Hal B. Burton Explained

Hal B. Burton was an American state legislator in Arkansas. He represented Jefferson County, Arkansas in the Arkansas House of Representatives in 1887.^{[1] [2] [3]} He was a Republican and served one term.^[4]

In 1880 he was a farmer, and in the 1890s a merchant and saloon manager. In 1908, he was listed as a porter, in the city directory of Pine Bluff, Arkansas,^[3] and may have died there between 1910 and 1920. His third wife was documented as a sower.

He was the great-great grandfather of actor LeVar Burton.^[5] On a 2024 episode of the PBS program, Finding Your Roots, featuring LeVar Burton, it was noted that Hal Burton was described in one contemporary newspaper account as a "gay lothario" and accused of being a womanizer.^[5]

See also

• African-American officeholders during and following the Reconstruction era

Notes and References

1. Web site: Report. Arkansas Office of the Secretary of. State. May 1, 1893. Google Books.
2. Book: Goodspeed Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Central Arkansas. May 1, 1889. Southern Historical Press. 9780893080792 . Google Books.
3. African-American Legislators in the Arkansas General Assembly, 1868–1893. Wintory, Blake J.. 2006. The Arkansas Historical Quarterly. 65. 4. 385–434. 10.2307/40028092 . 40028092 . 0004-1823.
4. Web site: Encyclopedia of Arkansas. Encyclopedia of Arkansas.
5. Fathers and Sons . Finding Your Roots . January 16, 2024 . 10 . 3 . PBS . 2024-02-05 . en.