Julius Caesar Chappelle ( – January 27, 1904) was an American Republican Party politician who was born into slavery in South Carolina and served in the Massachusetts General Court. He was a leading figure of Boston's black community from 1870 until his death."Hon. Julius Caesar Chappelle," The Cleveland Gazette, front page, December 25, 1886."Had Long Been Ill: Death of Ex-Representative Julius Caesar Chappelle, A Negro Well Known in Republican Politics." Boston Daily Globe, page 7, January 28, 1904.
He was the first African-American to serve on the Massachusetts Republican State Committee"HONOR FOR MR. CHAPPELLE: West End Republicans at a Big Feast," Boston Globe,, 23 Jan 1892. and an active supporter of civil rights and consumer protection. His speeches were frequently covered by newspapers.Obituary, "Julius C. Chappelle", The Cleveland Gazette, front page, February 13, 1904.
Early life and education Julius Caesar Chappelle was born into slavery to an enslaved mother in 1852 at Chappelle's Landing, a plantation in Newberry County, South Carolina. He was classified as a "mulatto," of mixed race, with African-European ancestry."Hon. Julius Caesar Chappelle", The Cleveland Gazette, front page, Saturday, December 25, 1886.
There is evidence that during very early childhood Julius Chappelle and at least one of his brothers may have been moved from South Carolina to two other plantations in different states before being brought back to Newberry County."slave registries," US Census, 1860, 1855. During slavery, it was often common for plantation owners to break up families and move them to different plantations of the same owner in order to stop possible uprisings.
Chapelle was 13 years old when slavery was abolished following the end of the American Civil War. He studied at an academy for black students in nearby Edgefield.Obituary, "Chappelle Ends Notable Career", The Boston Herald, p. 14, February 28, 1904.
During Chappelle's childhood, South Carolina was an area of white resistance to Reconstruction and the rights of former slaves. Insurgent groups were active in trying to maintain white supremacy."'Radical Members of the South Carolina Legislature,' Entered According to Act of Congress in the year 1868, by J.G. Gibbes, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of South Carolina.'" Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. The Ku Klux Klan had numerous chapters that attacked freedmen to maintain white supremacy and establish dominance."The Klu-Klux. Proclamation by the President, Martial Law Declared in 9 Counties of South Carolina", New York Tribune, p. 5, October 18, 1871. Due to the severity of the insurgents' attacks, in 1871 President Ulysses Grant ordered the National Guard of the United States into nine counties in South Carolina, declaring martial law in order to suppress the Ku Klux Klan. The KKK usually raided towns, as many towns in South Carolina such as the Town of Newberry were abolitionist, whereas the slave plantation areas were not.
LaVilla, Florida Around 1869, Chappelle moved to Florida to help establish the black community of LaVilla, today a neighborhood of Jacksonville.Death Notice "Mr. Lewis Chappelle Dead", The Freeman (An Illustrated Colored Newspaper) (Indianapolis, Indiana), February 18, 1905, page 5.
Boston In November 1870, the young Julius Chappelle moved to Boston."Julius C. Chappelle," The New York Freeman, front page, November 13, 1886. The city was then known for its thriving black community and attracted many migrants from Southern states in the 19th century.
In Boston, he continued his studies and graduated from high school. He found work as a custodial engineer for the Boston Herald newspaper, staying with them for 13 years. He later worked as building superintendent at a United States Post Office and at the United States Boston Custom House.
Political and civil rights career
Early involvement Lewis Hayden helped bring Chappelle into the Republican Party and started him out giving him the task to register people to vote. Chappelle was quite successful at it, and was known for his neat appearance as he also learned the barber's trade when in Chelsea, Massachusetts.
Newspapers described Chappelle as having a brisk walk and as being well spoken. Boston's Sunday Herald in 1886 that Chappelle was thought of as an "Adonis" by the African-American community."Among Colored Republicans," The Sunday Herald, page 4, Sunday, October 24, 1886, Boston, Massachusetts."Julius C. Chappelle." New York Freeman, page 1, Saturday, November 13, 1886.
Massachusetts General Court
In the early 1880s, he was nominated as a Republican candidate for the state legislature from Boston's Ninth Ward, including the Beacon Hill area, and was elected for four terms from 1883 to 1886. He became one of the early prominent African-American legislators.Hanes Walton, Jr., Donald R. Deskins, Jr., Sherman Puckett, The African-American Electorate, 1st edition. Washington, DC: Congressional Quarterly, Inc., June 2012.'Black Legislators in the Massachusetts General Court 1867-Present,' State Library of Massachusetts: 2010"Honor for Mr. Chappelle: West End Republicans at a Big Feast. Right Hand of the Politicians Extended to the Ex-Representative," Boston Daily Globe, page 5. Jan 23, 1892.
The Ninth Ward was also called the Ninth Suffolk district and was composed of 2,800 voters in 1886. The Boston Globe described the Ward as extremely diverse both ethnically and economically: "There is not another ward in the whole town that so completely embraces all the grades of society. On the voting lists of one precinct are few voting names that do not bear the Celtic stamp, while another precinct is composed entirely of colored men. Then there is the precinct where the voters are mostly of the middle walk, where still in another the most pretentious people of Boston are still in control.""Lovely Mugwump Girls: Omens of victory for the Democratic Ticket . . . ", "War on Beacon Hill" section, Boston Daily Globe, page 4, October 29, 1886.
