Matthew M. Lewey (1845 - 1935)
Around half of Reconstruction-era black office holders were born free. Many pioneer black lawyers born free answered the call for public service. A typical pioneer lawyer in this regard was Matthew M. Lewey.
Born free in Baltimore, Maryland in 1845, Matthew M. Lewey was the son of free blacks John W. and Eliza Lewey. John and Eliza embraced the value of education, even though Maryland was a slave state. They sent Matthew to private schools for free blacks in Baltimore and Matthew received the rudiments of an education.
In 1861, John and Eliza sent Matthew away to New York City to live with Matthew’s Aunt, Mrs. Emeline Carter, and Matthew’s grandfather, Rev. William McFarlin. The schools for free blacks were superior in New York. Matthew attended the well-known school on Mulberry Street under the leadership of Principal Rev. John Petterson.
When 1863 rolled around, the 18-year-old Matthew cast away his school books and enrolled in the military, the 55th Massachusetts Regiment to be more precise. https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/55th-massachusetts-regiment.htm Matthew served in a number of hand to hand combat battles, including the Siege of Fort Wagner, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Battle_of_Fort_Wagner the Battle of James Island, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_James_Island_(1865) and Honey Hill https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Honey_Hill Matthew was shot three times at Honey Hill while bearing the colors before falling badly wounded. Matthew was hospitalized and survived his wounds but his life was changed forever.
In 1865, the Army honorably discharged Matthew. He was totally disabled.
=========
After his honorable discharge, Matthew returned his focus to his education. Matthew graduated in 1872 from Lincoln University with full honors. He set his sights on law school and enrolled at Howard under the deanship of pioneer black lawyer John M. Langston. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Mercer_Langston
Matthew’s life was on course towards a Howard Law School degree until an unforeseeable pitch. Black Congressman and pioneer black lawyer Josiah Walls invited Matthew to seek his fortune in Florida. A personal invitation from Congressman Walls left a deep impression on the young Howard law student.
In 1873, Matthew dropped out of Howard and moved to Alachua County, Florida where he found work as a teacher. One imagines Congressman Walls was in the background as a mentor for the young teacher. Matthew would have seen in Walls black enterprise in action — “But thanks to his salary as a congressman (Walls) was able, in 1873, to purchase for $5,000 a large plantation formerly owned by Confederate general James W. Harrison.”
1874 was an explosive year of civic leadership for Matthew. He was appointed Postmaster. Governor M.L. Sterns appointed Matthew Justice of the Peace. And most impressively, the voters elected Matthew Mayor of Newmansville. He served as Mayor from 1874 to 1877.
In 1875, Matthew was admitted to the Florida Bar. Now, he could practice law which only added to his visibility and influence.
=========
Although Reconstruction ended in 1877, Matthew continued to practice law. He was elected to the Gainesville Board of Alderman in 1880 and the Florida Assembly in 1881. Around this time, Matthew owned $12,000 worth of property. He was economically secure while mindful of reparations for slavery which I find interesting. Matthew M. Lewey is the second pioneer black lawyer (out of approximately one hundred thus far) who supported reparations for American slavery — “In 1884, M.M. Lewey served as a delegate to a statewide gathering of African American leaders who demanded reparations for slavery that would be applied to Florida’s public school system.”
By 1887, Matthew had branched out into the field of newspaper publishing. He published the Farmer’s Journal in Gainesville (with former Congressman Walls) and founded the Gainesville Florida Sentinel.
The 1900s
Matthew invested himself more and more in black enterprise as he aged. He served as a member of the executive committees of the National Negro Business League and the National Negro Press Association. He exercised a leadership role as President of the Florida State Negro Business League. In 1905, he led a Pensacola streetcar car boycott. He founded the Associated Negro Press in 1919 and was organizing Black American voters in 1920. His aim in life was “to inspire the race with a desire to be a self-respecting and a self-assisting people — not content to live in the atmosphere of dependency.”
Matthew M. Lewey passed away in 1935.
Conclusion: Matthew M. Lewey was born free and died free. He was the face of Black Enterprise magazine before Black Enterprise magazine was first published in 1970. I leave you this evening with the mindset of this pioneer black lawyer — “This is not, after all, a question of prejudice, but a question of brains. Brains will solve the problem.”
Mathew M. Lewey (1845 - 1935)
His aim in life was “to inspire the race with a desire to be a self-respecting and a self-assisting people — not content to live in the atmosphere of dependency.” What a great quote to live by. Quite different from what is preached today. I also love this: “This is not, after all, a question of prejudice, but a question of brains. Brains will solve the problem.” Are we using our brains to address the issues of today?
You can probably tell that I’m catching up today, AND I’m happy to say that I had flagged one of the comments from the young woman I told you about. I shared your story about Sugar (sorry, forgot his last name), who was half Creek. I’m sure she’ll read it, and I hope she’ll read more of your essays. Maybe others will see, it as well.
What I’m also finding interesting about a lot of these men was the amount of wealth! How much would $12,000 be today?!