{"id":541,"date":"2018-07-16T18:16:33","date_gmt":"2018-07-16T23:16:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/much-ado.net\/legislators\/?page_id=541"},"modified":"2026-01-12T16:12:48","modified_gmt":"2026-01-12T22:12:48","slug":"josiah-t-settle","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/much-ado.net\/legislators\/legislators\/josiah-t-settle\/","title":{"rendered":"Josiah Thomas Settle"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><a href=\"https:\/\/much-ado.net\/legislators\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/settle.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-2473\" src=\"https:\/\/much-ado.net\/legislators\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/settle-224x300.png\" alt=\"Josiah T Settle\" width=\"224\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/much-ado.net\/legislators\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/settle-224x300.png 224w, https:\/\/much-ado.net\/legislators\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/settle.png 371w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 224px) 100vw, 224px\" \/><\/a><\/h2>\n<h2>Josiah Thomas Settle (Panola County)<\/h2>\n<p><strong>State House:\u00a0<\/strong>1884-1885<\/p>\n<p><strong>Birth:<\/strong>\u00a0September 30, 1850 in Tennessee<br \/>\n<strong>Death: <\/strong>August 16,\u00a01915 in Memphis, TN<\/p>\n<p>Named for his father, a white slaveowner. His mother was named Nancy. On the 1870 census, Settle was listed as a student at Howard University in Washington, D.C. On the 1880 census, he was working as a lawyer in Sardis, MS. At the time of the 1900 and 1910 census, he was living in Memphis, where he died in 1915. The\u00a0<em>Colored American<\/em> newspaper clippings linked below contain extensive biographical information.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Let [them] place the qualifications to exercise the elective franchise as high as they please; let it be education, wealth or moral excellence and we will come up to it, but to disfranchise us, or even seek to do it in the face of our history in this country is unmanly, ungodly and unworthy a generous and liberty-loving people.&#8221; -Josiah T. Settle, 1900<\/p>\n<p><em>&#8220;Settle was born in Tennessee while his father, a slaveowning widower, and slave mother were en route from North Carolina to Mississippi. Soon after his birth, his father manumitted Settle&#8217;s mother and her eight children and in 1856 took them to Hamilton, Ohio, where he bought them a home, spent summers with them, and subsequently married the mother. Educated in Ohio schools, Settle entered Oberlin College in 1868, but after his father&#8217;s death a year later he transferred to Howard University, graduating in 1872. While at Howard, Settle worked as a clerk for the Freedmen&#8217;s Bureau in Washington, and subsequently as a school trustee for the district. After graduating from Howard University Law School, Settle in 1875 moved to Sardis, Mississippi, to practice law.&#8221;<\/em><br \/>\n(Eric Foner,\u00a0<em>Freedom\u2019s Lawmakers: A Directory of Black Officeholders during Reconstruction<\/em>, 1993)<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/archive.org\/details\/beaconlightsofra00lchami\/page\/474\/mode\/2up\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-4225 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/much-ado.net\/legislators\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Capture-1.png\" alt=\"J. T. Settle\" width=\"348\" height=\"542\" srcset=\"https:\/\/much-ado.net\/legislators\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Capture-1.png 348w, https:\/\/much-ado.net\/legislators\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Capture-1-193x300.png 193w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 348px) 100vw, 348px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Links:<\/strong><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Josiah_T._Settle\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Wikipedia Entry on Josiah T. Settle<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/archive.org\/details\/beaconlightsofra00lchami\/page\/474\/mode\/2up\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Biography in\u00a0<em>Beacon Lights of the Race<\/em><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.findagrave.com\/memorial\/98132176\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Memorial on Find A Grave<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/dh.howard.edu\/finaid_manu\/172\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Settle Collection at Howard University<\/a><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_5965\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5965\" style=\"width: 150px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"https:\/\/much-ado.net\/legislators\/legislators\/josiah-t-settle\/settlemarriage\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-5965\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-5965\" src=\"https:\/\/much-ado.net\/legislators\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/settlemarriage-150x150.png\" alt=\"Buffalo Post, June 14, 1875\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" srcset=\"https:\/\/much-ado.net\/legislators\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/settlemarriage-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/much-ado.net\/legislators\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/settlemarriage-100x100.png 100w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-5965\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Buffalo Post, June 14, 1875<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_2183\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2183\" style=\"width: 150px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"https:\/\/much-ado.net\/legislators\/legislators\/josiah-t-settle\/settle6\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-2183 size-thumbnail\" src=\"https:\/\/much-ado.net\/legislators\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/settle6-150x150.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" srcset=\"https:\/\/much-ado.net\/legislators\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/settle6-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/much-ado.net\/legislators\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/settle6-100x100.png 100w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-2183\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Evening Star, June 30, 1870<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_2185\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2185\" style=\"width: 150px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"https:\/\/much-ado.net\/legislators\/legislators\/josiah-t-settle\/settle7\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-2185 size-thumbnail\" src=\"https:\/\/much-ado.net\/legislators\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/settle7-150x150.