Octavius V. Catto on the Web

"Set against the backdrop of nineteenth century Philadelphia's flourishing activist African American community, Octavius V. Catto made a mark both locally and nationally. A learned man, he taught at the Institute for Colored Youth, later to become Cheyney University. Catto was linked to virtually every important black movement and the inner circle of Radical Republicans of his time. He raised African American troops to serve in the Civil War and in the late 1860s became a national spokesperson for enfranchisement and civil rights for African Americans. Catto was assassinated, along with several other blacks, in a riot during the election of 1871, one of the first elections in which Pennsylvania blacks could vote as a result of the state's ratification of the 15th Amendment. His funeral was reported as the most elaborate ever held for a black person in America. His death resonated beyond Pennsylvania."

--V. Chapman-Smith

This is a small gathering of online resources about Octavius V. Catto.