HAROLD EDWARD BLEDSOE was the son of Mrs. Mattie L. Smith Bledsoe and Reverend William Felga Bledsoe Sr.
He was the husband of Mrs. Mamie Geraldine Neale Bledsoe whom he married on June 14, 1924, at Alexandria, Virginia. To their union, three children were born, namely William Felga Bledsoe III, Geraldine Bledsoe and Cornelia Bledsoe.
He earned a bachelor's degree at Howard University and a law degree from Detroit College of Law.
He enlisted and served with the U.S. Army during World War I from 1918-1919. Upon his honorable discharge, he held the rank of Sergeant.
In 1991, The Detroit Press published a retrospective article in which it was written that "...Mr. Bledsoe, a native of Marshall, Texas, was the grandson of emancipated slaves who founded Bishop College, in Marshall, where he began his studies. He graduated from Howard University in 1922, and he earned a law degree in 1925 from he University of Detroit. After working summers in Michigan, he settled in Detroit in 1924. He and his wife, Geraldine, began political organizing almost immediately, believing that the Republican Party took black voters for granted. They and other black organizers crisscrossed the state by car, registering voters for the Democrats. By the time he died in 1974 at the age of 78, Mr. Bledsoe had committed a near-lifetime to political organizing across Michigian, and he is considered a linchpin in Democratizing Detroit's overwhelming Republican black voters."
In 1936, Harold E. Bledsoe, a prominent Detroit attorney, was the only African-American to cast an electoral college vote for Franklin Delano President.
Mr. Bledsoe became the first African-American to serve the appointed position of State Attorney General.
Funeral Service Announcement
"Harold E. Bledsoe -- Rites Set Today
Services for Detroit attorney, Harold E. Bledsoe, wil be held Saturday at 1:30 p.m. at the Second Baptist Church of Detroit at 441 Monroe. Mr. Bledsoe, 78, died Tuesday night at his home. Burial will be at Detroit Memorial Cemetery. Contributions can be made to the Harold E. Bledsoe Law Student Fund at the University of Detroit."
Sources ~ Funeral Service Announcement and Obituary published in The Detroit Press [Michigan newspaper]; History of Detroit, Michigan; Michigan Death Certificate 13532; U.S. Social Security Death Indexes; and the 1900-1940 census records of Harrison County, Texas and Wayne County, Michigan
Note: Early census records reported his name as Edward Harold Bledsoe. However, during his elder years, he went by the name Harold Edward Bledsoe. Further, on December 26, 2019, I communicated with Mrs. Michelle Mills Faison, the granddaughter of Judge Edward Harold Bledsoe and his wife, Mrs. Mamie Geraldine Neale Bledsoe, and she confirmed that her grandparents are buried together at Detroit Memorial Park Cemetery in Warren, Michigan.
He was the husband of Mrs. Mamie Geraldine Neale Bledsoe whom he married on June 14, 1924, at Alexandria, Virginia. To their union, three children were born, namely William Felga Bledsoe III, Geraldine Bledsoe and Cornelia Bledsoe.
He earned a bachelor's degree at Howard University and a law degree from Detroit College of Law.
He enlisted and served with the U.S. Army during World War I from 1918-1919. Upon his honorable discharge, he held the rank of Sergeant.
In 1991, The Detroit Press published a retrospective article in which it was written that "...Mr. Bledsoe, a native of Marshall, Texas, was the grandson of emancipated slaves who founded Bishop College, in Marshall, where he began his studies. He graduated from Howard University in 1922, and he earned a law degree in 1925 from he University of Detroit. After working summers in Michigan, he settled in Detroit in 1924. He and his wife, Geraldine, began political organizing almost immediately, believing that the Republican Party took black voters for granted. They and other black organizers crisscrossed the state by car, registering voters for the Democrats. By the time he died in 1974 at the age of 78, Mr. Bledsoe had committed a near-lifetime to political organizing across Michigian, and he is considered a linchpin in Democratizing Detroit's overwhelming Republican black voters."
In 1936, Harold E. Bledsoe, a prominent Detroit attorney, was the only African-American to cast an electoral college vote for Franklin Delano President.
Mr. Bledsoe became the first African-American to serve the appointed position of State Attorney General.
Funeral Service Announcement
"Harold E. Bledsoe -- Rites Set Today
Services for Detroit attorney, Harold E. Bledsoe, wil be held Saturday at 1:30 p.m. at the Second Baptist Church of Detroit at 441 Monroe. Mr. Bledsoe, 78, died Tuesday night at his home. Burial will be at Detroit Memorial Cemetery. Contributions can be made to the Harold E. Bledsoe Law Student Fund at the University of Detroit."
Sources ~ Funeral Service Announcement and Obituary published in The Detroit Press [Michigan newspaper]; History of Detroit, Michigan; Michigan Death Certificate 13532; U.S. Social Security Death Indexes; and the 1900-1940 census records of Harrison County, Texas and Wayne County, Michigan
Note: Early census records reported his name as Edward Harold Bledsoe. However, during his elder years, he went by the name Harold Edward Bledsoe. Further, on December 26, 2019, I communicated with Mrs. Michelle Mills Faison, the granddaughter of Judge Edward Harold Bledsoe and his wife, Mrs. Mamie Geraldine Neale Bledsoe, and she confirmed that her grandparents are buried together at Detroit Memorial Park Cemetery in Warren, Michigan.
