By Alonzo Hardy
Edward Marion Augustus Chandler was the second African American to receive a Ph.D. in chemistry in the United States, which he received from the University of Illinois in 1917.
Dr. Edward Chandler was born August 11, 1887 in Ocala, Florida. His parents were Henry Wilkins Chandler and Annie Matilda Onley.
He attended Howard Academy until he had completed the work of the eighth grade and then entered the Florida Agricultural and Mechanical College (now Florida A&M University or FAMU) in Tallahassee, where he continued his studies for four years. He received his B. A. in Education from Howard University, Alpha Phi Alpha, 1913, his M. S. in Chemistry from Clark University in 1914 and his Ph.D. in Chemistry in 1917 from the University of Illinois. He was a member of Phi Lambda Upsilon and Sigma Xi, honor societies.
After graduating, he and his family moved to Chicago, where he went to work as a chemist for the Dicks, David and Heller Company and later became the chief chemist for the Abbott Laboratories. He was next a chemist for the Cook County State’s Attorney Office. He operated his drug store in North Chicago from 1925 through 1940+. Later he worked as a chemist for the Kingsbury Ordnance Plant in LaPorte County, Indiana, and afterward filled the position of Professor of Chemistry in the New Roosevelt College (now Roosevelt University). Dr. Chandler was a founding member of Roosevelt University in Chicago, where he served as a founding member of the college, faculty member and Professor of Chemistry from 1945 to 1965.
Dr. Chandler married Stella May Thornton on September 2, 1915. To this union was born the following four children: Dean Thornton Chandler, Mrs. Helen Marie Jefferson, Mrs. Ruth Annette Banton, and Mrs. Beverley Jane Morten. Mrs. Chandler died in 1978. He died on March 22, 1973. He is buried in Graceland Cemetery.
LOCAL BLACKHISTORY
FACTS- DID YOU KNOW?
First Black lawyer
Henry Wilkins Chandler was Ocala’s first African American lawyer. Mr. Chandler was born at Bath, Sagadahoc County, Maine, September 22, 1852, son of Henry Augustus and Julia Ann (Frye) Chandler.
-Henry Chandler received an undergraduate degree at Bates College. He was the school’s first African American to graduate. After graduating from Bates in 1874, Chandler studied law at Howard University. He came to Ocala in the year 1876 and engaged in teaching in the Howard Academy for two years. He was admitted to the bar in 1878. He served as state senator from 1880 to 1888, and was many times delegate to the Republican National Conventions. Also participated in the Florida Constitutional Convention of 1885. He also was the town clerk. He also served several terms as a Councilman of Ocala.
Henry Chandler was editor and publisher of the Ocala Republican. He also served as editor of the Plain Dealer. In 1891 he was elected principal of the Howard Academy in Ocala, to fill a vacancy caused by death. He was one of Marion County’s best citizens. He married Annie Matilda Onley at Jacksonville, Florida. To this marriage six children were born, two boys and four girls. The couple was married for 24 years until Annie’s death in 1909. He married Maggie Adams in 1914. She died the next year. Chandler was a Mason and an Odd Fellow. He was a member of the Covenant Baptist Church, where he was an officer for many years. He passed away in 1938. His grave can be found at Tiger Flowers Cemetery in Lakeland, Florida.
First Black mail carrier
Charles Henry Stewart was the first African American Letter Carrier for the United States Postal Service in the City of Ocala. Stewart was appointed carrier June 1, 1902. From 1902 until his passing he was city mail carrier for Third and Fourth Wards.
He was in the first graduating class of State Normal School and Industrial College for Colored Students (now Florida A&M University) in 1892. After graduating he began his career as a teacher in Howard Academy in Ocala. For years he taught successfully at Howard Academy but in 1902 he resigned the position and started carrying the mail.
He was also a stockholder and a Director of the Ocala Mutual Investment and Loan Association, the Metropolitan Realty and Investment Company and the Metropolitan Savings Bank of Ocala. Stewart was a Mason and Odd Fellow. Mr. Stewart was a member of Mount Zion African Methodist Episcopal Church and was very active in religious circles. Charles Henry Stewart died on August 21, 1914. He is buried in Old City Cemetery in Tallahassee, Florida.
First Black daily newspaper
The first Black daily newspaper in Florida, the Daily Ledger. The Ocala Ledger was founded as a weekly by Reuben Benjamin Brooks also known as R. B. Brooks in 1887, became a daily publication in 1892. The newspaper was discontinued the same year. I am not aware of any surviving issues of this newspaper.
First woman graduate
Ida Essie Parker Hall of Ocala, Florida, was the first woman to receive a college diploma (June 9, 1892) from the State Normal and Industrial College for Colored Students (now Florida A&M University). Immediately after graduation she became a teacher in the Howard Academy in Ocala, Florida. She taught at Howard Academy from 1892 to 1900. She died February 2, 1901.
First Black postal clerk
James Seward LaRoche became the first Black postal clerk in the Ocala Post Office in 1902 after passing the civil service exam for that position. He was appointed mail carrier in December 1902. His fellow carriers elected him a president of the local branch of the National Association of Letter Carriers. After being with the Post Office for 13 years, he resigned his position as a mail carrier and joined the Metropolitan Realty and Investment Company in Ocala as a manager. He was secretary of company.
The unforgettable first
The first graduating class of State Normal and Industrial School for Colored Students was in 1892, with James Henry Jackson, William Henry Matthews, Jr., Ida Essie Parker, Charles Henry Stewart and Ernest Vidal Tucker graduating.
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