JOHN MERCER LANGSTON: Abolitionist, Lawyer, Congressman
John Mercer Langston was born on December 14, 1829 in Louisa County, Virginia. He had two brothers, Gideon, Charles and one sister, Maria. The owner of the plantation, on which John and his siblings were born was Captain Ralph Quarles, their white father. Their mother, Lucy Langston, was a mixture of African and Indian blood. She was born a slave but was given her emancipation papers by Quarles.
John's father died in 1833. In his last will and testament, Quarles left his entire estate to Lucy and her three sons. The gifts of land and personal property by Quarles to Lucy and her sons were indicative of his genuine affection for his family. John Mercer Langston, in his autobiography, "From a Virginia Plantation to the Nation's Capitol," wrote affectionately of his father, and particularly, of Quarles' concern for the education of his children. Langston felt that his father did everything he could, within prevailing social mores, except give them his family name and permit them to live in his estate house. John's mother died the year after his father's death.
With the lost of their parents, it was felt advisable that the Langston children move to a free state. One of the executors of Quarles' estate had settled in Ohio and the children moved there with him. With the money provided by their father's estate all three sons received a formal education and attended Oberlin College. John Langston graduated from Oberlin's collegiate department in 1849 and received a M.A. degree in Theology in 1852.
Langston's lifelong ambition was to enter law. He applied to several law schools, but was turned down because of his race. One of the schools he applied to was owned and conducted by J.W. Fowler. According to Langston's autobiography, Fowler told Langston that he would let him attend the school if he would consent to pass as a Frenchman or Spaniard. Fowler did not want to offend the white supporters of his school by admitting an African America. Fowler told Langston that the conditions of his admittance would be that he would have to "come into the recitation room; take your seat off and apart from the class; ask no questions; behave yourself quietly; and if after a time no one says anything against you, but all seem well inclined toward you, you may move up nearer the class; and so continue to do till you are taken and considered in due time as in full and regular membership." Langston inwardly exploded but outwardly in a measured calm voice said:
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