BIO -- James Monroe Trotter:

BIO -- James Monroe Trotter: Born in Grand Gulf, Mississippi on November 8, 1842. His mother, Letitia, was a slave, and his father was Richard S. Trotter, his mother's owner. Letitia, Trotter, and his brother eventually escaped slavery, making their way to Cincinnati, Ohio, where James Trotter enrolled in the Gilmer School. He also attended the Albany Academy in Athens County, Ohio, where he received training as a schoolteacher. Upon graduating from this institution, Trotter taught in Black American schools in Pike, Muskingum, and Ross Counties, Ohio. In June 1863, Trotter enlisted in the 55th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment. By the Civil War's conclusion, Trotter had attained the rank of Second Lieutenant. Upon leaving the military, Trotter returned to Ohio, settling in Chillicothe, where he married Virginia Isaacs in 1868. The Trotters eventually moved to Boston, Massachusetts, where James Trotter became the first Black American to secure employment in the Boston branch of the United States Post Office. Trotter remained in this position for several years, but he eventually quit this job, unhappy that whites with fewer or the same years of experience as him were routinely promoted over him. Undaunted by the racism that he faced, Trotter continued to advance himself. He published a book, Music and Some Highly Musical People, in 1880, still read today. In 1887, President Grover Cleveland appointed Trotter to the position of Recorder of Deeds of the District of Columbia, succeeding Frederick Douglass. Trotter served until 1890; he was succeeded by former U.S. Senator Blanche K. Bruce.