and 1888; and the first African American to do so.

A younger son, also named Samuel Wakefield Jr., was in a altercation in January 1889 with a white man named James W. Trainor who owned the door, curtain, and blinds shop. There are conflicting stories about the event that transpired, one version is that Trainor had forced Wakefield Jr., then age 17, to carry a heavy new door down a flight of stairs for Wakefield Jr. employer, however when he resisted Wakefield Jr. was stabbed. Another version of the story is that Wakefield Jr. was employed by Trainor, and was slapped or punched when he wouldn't do his job. Trainor was murdered by gunshot, apparently inflicted by the junior Wakefield. Following the event, the Wakefield family home was terrorized by a mob of angry white citizens. On January 25, 1889, Samuel Wakefield Jr. was attacked and lynched by a mob while in the jail at New Iberia.

Samuel Wakefield Sr. committed suicide by firearm mere days later on February 1, 1889, in New Iberia. The family fled not long after, and settled in New Orleans.

See also

• African-American officeholders during and following the Reconstruction era

References

1. ^ Hayes, Phebe (30 August 2019). "Emma Wakefield-Paillet, MD". 64 Parishes.
2. ^ "Samuel Wakefield suicide". The Times-Democrat. 2 February 1883. p. 3 – via Newspapers.com.
3. Foner, Eric (1996-08-01). Freedom’s Lawmakers: A Directory of Black Officeholders During Reconstruction. LSU Press. p. 219. ISBN 978-0-8071-2082-8 – via Google Books.
4. ^ "A Tornado". The Louisiana Sugar-Bowl. 1874-08-20. Retrieved 2024-11-08 – via Newspapers.com.
5. Dickens, Shanna P. (2018-12-10). "A Legacy Remembered". The Daily Iberian. Retrieved 2024-04-15.
6. ^ "A Reign of Terror". The Cleveland Leader. 1889-02-10. Retrieved 2024-11-08 – via Newspapers.com.
7. ^ "Samuel Wakefield Jr". The Times-Picayune. 26 January 1889. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
8. ^ Copp, Dan (March 6, 2019). "Play to spotlight Louisiana's first black woman doctor". The Daily Comet. Retrieved 2020-05-28.

• 1830s births
• 1883 deaths
• 19th-century African-American people
• African-American history of Louisiana
• African-American politicians during the Reconstruction Era
• American school administrators
• American woodworkers
• Louisiana postmasters
• People from New Iberia, Louisiana
• Politicians from New Orleans
• Suicides by firearm in Louisiana
• Tax collectors
• 19th-century members of the Louisiana State Legislature