Thomas Morris Chester, I

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• Name	Thomas Morris Chester  [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16]
  Suffix	I
  Born	11 May 1834 Harrisburg, Dauphin, Pennsylvania, USA [1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 14, 15, 16]
  Gender	Male
  Origin	​ Pennsylvania, USA [5]
  Education	​ Pittsburgh, Allegheny, Pennsylvania, USA [17]  –  The Allegheny Institute, later known as Avery College
  Education	1848 Thetford, Orange, Vermont, USA [18, 19, 20]  –  Thetford Academy
  Residence	1850 East Ward, Harrisburg, Dauphin, Pennsylvania, USA [8]  –  16 Age: 16
  Residence	1856 Monrovia, Bong, Liberia [18]
  Departure	Mar 1858 Liberia [5]  –  Ship: Mary Caroline Stevens
  Arrival	23 Mar 1858 Baltimore, Anne Arundel, Maryland, USA [5]  –  Age: 24
  Arrival	Dec 1859 Baltimore, Anne Arundel, Maryland, USA [12]  –  Age: 25; QuarterOfYear: Oct, Nov, Dec; Ship: Various Vessels
  Departure	Foreign Countries [12]
  Residence	1860 Ward 2, Harrisburg, Dauphin, Pennsylvania, USA [9]  –  Age: 30
  Residence	1 Jul 1863 Ward 6, Harrisburg, Dauphin, Pennsylvania, USA [10]  –  Marital Status: Unmarried
  The Freedmen's Appeal	25 May 1867 Harrisburg, Dauphin, Pennsylvania, USA [22]
  Residence	1870 London, England [14, 16]
  Residence	1870 305 Chestnut, Harrisburg, Dauphin, Pennsylvania, USA [7, 23]  –  Age: 36; MaleCitizenOverTwentyone: Yes; Occupation: Barrister
  Residence	1870 London, England [11]  –  StreetAddress: 1 MiddleTemple laE C
  The Colored Convention	16 Apr 1872 New Orleans, Orleans, Louisiana, USA [24]  –  Tom Chester Reads The Platform
  Interview with Tom Chester	17 Sep 1874 Harrisburg, Dauphin, Pennsylvania, USA [25]  –  on the Louisiana Situation and General Politics
  Race	Black [7, 8, 12]
  Race	Colored [9]
  Veteran	Civil War
  Name	Gen T Morris Chester [26]
  Name	Honorable Thomas Morris Chester [23]
  Name	T. Morris Chester [27]
  Name	Thomas M Chester [18]
  Occupation	Schoolteacher [12, 17]
  Residence	​ Liberia [5, 17]
  Residence	30 Jun 1879 New Orleans, Orleans, Louisiana, USA [27]
  Died	30 Sep 1892 305 Chestnut, Harrisburg, Dauphin, Pennsylvania, USA [1, 4, 14, 15, 16, 26]
  	Age: 58
  Buried	​ 201 South 30th, Penbrook, Dauphin, Pennsylvania, USA [1, 14, 15, 16, 28]
  	Lincoln Cemetery
  Notes	Thomas Morris Chester was an American educator and lawyer, and a militia captain for the Union Army in 1863. He was also the only Black war correspondent for a major newspaper during the Civil War.[1][2] T. Morris Chester was born in 1834 in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, the fourth child of George Chester (abt.1785-abt.1859) and Jane (Morris) Chester (1803-1894). The 1850 U.S. Census of "Free inhabitants" shows him at age 16 in the home of his parents in the East Ward of Harrisburg, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania.[3] He attended The Allegheny Institute, later known as Avery College in Allegheny City, (now part of Pittsburgh) Pennsylvania,[4] completing his secondary education in Liberia at Alexander High School in the city of Monrovia. He returned to the United States in September 1854 and entered the junior class of Thetford Academy in Vermont, graduating in 1856. He then returned to Liberia to teach freed and free-born expatriate Black Americans and Afro-Caribbeans.[4] He returned to the United States, arriving in Baltimore in 1858. The passenger arrival record shows his occupation as "school teacher,"[5] but by 31 December 1859, his occupation was "editor."[6] The 1860 U.S. Census shows him at age 30 in the home of his mother, with a brother and a sister, in Harrisburg, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania.[7] At the start of the Civil War, he returned to the United States by way of England. He assisted in the enlistment of colored soldiers in the 54th and 55th Massachusetts regiments. In the last years of the Civil War, he was known as the first African-American war correspondent for The Philadelphia Press, which was a major daily newspaper at that time.[8] After the war, he traveled extensively in Europe, and studied law at The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple in London, and was called to the Bar on 30 Apr 1870.[9] According to the Middle Temple he was the first African American to practice at the English Bar.[9] The 1870 U.S. Census,[10] enumerated on 26 Jul 1870, shows him at age 36 in the home of his mother in Ward 3 of Harrisburg, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania. His occupation is "Barrister." He returned to the U.S. in 1871 and settled in Louisiana, where he practiced law and where he was the brigadier-general of the militia and the superintendent of schools in 1875.