BLANCHE K. BRUCE - DEED SIGNED 10/03/1890 - HFSID 179372

BLANCHE K. BRUCE
Deed of fee for a Washington D. C. land sale, signed by former slave and Senator Blanche K. Bruce as the city's Recorder of Deeds in 1890
Deed signed "B. K. Bruce" as Recorder of Deeds for the District of Columbia on docket panel on cover. Black ink and lead pencil notations in unknown hand. 3 pages, 8½x13¾, 1 ruled folded sheet, front and verso with docket, 1¾-inch diameter embossed seal on docket. Washington, D. C., Oct. 3, 1890. Deed of fee Louisa and Henry Jennings of Washington, D. C. to Elmeda S. Putnam of Washington, D. C. for a $2,500 sale for a lot of land in Washington, D. C. Named Recorder of Deeds by President Harrison in 1889, Bruce (1841-1898) served until 1893. A former slave who became a prominent Mississippi planter and politician, Bruce was elected as U. S. Senator by the Mississippi state legislature in 1874. Serving from 1875 to1881, he was the first black man to serve a full term in the Senate and, in 1879, became the first black man to preside over the Senate, as well. He fought for more liberal land grants for black emigrants and appealed for the desegregation of U. S. Army units. His government service in Washington also included two tenures as Registrar of the U. S. Treasury (1881-1889 and 1895-1898). Lightly toned, soiled, foxed and creased. Show-through from manuscript writing and seal both touch signature. Random ink stains. Light nicks at right and left edges and separation at right edge along bottom edge. Near complete separation at bottom fold of first page. Folded thrice and unfolded. Otherwise in fine condition. Fragile.