Emanuel Fortune
American politician (1833–1897)
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Emanuel Fortune (January 3, 1833 – January 27, 1897) was an American shoemaker, farmer, and political leader. Emanuel was born to Dorah (Dora) Russ, the daughter of a mixed race enslaved woman and a Seminole Indian, and Thomas Fortune, an Irishman killed in a duel when Emmanuel was 6 months old. Emanuel represented Jackson County, Florida at the 1868 Florida Constitutional Convention and in the Florida House of Representatives before being forced to flee and re-establishing himself in Duval County, Florida, where he held several offices.[1] He served in the Florida House of Representatives from 1868 to 1870.[2]
Emanuel Fortune | |
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| Member of the Florida House of Representatives from the Jackson County district | |
| In office 1868–1870 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | January 3, 1833 near Marianna, Florida, U.S. |
| Died | January 27, 1897 (aged 64) |
| Resting place | Old City Cemetery |
| Party | Republican |
Fortune was born into slavery in 1833 on the Russ Plantation near Marianna, Florida. Fortune worked as a shoemaker before entering politics.[3] Fortune was an African Methodist Episcopal Church layman and was appointed to the county board of voter registration.[4] Fortune married Sarah Jane Miers on June 5, 1866 The couple's son, Timothy Thomas Fortune, became a noted radical newspaper editor and activist for African American rights.[5]
Fortune was elected to the 1868 Florida Constitutional Convention as one of four representatives for Jackson County.[5][4] Fortune was forced to leave Jackson County because he believed his life was threatened by white supremacists[6] and served the remainder of his elected term in Jacksonville.[3]
In November 1871, Jackson testified at the United States Senate Select Committee on Outrages in Southern States, a special session of the 42nd United States Congress that investigated Ku Klux Klan violence in North Carolina and Florida.[7][8] Jackson was questioned by the chairman of the committee, Henry Wilson, and Thomas F. Bayard.[9] Fortune testified about the difficulty Black farmers had in obtaining small parcels of land and the racially motivated attacks and violence that he had witnessed.[9][10]
Fortune is buried at the Old Jacksonville City Cemetery in Duval County, Florida.
A photograph of Fortune appears in Canter Brown Jr.'s book, Florida's Black Public Officials, 1867-1924.