Ben Montgomery was taught to read and write English, and became manager of supply and shipping for Joseph Emory Davis at Hurricane Plantation at Davis Bend.
11 Facts About Ben Montgomery
1.
2.
Ben Montgomery was born into slavery in 1819 in Loudoun County, Virginia.
3.
Ben Montgomery was taken to Hurricane Plantation, the home of Davis and his wife, Eliza.
4.
Ben Montgomery was taught reading, writing, and arithmetic, and was assigned to run the plantation's general store.
5.
Ben Montgomery learned a variety of skills, including reading, writing, land surveying, flood control, architectural design, machine repair, and steamboat navigation.
6.
Ben Montgomery developed proficiencies in many areas; he became a skilled mechanic, not only repairing the advanced agricultural machinery acquired by the Davis brothers, but eventually applied for a patent for his design of a steam-operated propeller to provide propulsion to boats in shallow water.
7.
In September 1867, Montgomery became the first Afro-American official elected in Mississippi, when he was elected justice of the peace of Davis Bend.
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Ben Montgomery worked toward his lifelong dream of establishing a community for freed slaves.
9.
Ben Montgomery never lived to see his dream come to fruition.
10.
When Montgomery failed to make a payment on the loan in 1876, Davis Bend automatically reverted to the Davis family as per the terms of the original contract.
11.
Ben Montgomery was interred in Brierfield Plantation Cemetery, Le Tourneau, Warren County, Mississippi.