Downtown Tucsonan - February 2009 - (Page 21) Historic Downtown African-American Pioneer By Mike Speelman ith the recent inauguration of the first african-american President, it is ap- taking their patronage and their support of Mccormick to the newly formed Arizona Citipropriate to remember tucson’s, and arizona’s, first african american politi- zen, still published today as the Tucson Citizen. cian. Born into slavery in alabama around 1832, samuel Bostick was owned samuel Bostick was one of the seven. the democratic Party had too many ex-confedby Rush Elmore, the scion of a socially prominent local family in and around erates and southern sympathizers as candidates and voters to be attractive to the former Montgomery. a lawyer and veteran of the Mexican war, Elmore was ap- slave. But his loyalty to the Republicans was measured as well. Bostick chose to run as an pointed by President Pierce to be an associate Justice of the Kansas territorial supreme independent candidate for Public administrator against the Republican candidate, John court in 1854. Bostick was one of the slaves he brought with him; within two years, Bostick s. thayer. the democrats had offered a place on the ticket for that office to charles Meyarranged a contract with Elmore to buy his freedom. Kansas entered the union as a free ers but he had declined to run. the Public administrator dealt with probate issues, the state in January 1861, but by then Bostick had moved on. indigent, and other such public matters. the santa Fe trail beckoned and Bostick headed west. upon Bostick’s candidacy was not mentioned in the weeks leading up to the election and only received a brief menarrival in tucson during the 1860s, he set up in business with a barbershop on convent street. In June 1869, he expanded his tion afterward in the Arizonan, which noted that “saml. Bosoperation, opening tucson’s first public bathhouse at a new bartique” had lost to thayer by two hundred fifty-one votes. bershop located on congress street near warner street, just the misspelling is deliberate and meant to tweak Bostick a few doors west of charles H. Meyers’ drug store. In august, for his pretensions in running for office. The Arizonan notes Bostick married albina Barragan, who had come to tucson from the next week that the winning margin was four hundred sonora during the 1860s. forty-eight votes. In either case, Bostick appears to have the business was profitable, allowing Bostick to buy the received, perhaps, two hundred plus votes out of the total building containing his shop. In the building’s larger space, he seven hundred seven votes cast in the Pima county elecand his wife opened a restaurant to great success as well. By tion. The Citizen, which continued to receive his advertising June of 1870, he owned $2000 worth of property and had a dollars, did not mention his candidacy once. personal estate of $500, making him tucson’s most successful Racial tensions resulting from the election received scant african-american. Late in June, he leased the restaurant to notice in the press. In the post-election sniping that went on, Frank alling, who operated it as the well-known shoo Fly ResJohn wasson, the Citizen’s editor, noted dooner was “much taurant until april of 1871, when he closed it and left tucson. exercised” about Bostick for snubbing him. More problemBostick then sold that part of the building. atic, Milton duffield was voicing his displeasure at tucson’s the november 1870 election was the first after the March photo of Bostick, courtesy of the Arizona Historical Society nine african americans participating in the recent election ratification of the Fifteenth amendment, guaranteeing voting in “the vilest oaths.” duffield, formerly a Postal agent and rights regardless of race. across the south, african-americans prepared to participate us Marshal, was now little more than an alcoholic time bomb, violently blowing up more and, in tucson, samuel Bostick made ready to assert himself. Richard Mccormick, a Re- than occasionally. Bostick must have found himself a target, perhaps a victim, of duffield’s publican, was running for re-election as congressional delegate from the arizona terri- outrage, but the papers give no details, give him no voice. tory, this time opposed by Peter Brady on the democratic ticket. The Weekly Arizonan, Bostick also received three votes for mayor in the January 1874 village election, which tucson’s only newspaper, supported Mccormick. then editor Pierton dooner, presented the Citizen dismissed as merely a joke. the next month, Bostick left for Yuma, eventually with evidence purporting to show corruption on the part of Mccormick, switched the settling in Florence, where he died august 27, 1903. paper’s support to Brady. this change provoked seven advertisers to withdraw their ads, W february.09. downtown tucsonan 21 http://www.884ride.org http://www.tucson12.tv http://www.884ride.org http://www.tucson12.tv http://www.myspace.com/dtowntucson
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