Upon his election, Republican legislators tried to prevent Chappelle from having an actual chair in the General Court by pinning the name of a white Republican on his chair, forcing Chappelle to find another "out-of the way" chair to sit in. Though this incident was not without precedent, it was considered a mark of hypocrisy by the otherwise pro-black Republican Party."A Sample of Meanness," the Boston Daily Globe, page 2, January 23, 1885. The next day, the Republican caucus issued a statement denouncing the story and claiming it was the prerogative of Chappelle's defeated opponent to bequeath his chair to whom he chose."Another Week's Work: The General Court Finishes its Third Week," Boston Daily Globe, page 5, January 24, 1885. In the House, Chappelle served on committees for the "Federal relations and engrossed bill," and "Public Land and State House."
In 1883, Chappelle introduced a bill to stop exploitative chain gangs in the South."Boston Letter: A Budget of News," New York Globe, page 1, Saturday January 27, 1883.
Chappelle staunchly supported expanding the federal Civil Rights Act of 1866 to prohibit race discrimination in public settings, stating "It is on the principle of rights that belong to us that we want this bill passed and public places thrown open.""Even in Tophet: The Colored Citizen will Insist Upon His Rights Lively hearing on Chappelle's Civil Rights Bill. Things get mixed and fall back on Roller Skates."Boston Daily Globe, page 5, March 14, 1885. He promoted African-American civil rights, and worked on consumer affairs issues.Kazuteru Omori, “Race-Neutral Individualism and Resurgence of the Color Line: Massachusetts Civil Rights Legislation, 1855-1895,” Journal of American Ethnic History, pp. 32-58. Vol. 22, No. 1 (Fall, 2002). University of Illinois Press, on behalf of the Immigration & Ethnic History Society, accessed 19 May 2014.
Elections
1882 When Chappelle was nominated to the Massachusetts General Court, he was opposed by other African-American candidates. An elected African-American secretary in his own party said that he had been elected by fraud."Our Hub Letter," The New York Globe, front page. November 8, 1884 The charges against Chappelle were proven untrue with a recount of two times. The New York Globe wrote, "Chappelle will, in the opinion of many white and colored voters, be elected in spite of such mean tricks.""Our Hub Letter," The New York Globe, front page. November 8, 1884.
In 1882, Chappelle succeeded John F. Andrew (son of Governor John Albion Andrew) and defeated Democrat Brooks Adams (great-grandson of President John Adams).
1884 recount In 1884, Chappelle narrowly defeated Democrat Charles Albert Prince, son of Boston Mayor Frederick O. Prince, in a highly contested election.
The original count was 831 votes for Julius C. Chappelle and 800 for Prince. However, a recount was "done in a "hurried manner by the Board of Alderman" without Chappelle's knowledge or presence, and it showed 730 votes for Chappelle and 815 votes for Prince.
Upon hearing the recount tally, Chappelle declared the recount illegal and petitioned the House of Representatives stating that the Board refused to recount 51 votes for Chappelle that were "effaced" by stickers in the area where "for Representative" was located, and that the original vote tally should remain. Prince later conceded the election to Chappelle. Prince stated that the stickers affected both candidates, and Prince no longer wanted the seat as it seemed that the sticker issue caused Prince the dismay of not wanting to partake in politics mentioning in his resignation letter that ". . .the stickers for one of the candidates for senator were either so broad or so carelessly pasted upon the ballot that it covered the title of the vote for representative printed beneath thereon. Both Mr. Chappelle and myself were sufferers by reason thereof . . . ""Fighting for a Couple of Seats: Chappelle Probably to be Counted In. Colonel Splaine gets a Recount." Boston Daily Globe, page 6, January 16, 1885.""Reform is necessary: Said Mr. Cross, but the House Heeded Him Not. Mr. Chappelle comes out ahead, and Mr. Prince Expresses his Views. A Confidential Message which was Confidential Indeed." Boston Daily Globe, page 5, Jan 17, 1885.
1885 In 1885, the Daily Globe reported "Julius C. Chappelle, who enjoys immensely that distinction of being the first colored man to sit for so long a period on Beacon Hill" where the staunch Republican Chappelle was mentioned within a column devoted mainly to Democrats."Men of Beacon Hill, Democrats Have 80 Representatives, a Gain of 15" Boston Daily Globe, page 2, November 7, 1885. Chappelle's new running mate Henry Parkman did not strongly support his re-election,"Editorial Points." Boston Daily Globe, page 4, October 31, 1885. but Chappelle was re-elected regardless, defeating Robert Hooper, the son of Congressman Samuel Hooper.
Retirement from General Court
In 1886, Chappelle was opposed for renomination by African-American City Councilman William O. Armstrong. Though Chappelle was strongly urged to run for a fifth term, he retired."Among Colored Republicans," The Sunday Herald, page 4, Sunday, October 24, 1886, Boston, Massachusetts.
Republican State Committee