Editing John Sunday
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.
The edit can be undone.
Please check the comparison below to verify that this is what you want to do, and then save the changes below to finish undoing the edit.
Latest revision | Your text | ||
Line 16: | Line 16: | ||
| signaturesize = | | signaturesize = | ||
}} | }} | ||
− | '''John Sunday''' was a black businessman | + | '''John Sunday''' was a black businessman and civic leader who held a number of political offices in Reconstruction-era Pensacola. |
==Early life== | ==Early life== | ||
Line 26: | Line 26: | ||
During the Civil War, Sunday served in the Union Army, first with the 6th Regiment of the Corps d'Afrique and later with the 78th Infantry, United States Colored Troops. Then aged 25, Sunday was inducted into the army on [[May 15]], [[1863]] at [[Fort Barrancas]] and sent to Louisiana, where he quickly became a leader within his unit and was promoted to first sergeant. | During the Civil War, Sunday served in the Union Army, first with the 6th Regiment of the Corps d'Afrique and later with the 78th Infantry, United States Colored Troops. Then aged 25, Sunday was inducted into the army on [[May 15]], [[1863]] at [[Fort Barrancas]] and sent to Louisiana, where he quickly became a leader within his unit and was promoted to first sergeant. | ||
− | Sunday participated in the [[Wikipedia:Siege of Port Hudson|Siege of Port Hudson | + | Sunday participated in the [[Wikipedia:Siege of Port Hudson|Siege of Port Hudson]], among other engagements. |
− | |||
− | |||
==Post-war career== | ==Post-war career== | ||
− | After the war, Sunday returned to Pensacola with a wife, Seraphine, whom he had met in Louisiana. Sunday quickly became a leader in the black community. Sunday was appointed a customs inspector for the [[Port of Pensacola]] before serving in the Florida House of Representatives in 1874. Sunday was later elected to the [[Pensacola City Council]] and served in that role from 1878 to 1881 | + | After the war, Sunday returned to Pensacola with a wife, Seraphine, whom he had met in Louisiana. Sunday quickly became a leader in the black community. Sunday was appointed a customs inspector for the [[Port of Pensacola]] before serving in the Florida House of Representatives in 1874. Sunday was later elected to the [[Pensacola City Council]] and served in that role from 1878 to 1881. |
Sunday founded a successful contracting firm, which built hundreds of houses and commercial buildings throughout the city, as well as several other business and real estate investments. When Jim Crow laws forced African-American business owners out of [[downtown Pensacola]], Sunday helped establish [[Belmont-DeVilliers]] as Pensacola's primary black business district. When Pensacola's black Catholics formed [[St. Joseph Catholic Church]], Sunday provided the land for the new church. | Sunday founded a successful contracting firm, which built hundreds of houses and commercial buildings throughout the city, as well as several other business and real estate investments. When Jim Crow laws forced African-American business owners out of [[downtown Pensacola]], Sunday helped establish [[Belmont-DeVilliers]] as Pensacola's primary black business district. When Pensacola's black Catholics formed [[St. Joseph Catholic Church]], Sunday provided the land for the new church. | ||
− | By the time Sunday retired, he was quite wealthy; in his 1907 book “The Negro in Business,” famed black educator Booker T. Washington called Sunday "the wealthiest colored man in that section of the state," estimating Sunday's fortune at $125,000, or more than $3.4 million in 2018 dollars. Washington wrote that Sunday "is said to pay taxes on $90,000 worth of property" and "owns valuable holdings in the principal business streets of the city, and employs steadily a force of men to repair old and build new houses."<ref>Washington, Booker T. (2006). ''The Negro in Business'', p. 236. Hertel, Jenkins & Co., Chicago.</ref> | + | By the time Sunday retired, he was quite wealthy; in his 1907 book “The Negro in Business,” famed black educator Booker T. Washington called Sunday "the wealthiest colored man in that section of the state," estimating Sunday's fortune at $125,000, or more than $3.4 million in 2018 dollars. Washington wrote that Sunday "is said to pay taxes on $90,000 worth of property" and "owns valuable holdings in the principal business streets of the city, and employs steadily a force of men to repair old and build new houses."<ref>Washington, Booker T. (2006). ''The Negro in Business'', p. 236. Hertel, Jenkins & Co., Chicago.</ref> |
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
==John Sunday House== | ==John Sunday House== | ||
In 1901, Sunday built the home which would later be referred to as the [[John Sunday House]] at the northwest corner of [[Romana Street|Romana]] and [[Reus Street|Reus]] streets in the [[Tanyard]] neighborhood. Despite pleas from preservationists, the house was demolished on [[July 16]], [[2016]]. | In 1901, Sunday built the home which would later be referred to as the [[John Sunday House]] at the northwest corner of [[Romana Street|Romana]] and [[Reus Street|Reus]] streets in the [[Tanyard]] neighborhood. Despite pleas from preservationists, the house was demolished on [[July 16]], [[2016]]. | ||
− | ==Death | + | ==Death== |
Sunday died on [[January 7]], [[1925]], at the age of 86, and was buried in [[St. Michael's Cemetery]]. | Sunday died on [[January 7]], [[1925]], at the age of 86, and was buried in [[St. Michael's Cemetery]]. | ||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
==References== | ==References== |