"Robert Wood (1844-?)

Is believed to be one of the first African American Mayors in the United States.He served as mayor of Natchez,Mississippi in the early 1870s.He was born to Susie Harris,an African American housekeeper,and Dr.Robert Wood, a white doctor from Virginia.His parents never married,but lived side by side.According to oral histories,Robert was never a slave and lived mostly with his father,a former mayor of Natchez himself.Mississippi Governor James L. Alcorn appointed Robert as mayor of Natchez, in 1869.He later was elected part of the "Black and Tan Revolution,"a short lived political shift in Mississippi in which citizens of Mississippi elected many African Americans to state offices between and 1868 and 1875.At its peak in 1873,of of Mississippi's state elected officals were black.As Mayor,he built Natchez's first school for African Americans in 1871.Robert also worked closely worked John R. Lynch,the congressman representing the area during the Reconstruction era.Robert and John worked as printers at a Natchez printing company prior to their political careers.After his term as mayor of Natchez,Robert served as postmaster and tax collector for the city.In 1875 Robert was elected Sheriff of Adam County Mississippi.After his political career,he operated a store in Washington, Mississippi,a town three hours north of Natchez.He lost much of his property during a fire in Washington.He married Susan Collins and had children,both daughters named Selma and Stella,both of whom were baptized at St.Mary's Cathedral in Natchez,Mississippi.