[8] He married Florence Evelyn Johnson on 1 Sep 1879 in Orleans Parish, Louisiana.[11] They had three children. Two are known: Thomas Morris Chester (1878-bef.1910) Morris B. Chester (1880-1949) Thomas Morris Chester has not yet been found on an 1880 Census. His wife and son are listed at his mother's house in Harrisburg, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania.[12] He may have been traveling overseas. However, he is listed in the 1880 New Orleans city directory as a U.S. Commissioner.[13] He died in 1892, and is buried at the Lincoln Cemetery in Penbrook, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania.[14] Statue of T. Morris Chester Legacy There is a memorial on the grounds of the Capitol building in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania that consists of a pedestal inscribed with "one hundred names of change agents who pursued the power of suffrage and citizenship between 1870 and 1920." [15] Around the pedestal, there are statues of four great abolitionist orators. Thomas Morris Chester is one of these four.[16] See the 100 Voices Project. Sources ↑ Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Thomas Morris Chester WikiPedia. ↑ Jean Huets, "A Black Correspondent at the Front," The New York Times, February 8, 2015. ↑ "United States Census, 1850," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M4H4-1TR : 22 December 2020), Thomas Chester in household of George Chester, Harrisburg, Dauphin, Pennsylvania, United States; citing family , NARA microfilm publication (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.). ↑ 4.0 4.1 William J. Simmons and Henry McNeal Turner, Men of Mark: Eminent, Progressive and Rising, (GM Rewell & Company, 1887) pp. 113-117, 671-676. ↑ "United States Index to Passenger Arrivals, Atlantic and Gulf Ports, 1820-1874," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KD5D-1N5 : 19 February 2021), Thomas M Chester, 1858; citing Immigration, NARA microfilm publication M334 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.); FHL microfilm 418,187. ↑ "Maryland, Baltimore Passenger Lists, 1820-1948," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QK6L-TFK1 : 19 February 2021), Thomas M Chester, 1859; citing Immigration, Baltimore, Baltimore, Maryland, United States, NARA microfilm publications M255, M596, and T844 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.); FHL film 1,376,181. ↑ "United States Census, 1860," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9BSX-C5D?cc=1473181&wc=7QTM-933%3A1589434177%2C1589434607%2C1589434893 : 24 March 2017), Pennsylvania > Dauphin > 2nd Ward Harrisburg > image 47 of 67; from "1860 U.S. Federal Census - Population," database, Fold3.com (http://www.fold3.com : n.d.); citing NARA microfilm publication M653 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.) Thomas Chester in entry for [illegible] Chester. ↑ 8.0 8.1 WikiPedia: Thomas Morris Chester ↑ 9.0 9.1 https://www.middletemple.org.uk/archive/history/notable-middle-templars?category_1=All&date_of_joining_3=4 ↑ "United States Census, 1870", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MZGN-BK7 : 29 May 2021), Thomas Chester in entry for Jane Chester, 1870. ↑ "Louisiana Parish Marriages, 1837-1957," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QKJW-24JS : 17 February 2021), Thomas Morris Chester and Florence E Johnson, 01 Sep 1879; citing Orleans, Louisiana, United States, various parish courthouses, Louisiana; FHL microfilm 907,694. ↑ "United States Census, 1880," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MWF9-VVR : 20 February 2021), Florence Chester in household of Jane M Chester, Harrisburg, Dauphin, Pennsylvania, United States; citing enumeration district ED 85, sheet 167D, NARA microfilm publication T9 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), FHL microfilm 1,255,123. ↑ "United States City and Business Directories, ca. 1749 - ca. 1990", database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:6ZCP-GPHY : 13 April 2021), T Morris Chester, 1880. ↑ Find A Grave: Memorial #104758885, page for Thomas Morris Chester (11 May 1834-30 Sep 1892), citing Lincoln Cemetery, Penbrook, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, USA; accessed 2 August 2021; Maintained by Find A Grave. ↑ https://digitalharrisburg.com/commonwealth/100names/ ↑ https://digitalharrisburg.com/commonwealth/ “Thomas Morris Chester (1834-1892) | WikiTree FREE Family Tree.” Accessed November 7, 2022. https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Chester-1621.
  Person ID	I14 SOALsearch
  Last Modified	1 Nov 2024

