James Sidney Hinton (December 25, 1834 – November 6, 1892) was a Civil War veteran and Republican politician, the first African American to hold state office in Indiana and the first African American to serve in the Indiana state legislature.
James Sidney Hinton (December 25, 1834 – November 6, 1892) was a Civil War veteran and Republican politician, the first African American to hold state office in Indiana and the first African American to serve in the Indiana state legislature. (en)
James Sidney Hinton (December 25, 1834 – November 6, 1892) was a Civil War veteran and Republican politician, the first African American to hold state office in Indiana and the first African American to serve in the Indiana state legislature. Born in Raleigh, North Carolina to parents who were free people of color, he moved with them as a youth to Indiana. Hinton started working part-time as a barber while attending school. Later he became involved with politics and the Republican Party. A veteran of the American Civil War, he was commissioned as a lieutenant in the United States Colored Troops. He became active in postwar politics, serving as a trustee on the Wabash and Erie Canal, and in 1880 being elected to the State House. (en)