John Adams Hyman

Born: July 23, 1840, Warrenton, North Carolina

Died: September 14, 1891, Washington, District of Columbia

United States Representative, 1875–1877

Republican from North Carolina

• Hyman was the first African American elected to the United States Congress from North Carolina. 
• Hyman was born a slave in Warren County, N.C. and was bought and sold 8 times until the end of the Civil War.
• He returned to North Carolina in 1865 and took up farming. He entered politics the following year. 
• After serving in the state senate for 6 years, Hyman was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives and served in the 43rd Congress (1873–1875).  
• His political career was plagued with charges of corruption and he served only one term. 
• He resumed agricultural pursuits and held several government positions.  
• He died from a stroke in Washington, D.C. on September 14, 1891 at the age of 51. 

John Adams Hyman

1877

Black Americans in Congress, 1870-2007

National Archives Records Administration

Image courtesy of National Archives Records Administration: John Adams Hyman.