Samuel Beecher Hart

This article is about the Pennsylvania state legislator. For other people named Samuel Hart, see Samuel Hart (disambiguation).

Samuel Beecher Hart (1863 - March 24, 1936) was a state legislator in Pennsylvania. He served multiple terms.[1][2]

In 1925 Hart, an African-American state legislator from Philadelphia,[3] introduced a bill in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives to commission a monument honoring 150 years of service in the U.S. military by Pennsylvania African Americans.[4] It was initially defeated but after being resubmitted the following session it passed in 1927. The All Wars Memorial to Colored Soldiers and Sailors was erected.[5] Its location was remote after disputes but it was eventually relocated in 1994.[6]

He was born in Philadelphia. He studied at Emlen Institute, a home for "colored boys" in Warminster,[7][8] and Mrs. Lloyd’s Night School in Gloucestershire, England. He was captain of a "colored unit" of the Pennsylvania National Guard, the Gray Invincibles.[5][9] He worked as an inspector with the Department of Health and Charities in Philadelphia for 14 years and was a clerk at John A. Sparks, Esq. for 10 years. He edited a newspaper and publications.[1]

Hart was a Republican and was elected to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in 1924 and was reelected for 5 consecutive terms. He died while still in office. He was buried at Eden Cemetery in Collingdale, Pennsylvania.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Official Website - PA House Archives Official Website". archives.house.state.pa.us.
  2. ^ Bois, William Edward Burghardt Du (May 28, 1927). "Crisis". Crisis Publishing Company – via Google Books.
  3. ^ Samuel Beecher Hart, from Pennsylvania House of Representatives.
  4. ^ Ernst Jockers, J. Otto Schweizer: The Man and His Work, (Philadelphia: International Printing Company, 1953), pp. 62-65.
  5. ^ a b "The Men Behind the Memorial · Controversial Public Art · Public History". hst4080.omeka.net.
  6. ^ "The Disturbing and Inspiring History of the All Wars Memorial".
  7. ^ "Pennsylvania State Manual". Department of Property and Supplies for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. May 28, 1926 – via Google Books.
  8. ^ "Emlen Institute | Solebury Township Historical Society". August 7, 2015.
  9. ^ "Museum Without Walls™: AUDIO - All Wars Memorial".