Certificate of appointment for John T. Jackson

With this certificate Postmaster General John Wanamaker authorized the appointment of African-American John T. Jackson as postmaster of Alanthus, Virginia, on March 23, 1891. Jackson executed bond and took the oath of office April 1, 1891.

The Post Office Department had appointed few other African Americans as postmasters at the time the twenty-nine-year old Jackson assumed the duties of a fourth-class post office. Jackson earned a commission determined by the amount of postage sold at his station. Along with this postal career, Jackson worked as a merchant, farmer, and sharecropper. Having served as postmaster for over forty-eight years, Jackson retired on January 31, 1940. His wife Lille held the position until the post office closed seven months later.

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