Born into slavery near Vidalia, Louisiana, Lynch had also served in the Mississippi Legislature from 1869-1873. He was a strong supporter of the Civil Rights Act of 1875, which would ban discrimination on public transport and facilities and facilitate equal education in schools.
Link to the catalog1873: John R. Lynch elected to United States House of Representatives
John R. Lynch
1873: Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus Lamar is seated in House of Representatives
L. Q. C. Lamar
Lamar was the first Mississippi Democrat elected to Congress during Reconstruction.
Link to the catalog1873: Blue Mountain College founded in northeast Mississippi
Blue Mountain College postcard
The college was opened as a private school for girls and given to the Mississippi Baptist Convention in 1920.
Link to the catalog