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" srcset=\"https:\/\/much-ado.net\/legislators\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/settle7-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/much-ado.net\/legislators\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/settle7-100x100.png 100w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-2185\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Evening Star, March 3, 1875<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_5142\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5142\" style=\"width: 150px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"https:\/\/much-ado.net\/legislators\/legislators\/josiah-t-settle\/postmaster\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-5142\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-5142\" src=\"https:\/\/much-ado.net\/legislators\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/postmaster-150x150.png\" alt=\"Memphis Daily Appeal, January 4, 1877\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" srcset=\"https:\/\/much-ado.net\/legislators\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/postmaster-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/much-ado.net\/legislators\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/postmaster-100x100.png 100w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-5142\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Memphis Daily Appeal, January 4, 1877<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_5883\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5883\" style=\"width: 150px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"https:\/\/much-ado.net\/legislators\/legislators\/albert-b-poston\/the_weekly_panola_star_1881_08_20_2-1\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-5883\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-5883\" src=\"https:\/\/much-ado.net\/legislators\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/The_Weekly_Panola_Star_1881_08_20_2-1-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"Weekly Panola Star, August 20, 1881\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" srcset=\"https:\/\/much-ado.net\/legislators\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/The_Weekly_Panola_Star_1881_08_20_2-1-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/much-ado.net\/legislators\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/The_Weekly_Panola_Star_1881_08_20_2-1-100x100.jpg 100w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-5883\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Weekly Panola Star, August 20, 1881<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_2536\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2536\" style=\"width: 150px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"https:\/\/much-ado.net\/legislators\/legislators\/l-k-atwood\/daily84\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-2536 size-thumbnail\" src=\"https:\/\/much-ado.net\/legislators\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/daily84-150x150.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" srcset=\"https:\/\/much-ado.net\/legislators\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/daily84-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/much-ado.net\/legislators\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/daily84-100x100.png 100w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-2536\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">New Mississippian, February 4, 1884<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_2674\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2674\" style=\"width: 150px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"https:\/\/much-ado.net\/legislators\/legislators\/william-h-allen\/wat\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-2674 size-thumbnail\" src=\"https:\/\/much-ado.net\/legislators\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/wat-150x150.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" srcset=\"https:\/\/much-ado.net\/legislators\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/wat-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/much-ado.net\/legislators\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/wat-100x100.png 100w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-2674\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">State Ledger, March 14, 1884<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_5140\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5140\" style=\"width: 150px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"https:\/\/much-ado.net\/legislators\/legislators\/josiah-t-settle\/settle-3\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-5140\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-5140\" src=\"https:\/\/much-ado.net\/legislators\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/settle-150x150.png\" alt=\"Memphis Avalanche, October 6, 1888\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" srcset=\"https:\/\/much-ado.net\/legislators\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/settle-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/much-ado.net\/legislators\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/settle-100x100.png 100w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-5140\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Memphis Avalanche, October 6, 1888<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_2166\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2166\" style=\"width: 150px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"https:\/\/much-ado.net\/legislators\/legislators\/josiah-t-settle\/settle\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-2166 size-thumbnail\" src=\"https:\/\/much-ado.net\/legislators\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/settle-150x150.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" srcset=\"https:\/\/much-ado.net\/legislators\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/settle-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/much-ado.net\/legislators\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/settle-100x100.png 100w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-2166\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">American Citizen, March 29, 1889<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_2179\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2179\" style=\"width: 150px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"https:\/\/much-ado.net\/legislators\/legislators\/josiah-t-settle\/settle4\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-2179 size-thumbnail\" src=\"https:\/\/much-ado.net\/legislators\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/settle4-150x150.