Jonathan Clarkson Gibbs
| Jonathan Clarkson Gibbs | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Secretary of State and Superintendent of Public Instruction | |
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In office 1868 to 1872, 1873 to 1874 |
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| Preceded by | George J. Alden, Charles Beecher |
| Succeeded by | Samuel B. Mclin, William Watkin Hicks |
| Personal details | |
| Born | September 28, 1821 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Died | August 14, 1874 (aged 52) Tallahassee, Florida |
| Nationality | American |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Anna Amelia Harris, (divorced), and Elizabeth F. Gibbs |
Jonathan Clarkson Gibbs, II (September 28, 1821 – August 14, 1874) was a Presbyterian minister and a prominent African-American officeholder during Reconstruction. He served as the first black Secretary of State and Superintendent of Public Instruction of Florida, and along with Josiah Thomas Walls, US Congressman from Florida, was among the most powerful black officeholders in the state during Reconstruction.
Gibbs was born free in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on September 28, 1821. His father was Reverend Jonathan Gibbs I, a Methodist minister, and his mother Maria Jackson was a Baptist. Jonathan C. Gibbs II was the oldest of four children born to the couple. He grew up in Philadelphia during a time when the city was rife with anti-black and anti-abolitionist sentiments. Many white Northerners during this period practiced both white superiority and discrimination against blacks. Gibbs and his brother, Mifflin, attended the local Free School in Philadelphia.
Though not much is known about the details of his early life, Jonathan Clarkson Gibbs grew up in a Philadelphia where anti-black riots and violence were quite common. Following the death of his father in April 1831, Gibbs and his brother left the Free School to aid their ailing mother and earn a living. The young Gibbs apprenticed to a carpenter. Both brothers eventually converted to Presbyterianism. Gibbs impressed the Presbyterian assembly such that the Assembly provided financial backing for him to attend Kimball Union Academy in Meriden, New Hampshire.
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