HAROLD EDWARD BLEDSOE was the son of Mrs. Mattie L. Smith Bledsoe and Reverend William Felga Bledsoe Sr.
He was the husband of Mrs. Mamie Geraldine Neale Bledsoe whom he married on June 14, 1924, at Alexandria, Virginia. To their union, three children were born, namely William Felga Bledsoe III, Geraldine Bledsoe and Cornelia Bledsoe.
He earned a bachelor's degree at Howard University and a law degree from Detroit College of Law.
He enlisted and served with the U.S. Army during World War I from 1918-1919. Upon his honorable discharge, he held the rank of Sergeant.
In 1991, The Detroit Press published a retrospective article in which it was written that "...Mr. Bledsoe, a native of Marshall, Texas, was the grandson of emancipated slaves who founded Bishop College, in Marshall, where he began his studies. He graduated from Howard University in 1922, and he earned a law degree in 1925 from he University of Detroit. After working summers in Michigan, he settled in Detroit in 1924. He and his wife, Geraldine, began political organizing almost immediately, believing that the Republican Party took black voters for granted. They and other black organizers crisscrossed the state by car, registering voters for the Democrats. By the time he died in 1974 at the age of 78, Mr. Bledsoe had committed a near-lifetime to political organizing across Michigian, and he is considered a linchpin in Democratizing Detroit's overwhelming Republican black voters."
In 1936, Harold E. Bledsoe, a prominent Detroit attorney, was the only African-American to cast an electoral college vote for Franklin Delano President.
Mr. Bledsoe became the first African-American to serve the appointed position of State Attorney General.
Funeral Service Announcement
"Harold E. Bledsoe -- Rites Set Today
Services for Detroit attorney, Harold E. Bledsoe, wil be held Saturday at 1:30 p.m. at the Second Baptist Church of Detroit at 441 Monroe. Mr. Bledsoe, 78, died Tuesday night at his home. Burial will be at Detroit Memorial Cemetery. Contributions can be made to the Harold E. Bledsoe Law Student Fund at the University of Detroit."
Sources ~ Funeral Service Announcement and Obituary published in The Detroit Press [Michigan newspaper]; History of Detroit, Michigan; Michigan Death Certificate 13532; U.S. Social Security Death Indexes; and the 1900-1940 census records of Harrison County, Texas and Wayne County, Michigan
Note: Early census records reported his name as Edward Harold Bledsoe. However, during his elder years, he went by the name Harold Edward Bledsoe. Further, on December 26, 2019, I communicated with Mrs. Michelle Mills Faison, the granddaughter of Judge Edward Harold Bledsoe and his wife, Mrs. Mamie Geraldine Neale Bledsoe, and she confirmed that her grandparents are buried together at Detroit Memorial Park Cemetery in Warren, Michigan.
He was the husband of Mrs. Mamie Geraldine Neale Bledsoe whom he married on June 14, 1924, at Alexandria, Virginia. To their union, three children were born, namely William Felga Bledsoe III, Geraldine Bledsoe and Cornelia Bledsoe.
He earned a bachelor's degree at Howard University and a law degree from Detroit College of Law.
He enlisted and served with the U.S. Army during World War I from 1918-1919. Upon his honorable discharge, he held the rank of Sergeant.
In 1991, The Detroit Press published a retrospective article in which it was written that "...Mr. Bledsoe, a native of Marshall, Texas, was the grandson of emancipated slaves who founded Bishop College, in Marshall, where he began his studies. He graduated from Howard University in 1922, and he earned a law degree in 1925 from he University of Detroit. After working summers in Michigan, he settled in Detroit in 1924. He and his wife, Geraldine, began political organizing almost immediately, believing that the Republican Party took black voters for granted. They and other black organizers crisscrossed the state by car, registering voters for the Democrats. By the time he died in 1974 at the age of 78, Mr. Bledsoe had committed a near-lifetime to political organizing across Michigian, and he is considered a linchpin in Democratizing Detroit's overwhelming Republican black voters."
In 1936, Harold E. Bledsoe, a prominent Detroit attorney, was the only African-American to cast an electoral college vote for Franklin Delano President.
Mr. Bledsoe became the first African-American to serve the appointed position of State Attorney General.
Funeral Service Announcement
"Harold E. Bledsoe -- Rites Set Today
Services for Detroit attorney, Harold E. Bledsoe, wil be held Saturday at 1:30 p.m. at the Second Baptist Church of Detroit at 441 Monroe. Mr. Bledsoe, 78, died Tuesday night at his home. Burial will be at Detroit Memorial Cemetery. Contributions can be made to the Harold E. Bledsoe Law Student Fund at the University of Detroit."
Sources ~ Funeral Service Announcement and Obituary published in The Detroit Press [Michigan newspaper]; History of Detroit, Michigan; Michigan Death Certificate 13532; U.S. Social Security Death Indexes; and the 1900-1940 census records of Harrison County, Texas and Wayne County, Michigan
Note: Early census records reported his name as Edward Harold Bledsoe. However, during his elder years, he went by the name Harold Edward Bledsoe. Further, on December 26, 2019, I communicated with Mrs. Michelle Mills Faison, the granddaughter of Judge Edward Harold Bledsoe and his wife, Mrs. Mamie Geraldine Neale Bledsoe, and she confirmed that her grandparents are buried together at Detroit Memorial Park Cemetery in Warren, Michigan.
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