Former Slave James Monroe Trotter Signs Document As Recorder Of Deeds For Sale

JAMES MONROE TROTTER (February 7, 1842 – February 26, 1892) was born into slavery in Mississippi. He, his two sisters and his mother were freed by their master, the child’s father, and helped to move to Cincinnati, Ohio, where he was able to grow up in freedom and become a teacher. During the Civil War, Trotter enlisted in the 55th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, the state’s second black infantry regiment. He was quickly promoted and only the second man of color to be promoted to the rank of lieutenant in the Army. After the war, he married and moved to Boston. He was the first man of color hired by the Post Office Department and worked there for many years. In 1886, he was appointed by the Democratic administration of Grover Cleveland as Recorder of Deeds in Washington, DC, the highest federal position available at the time for African Americans.

A deed signed by James Monroe Trotter as Recorder. 1p, measuring 3 ½ x 8 ½, dated May 5, 1887, Washington, D.C. A deed, no. 1251, from Richard E. Pairo and his wife to Alice Pairo, signed at lower right as "Jas. M. Trotter". PSA slabbed and graded NM-MT 8, measuring 5 ½ x 12 ½ overall. Folded and not viewed out of slab. General toning, soiling, and edge wear. Else, very good.

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