  
  
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  Father	George Chester (Age 74 years) b. 1785, Maryland, USA d. 17 Oct 1859, Harrisburg, Dauphin, Pennsylvania, USA (Age 74 years)
  Relationship	natural
  Mother	Jane Marie Morris (Age 92 years) b. 5 Jul 1801, 38 North Gay street, Baltimore, Independent Cities, Maryland, USA d. 19 Mar 1894, 305 Chestnut, Harrisburg, Dauphin, Pennsylvania, USA (Age 92 years)
  Relationship	natural
  Family ID	F3 Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family 1	Florence Evelyn Johnson (Age 86 years) b. 5 Oct 1857, Natchez, Adams, Mississippi, USA d. 15 Jun 1944, New Orleans, Orleans, Louisiana, USA (Age 86 years)
  Married	1 Sep 1879 New Orleans, Orleans, Louisiana, USA [2]
  Children	1. Morris Brunett Chester (Age 69 years) b. 12 Jun 1880, Harrisburg, Dauphin, Pennsylvania, USA d. 17 Jun 1949, New Orleans, Orleans, Louisiana, USA (Age 69 years)  [natural]   2. Thomas Morris Chester, II b. Apr 1878, Harrisburg, Dauphin, Pennsylvania, USA  [natural]
  Last Modified	1 Nov 2024
  Family ID	F4 Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family 2	Elisheba Ann Dyer (Age 64 years) b. 13 Aug 1843, Wellington, Somerset, England d. Oct 1907, Newport, Monmouthshire, Wales (Age 64 years)
  Children	1. Minnie Chester Dyer (Age 83 years) b. 26 Sep 1870, Plumstead, Kent, England d. 12 Jun 1954, Newport, Monmouthshire, Wales (Age 83 years)  [natural]
  Last Modified	1 Nov 2024
  Family ID	F5 Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family 3	Sarah E Richardson b. Liberia d. 1860, Liberia
  Children	1. Samuel Obadiah Chester-Richardson b. Abt 1860, Monrovia, Montserrado, Liberia d. Liberia  [natural]
  Last Modified	1 Nov 2024
  Family ID	F6 Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Photos

  Portrait of Thomas Morris Chester

  
  

