William Hines Furbush
William Hines Furbush | |
|---|---|
| Arkansas House of Representatives | |
| In office 1878–? | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | c. 1839 Carroll County, Kentucky, US |
| Died | September 3, 1902 (aged 62–63) Marion, Indiana, US |
| Resting place | Marion National Cemetery |
| Political party | Republican Party (pre 1878) |
| Spouse(s) | Susan F. Dickey Emma S. Owens |
| Children | Edgar Furbush (1868-1927), Harry Furbush (1869-1875) Minnie G. Furbush (1871-1875), Eve Furbush (1879-1879) |
| Parent | Polley |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch/service | Union Army |
| Years of service | February 1865–January 1866 |
| Rank | Commissary Sergeant |
| Unit | 42nd Ohio Infantry Regiment |
| Battles/wars | American Civil War |
William Hines Furbush (c. 1839 - September 3, 1902) was an American photographer, state legislator, sheriff, lawyer, and newspaper editor in Arkansas. In February 1865, towards the end of the American Civil War, he joined the 42nd United States Colored Infantry Regiment in Columbus, Ohio. He became a commissary sergeant and was discharged in January 1866. He lived in Liberia for a short time after the war and returned to the United States.
Furbush was born in Carroll County, Kentucky.[1] He studied in Ohio. He worked as a photographer in Delaware.
A Republican he served in the Arkansas Legislature. He advocated for the creation of Lee County, Arkansas (named for Confederate Army leader (Robert E. Lee) and was appointed its first sheriff.[2] He eventually switched to the Democratic Party.[3] He moved to Colorado and Ohio before returning to Arkansas.[4]
Furbush was involved in Civil Rights disputes over he and other African Americans being denied admission to restaurants and theaters. Mifflin Gibbs helped win one of the legal cases.[5]
In 1874 he married 18 year old schoolteacher Emma S. Owens in Memphis, Tennessee.[5]
Furbush's later career was tumultuous. He resigned as sheriff for a white man and ran as a Democrat for a seat in the Arkansas House. He was likely the first African American Democrat in the Arkansas House. He feuded with the Lily White Republicans and Democrats, who he came to support even establishing a Democratic Party paper for blacks, before the party disenfranchised his fellow African Americans and drew Fusion politics to a close. He spent time in Colorado where he killed a man and was nearly lynched before being cleared of charges. He returned to Arkansas. His wife and a daughter had died of yellow fever in the meantime. He later moved to South Carolina and Georgia.[5]
In 2021, a bust honoring him was installed in Marianna's Downtown Court Square.[6]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "W. Hines Furbush - Arkansas Black Lawyers". arkansasblacklawyers.uark.edu.
- ^ "Furbush, William H. · Notable Kentucky African Americans Database". nkaa.uky.edu.
- ^ Wintory, Blake (2004). "William Hines Furbush: African-American Carpetbagger, Republican, Fusionist, and Democrat". The Arkansas Historical Quarterly. 63 (2): 107–165. JSTOR 40024078 – via JSTOR.
- ^ "Encyclopedia of Arkansas". Encyclopedia of Arkansas.
- ^ a b c https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/william-hines-furbush-15/
- ^ https://www.thnews.com/marianna_news/honoring-marianna-s-history/article_2f534514-2160-11ec-ba4c-5b8ea16dba97.html
External links
[edit]- 1830s births
- 1902 deaths
- Union army non-commissioned officers
- Photographers from Arkansas
- Members of the Arkansas House of Representatives
- People from Carroll County, Kentucky
- People from Lee County, Arkansas
- Arkansas Republicans
- Arkansas Democrats
- African-American politicians during the Reconstruction Era
- American emigrants to Liberia
- Arkansas lawyers