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" srcset=\"https:\/\/much-ado.net\/legislators\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/settle4-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/much-ado.net\/legislators\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/settle4-100x100.png 100w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-2179\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Washburn Leader, June 18, 1892<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_2191\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2191\" style=\"width: 150px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"https:\/\/much-ado.net\/legislators\/legislators\/josiah-t-settle\/settle8\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-2191 size-thumbnail\" src=\"https:\/\/much-ado.net\/legislators\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/settle8-150x150.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" srcset=\"https:\/\/much-ado.net\/legislators\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/settle8-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/much-ado.net\/legislators\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/settle8-100x100.png 100w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-2191\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Colored American, January 20, 1900<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_2177\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2177\" style=\"width: 150px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"https:\/\/much-ado.net\/legislators\/legislators\/josiah-t-settle\/settle3\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-2177 size-thumbnail\" src=\"https:\/\/much-ado.net\/legislators\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/settle3-150x150.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" srcset=\"https:\/\/much-ado.net\/legislators\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/settle3-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/much-ado.net\/legislators\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/settle3-100x100.png 100w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-2177\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Colored American, May 2, 1903<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_2173\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2173\" style=\"width: 150px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"https:\/\/much-ado.net\/legislators\/legislators\/josiah-t-settle\/settle2\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-2173 size-thumbnail\" src=\"https:\/\/much-ado.net\/legislators\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/settle2-150x150.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" srcset=\"https:\/\/much-ado.net\/legislators\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/settle2-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/much-ado.net\/legislators\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/settle2-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/much-ado.net\/legislators\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/settle2-768x771.png 768w, https:\/\/much-ado.net\/legislators\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/settle2-1020x1024.png 1020w, https:\/\/much-ado.net\/legislators\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/settle2-100x100.png 100w, https:\/\/much-ado.net\/legislators\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/settle2.png 1351w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-2173\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Colored American, August 29, 1903<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_2181\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2181\" style=\"width: 150px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"https:\/\/much-ado.net\/legislators\/legislators\/josiah-t-settle\/settle5\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-2181 size-thumbnail\" src=\"https:\/\/much-ado.net\/legislators\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/settle5-150x150.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" srcset=\"https:\/\/much-ado.net\/legislators\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/settle5-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/much-ado.net\/legislators\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/settle5-100x100.png 100w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-2181\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Advocate, May 2, 1907<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Josiah Thomas Settle (Panola County) State House:\u00a01884-1885 Birth:\u00a0September 30, 1850 in Tennessee Death: August 16,\u00a01915 in Memphis, TN Named for his father, a white slaveowner. His mother was named Nancy. On the 1870 census, Settle was listed as a student at Howard University in Washington, D.C. On the 1880 census, he was working as a &hellip; <\/p>\n<p class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/much-ado.net\/legislators\/legislators\/josiah-t-settle\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Josiah Thomas Settle&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":53,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"no","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-541","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/much-ado.net\/legislators\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/541","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/much-ado.net\/legislators\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/much-ado.net\/legislators\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/much-ado.net\/legislators\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/much-ado.net\/legislators\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=541"}],"version-history":[{"count":31,"href":"https:\/\/much-ado.net\/legislators\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/541\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5966,"href":"https:\/\/much-ado.net\/legislators\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/541\/revisions\/5966"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/much-ado.net\/legislators\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/53"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/much-ado.net\/legislators\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=541"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}