Bill Colbert (1835-1933)

Bill Colbert (1835-1933)

Bill (or Billy) Colbert is best known for serving as an officer of color who upheld the law in the Indian Territory during the 19th and early 20th centuries. Though the details of his early life are scant, historical records indicate that he was of African Choctaw...
James Lewis (1832/33-1914)

James Lewis (1832/33-1914)

James Lewis was born free on September 11 in either 1832 or 1833 in Woodville, Mississippi. Early in his life, he worked on steamboats that traveled between New Orleans and St. Louis. Later in life, Lewis recalled how he would use passes issued to him as a cabin boy...
Walter Lawson (1862-1917)

Walter Lawson (1862-1917)

Walter Lawson was a Buffalo Soldier, a private with the 25th Infantry Regiment of the US Calvary. Lawson was born in Clark County, Virginia in January 1862, to Thomas and Susan Lawson. Not much is known about Lawson’s life before his public service. He served in...