Emanuel Fortune circa 1868 | Florida Memory
Published on April 23, 2025 at 10:07 am
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Emanuel was born on January 3, 1833, into slavery on the Russ Plantation in Marianna, Florida. The Russ family had a son named Joseph, who was about the same age as Emanuel, who eventually became very close to Emanuel. Emanuel was given the chance to learn how to read due to his friendship with Joseph.
His mother, Dorcia (Dora) Russ, was the daughter of a mixed-race enslaved woman and Osceola, the Seminole war chief of Florida, while his father, Thomas Fortune, was an Irishman killed in a duel six months after Emanuel’s birth. Osceola, Emanuel’s maternal grandfather, died on January 30, 1838, leaving a significant legacy as a war chief of the Seminole people.
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In 1866, two major events took place: Emanuel’s mother, Dora, married John Pope on June 2, 1866. John Pope later became the leading AME Minister in Jackson County and a member of the county school board after Emancipation. Emanuel married Sarah Jane on June 5, 1866. Sarah Jane had a unique heritage, being of mixed nationality. Her mother had a white father and a slave mother, and her lineage included Indian ancestry. Sarah Jane was born in Richmond, Virginia, in 1832, and later moved to Florida. It was also at this time Emanuel chose to take the last name of Thomas Fortune, the man he believed to be his father.
In 1871, threatened by white supremacist violence, Fortune left Jackson County to complete his elected term in Jacksonville. He had been warned repeatedly that his political prominence as a Black leader made him a target. Fortune fortified his home in response to threats from white men who patrolled his property day and night.
T. Thomas Fortune, his son, vividly recalled waking up to find people sleeping near shotguns to guard the homestead. HIs son Timothy wrote that white men stalked the home day and night and vividly recalled tripping early one morning over a man sleeping beside a shotgun at a position overlooking their homestead. Emanuel Fortune sensed his “life to be in danger at all times.”
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Finally, Fortune heeded the counsel of his friends, white and black, to leave. He distributed his property among his relations and neighbors and packed up his family, settling in Jacksonville. His son rued that his father received almost no compensation for the farm, business and chattel he had assiduously built and accumulated since Emancipation. Emanuel wrote: “Their object is to kill out the leading men of the Republican party—men who have taken a prominent stand.”
For 30 years Fortune was a prominent figure in political affairs in the state of Florida, serving his state, county and city in the capacities of legislator, election officer, delegate to the national conventions, sergeant at arms, City Council member, city marshal and county commissioner of Duval County. He was also deeply involved in public health as a member of Jacksonville’s City Board of Health.
Emanuel’s son, T. Thomas Fortune, became a prominent radical newspaper editor and activist for African American rights, continuing his father’s fight for justice.
Emanuel Fortune passed away, January 27, 1897, leaving a legacy of political service and advocacy for his community. He is buried in the Old City Cemetery in Jacksonville’s Historic Eastside neighborhood.
Emanuel Fortune’s life exemplifies resilience and dedication in the face of oppression. His story is one of profound leadership, family ties, and unwavering courage.
