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John Sunday

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'''John Sunday''' was a black businessman and civic leader who held a number of political offices in Reconstruction-era Pensacola.
==Early life==
Sunday was born in 1838 to John Sunday, a white man, and Jinny, a mixed-race enslaved woman. Sunday's father was murdered shortly after his birth.
==Military service==
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. Returning to Pensacola after the war, Sunday quickly became a leader in the black community. Sunday served in the Florida House of Representatives in 1874 and was later elected to the [[Pensacola City Council]].
==Post-war career==
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. By the time Sunday retired, he was quite wealthy; in his 1907 book β€œThe Negro in Business,” famed black author 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.
 
==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]].
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