• Sources

  [S3] U.S., Find a Grave Index, 1600s-Current, Ancestry.com, (Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2012;). Record for Thomas Morris Chester https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=60525&h=76430849&indiv=try [S89] New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S., Marriage Records Index, 1831-1964, Ancestry.com, (Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2002;), Volume: 7; Page: 565. [S502] Biographies of Notable Americans, 1904, Ancestry.com, (Name: Ancestry.com Operations Inc; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 1997;). [S86] Biography & Genealogy Master Index (BGMI), Ancestry.com, (Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2009;), Gale Research Company; Detroit, Michigan; Accession Number: 812599. Record for Thomas Morris Chester https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=4394&h=5713012&indiv=try [S1087] Baltimore, Passenger and Immigration Lists, 1820-1872, Ancestry.com, (Name: Ancestry.com Operations Inc; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2004;). Record for Thomas M. Chester https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=7480&h=188706&indiv=try [S74] U.S., Newspapers.com Obituary Index, 1800s-current, Ancestry.com, (Name: Ancestry.com Operations Inc; Location: Lehi, UT, USA; Date: 2019;), Harrisburg Telegraph; Publication Date: 19 Mar 1894; Publication Place: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, USA; URL: https://www.newspapers.com/image/44262632/?article=8adbf3a8-c81a-47a1-9b1d-e6b20045a6a5&focus=0.24806304,0.58390576,0.34999308,0.7791614&xid=3355. [S62] 1870 United States Federal Census, Ancestry.com, (Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2009;), Year: 1870; Census Place: Harrisburg Ward 3, Dauphin, Pennsylvania; Roll: M593_1334; Page: 164A. Record for Thomas Chester https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=7163&h=4490100&indiv=try [S8] 1850 United States Federal Census, Ancestry.com, (Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2009;), Year: 1850; Census Place: Harrisburg East Ward, Dauphin, Pennsylvania; Roll: 774; Page: 89a. Record for Thomas Chester https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=8054&h=305308&indiv=try [S66] 1860 United States Federal Census, Ancestry.com, (Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2009;), Year: 1860; Census Place: Harrisburg Ward 2, Dauphin, Pennsylvania; Page: 967. Record for Thomas Chester https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=7667&h=1827099&indiv=try [S84] U.S., Civil War Draft Registrations Records, 1863-1865, Ancestry.com, (Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2010;), National Archives and Records Administration (NARA); Washington, D.C.; Consolidated Lists of Civil War Draft Registration Records (Provost Marshal General's Bureau; Consolidated Enrollment Lists, 1863-1865); Record Group: 110, Records of the Provost Marsha. [S504] London, England, City Directories, 1736-1943, Ancestry.com, (Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.; Location: Lehi, UT, USA; Date: 2018;), London Metropolitan Archives; London, England; London City Directories. Record for Thos.Morris Chester https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=61265&h=11843838&indiv=try [S1086] Baltimore, Maryland, U.S., Passenger Lists, 1820-1964, Ancestry.com, (Name: Ancestry.com Operations Inc; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2006;), The National Archives At Washington, D.c.; Washington, D.c.; Records of the Us Customs Service, Rg36; NAI Number: 2655153; Record Group Title: Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, 1787-2004; Record Group Number: 85. Record for Thomas M Chester https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=8679&h=1674811&indiv=try Details: “Thomas Morris Chester.” In Wikipedia, April 17, 2022. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Thomas_Morris_Chester&oldid=1083102350. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Thomas_Morris_Chester&oldid=1083102350 [S1] Ancestry Family Trees, (Name: Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com. Original data: Family Tree files submitted by Ancestry members.;). Record for Samuel Obadiah Chester-Richardson https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=1030&h=222080121819&indiv=try [S3] U.S., Find a Grave Index, 1600s-Current, Ancestry.com, (Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2012;). [S1] Ancestry Family Trees, (Name: Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com. Original data: Family Tree files submitted by Ancestry members.;). Record for Minnie Chester Dyer https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=1030&h=36442304347&indiv=try [S3219] INTERESTING.COM, INC, WikiTree FREE Family Tree, WikiTree FREE Family Tree. “Thomas Morris Chester (1834-1892).” Genealogy wiki, 2008. https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Chester-1621 [S3216] U.S., High School Student Lists, 1821-1923, Ancestry.com, (Name: Ancestry.com Operations Inc; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2012;). Record for Thomas M Chester https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=2395&h=236528&indiv=try Details: “Thetford Academy, Vermont.” In Wikipedia, May 16, 2022. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Thetford_Academy,_Vermont&oldid=1088211539. [S3217] Thetford Academy, “History - Thetford Academy,” February 6, 2021. https://thetfordacademy.org/about-ta/history/ [S3218] The New York Times., New York, NY (online archive), Huets, Jean. “A Black Correspondent at the Front.” The New York Times. 1423443569, sec. Opinionator. https://archive.nytimes.com/opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/02/08/a-black-correspondent-at-the-front/ [S4228] Newspapers.com - Harrisburg Telegraph - 1867-05-25 - Page 3, (Name: Harrisburg Telegraph; Location: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; Date: 1867-05-25;), The Freedmen's Appeal. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/122460067/the-freedmens-appeal/?xid=637 [S97] The State Journal. Harrisburg, Penna, Saturday, July 19, 1884. Vol. 3. No. 15. Page 1, (Name: The State Journal; Location: Harrisburg, PA; Date: 1884;). Record for Honorable Thomas Morris Chester https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=2346&h=135178&indiv=try [S6009] Newspapers.com - The Patriot-News - 16 Apr 1872 - Page 1, (Name: The Patriot-News; Location: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; Date: 16 Apr 1872;), The Colored Convention--Tom Chester Reads The Platform 16 Apr 1872. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/155423831/the-colored-convention-tom-chester/?xid=637 [S6172] Newspapers.com - The Patriot-News - 1874-09-17 - Interview with Tom Chester on the Louisiana Situation and General Politics, (Name: The Patriot-News; Location: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; Date: 1874-09-17;), Interview with Tom Chester on the Louisiana Situation and General Politics 1874-09-17. https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-patriot-news-interview-with-tom-ches/156358954/?xid=637 [S3220] U.S., Newspaper Extractions from the Northeast, 1704-1930, Ancestry.com, (Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2014;). Record for Gen T Morris Chester https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=50015&h=475990&indiv=try [S283] U.S., Register of Civil, Military, and Naval Service, 1863-1959, Ancestry.com, (Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2014;). Record for T. Morris Chester https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=2525&h=2002321&indiv=try [S4] Findagrave, (Location: Penbrook, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, USA; Date: 1885;), Thomas Morris Chester 30 Sep 1892. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/104758885/thomas-morris-chester