Early Years
Bayne was born around 1824 in North Carolina. His parents were both probably slaves. As a young man he was known as Samuel Nixon, but there is no certainty that this was his name at birth; he may have acquired it from one of the several masters that he served before becoming a fugitive from slavery in 1844.
After eluding capture for twelve months, Nixon was arrested. When no claim was made on him, he was sold to Charles F. Martin, a dentist with whom he moved to Norfolk from North Carolina. Martin soon discovered that Nixon could read and write. The young slave's education, keen intellect, and exceptional talents persuaded the dentist to teach him the rudiments of his profession. Nixon proved to be an able and trustworthy assistant. Martin sent him out at night to make house calls and permitted him to marry a woman named Edna, with whom he had one daughter.
Public Career
On April 17, 1867 Bayne was elected a vice president of the Union Republican State Convention when it met in Richmond. Composed mostly of newly enfranchised freedmen anxious to prepare for the upcoming constitutional convention, the meeting received derisive coverage by the conservative Richmond newspapers. By the time the convention reassembled on August 1, a rift was widening between the radical and moderate forces. Bayne's parliamentary skills enabled him to become a recognized leader of the radical black wing of the Virginia Republican Party.
Later Years
Time Line
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ca. 1824 - Samuel Nixon (later Thomas Bayne) is born in North Carolina, probably enslaved.
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1844 - Samuel Nixon (later Thomas Bayne) escapes from slavery in North Carolina and is a fugitive for twelve months.
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1845 - Samuel Nixon (later Thomas Bayne) is sold to Charles F. Martin, a dentist with whom he moves to Norfolk from North Carolina.
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1855 - Samuel Nixon, an enslaved dentist's assistant, is forced to leave Norfolk because of his Underground Railroad activities. He escapes to Massachusetts, leaving behind a wife and daughter. He adopts the name Thomas Bayne.
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1860 - Thomas Bayne is elected to the city council of New Bedford, Massachusetts, with the support of a coalition of Republicans and temperance advocates.
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May 1865 - By this date Thomas Bayne, formerly a fugitive slave, has returned to Norfolk, located his daughter, and sent her to Massachusetts. He also begins politically organizing the city's black community.
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June 1865 - Thomas Bayne chairs a committee that draws up an equal suffrage address on behalf of the black citizens of Norfolk.
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January 1866 - Thomas Bayne is chosen vice president of the Colored National Convention that meets in Washington, D.C.
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February 3, 1866 - Thomas Bayne appears before a subcommittee of the Congressional Joint Committee on Reconstruction and testifies about the harsh conditions he has observed in his travels in postwar Virginia.
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April 17, 1867 - Thomas Bayne is elected a vice president of the Union Republican State Convention when it meets in Richmond. The gathering is derided in the white press but allows Bayne to become a leader of the radical black wing of Virginia's Republican Party.
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October 22, 1867 - Thomas Bayne and Henry Bowden are elected to represent the city of Norfolk in the upcoming state constitutional convention.
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December 3, 1867–April 17, 1868 - Thomas Bayne, a representative from the city of Norfolk to the constitutional convention, serves on the Committee on Rules and Regulations and the committee on the Executive Department of Government. He is the most powerful black leader of the Radical Republican majority.
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July 6, 1869 - Thomas Bayne, a Radical Republican, is elected to Congress from the Second Congressional District.
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November 1869 - Thomas Bayne, in his position as a state leader of the Republican Party, petitions Congress to enforce the disfranchisement and disability clause or hold a new election. Bayne has just lost in his own campaign for Congress. Congress refuses the request.
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July 1887 - Thomas Bayne writes a will leaving all of his property to his daughter and her children.
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May 30, 1888 - Thomas Bayne is admitted to the Central State Lunatic Asylum, in Petersburg.
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July 5, 1888 - Thomas Bayne dies of heart disease at the Central State Lunatic Asylum, in Petersburg. His burial place is unknown.
References
Further Reading
Cite This Entry
- APA Citation:
Bogger, T. L., & the Dictionary of Virginia Biography. Thomas Bayne (ca. 1824–1888). (2018, April 19). In Encyclopedia Virginia. Retrieved from http://www.EncyclopediaVirginia.org/Bayne_Thomas_ca_1824-1888.
- MLA Citation:
Bogger, Tommy L. and the Dictionary of Virginia Biography. "Thomas Bayne (ca. 1824–1888)." Encyclopedia Virginia. Virginia Foundation for the Humanities, 19 Apr. 2018. Web. READ_DATE.
First published: August 25, 2014 | Last modified: April 19, 2018