John N. Stokes Sr.

Rev.
John N. Stokes Sr.
Rev. John N. Stokes Sr.
Personal details
Died1905 (1906)
Occupationblacksmith, Baptist minister, sheriff, politician, and city councilor

John N. Stokes Sr. (died 1905) was a blacksmith, Baptist minister, sheriff, and politician in Tallahassee, Florida.[1] He chaired the Leon County Republican Party, served in the Florida House of Representatives, was sheriff of Leon County, Florida, and served on the Tallahassee City Council. Later in life, he edited and published a Baptist newspaper in Live Oak, Florida.

Political career

Stokes chaired the Leon County Republican Party in 1872.[1] In 1873, he was nominated in the Florida Senate to be sheriff but the proposal was voted down.[2] He served in the Florida House of Representatives in 1874. He served on the Committee on Enrolled Bills.[3] In 1876, he was a candidate for state senator.[4]

He succeeded fellow African American Phillip DeCoursey as sheriff after the latter's death.[5] He served as Sheriff of Leon County from 1875 to 1877.[6] It was more than 100 years before Leon County had another Black sheriff, Walt McNeil.[5]

Stokes served two terms on Tallahassee's City Council from 1877 to 1889 and from 1881 to 1883.[1] A photo of Stokes is in the Florida Archives.[7] His home was reportedly attacked by a crowd that proceeded to "brick bat" his home but he faced them off.[8]

Later life

In the early 1890s, Stokes edited and published the Florida Baptist Herald in Live Oak, Florida.[9]

Stokes died in 1905.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 Ensley, Gerald. "Leon County had two black sheriffs in Reconstruction". Tallahassee Democrat. DeCoursey's successor was John Stokes, who served until 1877. A blacksmith and Baptist minister, Stokes was the second chairman of the Leon County Republican Party in 1872.... Stokes served in the state legislature in 1874 and served twice on the Tallahassee City Council (1877-1889, 1881-1883).... Stokes eventually moved to Live Oak, where he was publisher of the Baptist Herald in the 1890s and died in 1905.
  2. ↑ A Journal of the Proceedings of the Senate of the State of Florida at the Sixth Session of the Legislature. Tallahassee: State of Florida. December 17, 1873. p. 315. Retrieved 24 December 2025 – via Google Books. The nomination of John N. Stokes, to be the Sheriff of Leon county, was taken up.
  3. ↑ A Journal of the Proceedings of the Senate of the State of Florida at the Seventh Session of the Legislature. Tallahassee: State of Florida. December 17, 1874. p. 266 – via Google Books.
  4. ↑ "Misc doc no. 58: Papers in the Case of Jessie J. Finley and Josiah T. Walls, Second Congressional District of Florida, January 25 1876". Index to the Miscellaneous Documents of the House of Representatives for the 1st Session of the 44th Congress. Washington DC: Government Printing Office. December 17, 1876. p. 20 – via Google Books. For State senator, John N. Stokes received twelve hundred and eighty-five votes, (1,285)
  5. 1 2 Vogan, Dave (February 3, 2022). "History of African American sheriffs elected to Leon County". WTXL ABC 27 station. Tallahassee. Then came John Stokes — the second African American to be elected Leon County Sheriff from 1875 to 1877. "He was also as most people back in the day had two or three jobs he was also a blacksmith and a local minister as well..."
  6. ↑ The Florida Sheriff: First Line of Defense in Local Government. Florida Sheriffs Association. December 17, 1958. p. 59 – via Google Books. J. N. Stokes 1875-77
  7. ↑ State Library and Archives of Florida. "Image no. N042803: Reverend J.N. Stokes, Sr". Florida Memory. Retrieved 24 December 2025. Stokes was the president of the Florida General Baptist State Convention, 1881-1883, 1887-1890.
  8. ↑ Jackson, Jesse Jefferson (December 17, 1974). Republicans and Florida Elections and Election Cases, 1877-1891. Florida State University. p. 233 – via Google Books. a group proceeded to the home of John N. Stokes, "a worthy colored man and the most level-headed among them." The group began to brick bat the house but Stokes faced them down and forced them to leave.
  9. ↑ N.W. Ayer & Son's American Newspaper Annual. Philadelphia: N.W. Ayer and Son. December 17, 1893. p. 94 – via Google Books.
This page is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.