A Symbol of Freedom: Gus Henderson

Gustavus (Gus) Christopher Henderson was a respected African American resident of Central Florida who published The Winter Park Advocate and later the Florida Christian Recorder. He was instrumental in incorporating Hannibal Square, an African American subdivision of residential homes and businesses, into the City of Winter Park. Henderson worked tirelessly to improve Black voter registration in Central Florida. His efforts reverberate into the present day across many fronts.  

Gustavus (Gus) Christopher Henderson was born during the height of the Civil War on November 16, 1862, in Columbia County, Florida.¹ His mother was most likely enslaved, and not much is known of his father.² His mother died when he was 10, leaving Henderson to fend largely for himself. An 1891 biography printed in The Winter Park Advocate, likely written by Henderson himself, stated that “the teachings of his mother left their impress upon his mind.” Though he worked as a farmer and for a White itinerant tinsmith from a young age to support himself during the day, he studied nightly and had an active intellect that “craved knowledge.” Not much else is known about Henderson’s education, however his literacy and mental prowess proved essential to his later work.³ Henderson left Florida and found a job with a New York traveling sales company where he worked as the first African American “commercial tourist.”⁴ He spent five months as a successful traveling salesman across Florida. Unfortunately, the firm was unaware that he was African American, and when they learned this from his White co-workers, who had threatened the firm, he was asked to resign.⁵ 

In 1886, Henderson relocated to Hannibal Square in Winter Park, Florida, where he would play a pivotal role in its history. Hannibal Square was the section of Winter Park built by town founders Loring Chase and Oliver Chapman, intended for African American residents.⁶ Hannibal Square was founded in 1881, by African Americans. Residents of Hannibal Square maintained high levels of education and were a steady source of labor for wealthy White Winter Park residents and businesses like the Seminole Hotel.⁷ On October 12, 1887, from among the 297 African American Hannibal Square residents, Henderson led 64 registered voters to support Chase and Chapman in their efforts to incorporate Hannibal Square into Winter Park officially. Had it not been for Henderson’s voter registration efforts, “Hannibal Square may not have been included within the city limits of Winter Park.”⁸ Unfortunately, in 1893, Winter Park Democrats sent a petition granted by the state legislature to remove Hannibal Square from city limits. It was not until 1925—long after African American voters had been effectively disfranchised—that Winter Park re-annexed Hannibal Square.⁹  

On May 30, 1889, Henderson published the first issue of The Winter Park Advocate.¹⁰ Henderson worked as the publisher, reporter, editor, and ad salesman.¹¹ His newspaper was read by the White and Black residents of Winter Park and was the only news source in Winter Park for over two years.¹² His newspaper was at the forefront of the fight against political injustice, and Henderson received many threats against him, which, thankfully, did not shake his convictions.¹³

In 1898 Henderson was appointed one of seven division deputies in Florida for the Office of the Commissioner of the Internal Revenue (which would later become the Internal Revenue Service) and listed his address as Orlando.¹⁴ It is likely that Henderson’s move to Orlando was spurred by the removal of Hannibal Square from Winter Park’s city limits. A copy of The Winter Park Advocate from 1896 can be found in the Winter Park Library Archives.¹⁵ In 1900, Henderson established the Florida Christian Recorder, Orlando’s first Black-owned newspaper.¹⁶

In 1894, Henderson married Martha Gabrielle Livingston, a high school teacher, and they had their first child, Irene, in April 1896.¹⁷ They had their second child, Marcellus, in 1900, followed by sons Abram (known by the family as “Baby”) in 1902, and Allison in 1911.¹⁸  Gus Henderson remained active in politics after his move to Orlando, and both his newspaper and his fight for equality continued until his untimely death at the age of 52 of tuberculosis on May 15, 1917. ¹⁹ He is buried in Section K of Greenwood Cemetery with his wife Martha and children Irene, Marcellus, and Abram.²⁰ His political activism shaped Winter Park, and his work has continued to inspire civil rights advocates to this day.  

1. “1900 United States Federal Census,” database with images, Ancestry.com entry for Gustavus Henderson, accessed February 28, 2024, https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/7602/images/4120050_00064

2. “Online Juneteenth event reunites popular historians,” Orlando Sentinel, June 14, 2020, I-6.

3. “G.C. Henderson, Editor of the Advocate,” The Winter Park Advocate, March 7, 1891, Advocate Recovered: A Critical Making Digital Recovery Project, accessed May 8, 2024, https://www.advocaterecovered.org/1891/g-c-henderson-editor-of-the-advocate/; Whitney Broadaway Orange County Regional History Center, September 25, 2020, http://www.thehistorycenter.org/gus-henderson/ 

4. “Editor of the Advocate,” The Winter Park Advocate, March 7, 1891.; Broadaway, “Gus Henderson.”

5. “Editor of the Advocate,” The Winter Park Advocate, March 7, 1891.

6. Broadaway, “Gus Henderson.”

7. “History of Hannibal Square,” Hannibal Square Heritage Center, accessed March 22, 2024, http://www.hannibalsquareheritagecenter.org/history-of-hannibal-square.html 

8. “It’s a day to cheer freedom and a vital founding father,” Orlando Sentinel, June 19, 2022, F10.

9. To learn more about Hannibal Square and its rich history, visit the Hannibal Square Heritage Center.; Broadway, “Gus Henderson.”

10. “Black community predates Winter Park incorporation,” Orlando Sentinel, February 14, 1990, 37.

11. “Black community predates Winter Park incorporation,” Orlando Sentinel, February 14, 1990, 37.

12. Broadaway, “Gus Henderson.”

13. Broadaway, “Gus Henderson.”

14. Broadaway, “Gus Henderson.”

15. “The Winter Park Advocate,” The Winter Park Library, accessed May 8, 2024, https://winterparklibraryarchives.org/exhibits/show/winter-park-newspapers/the-winter-park-advocate

16. Broadway, “Gus Henderson.”

17. “1900 Census," Gustavus Henderson.

18. “1900 Census," Gustavus Henderson.; “1910 United States Federal Census,” database with images, Ancestry.com entry for Gustavus Henderson, accessed February 28, 2024, https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/7884/images/31111_4327452-00580 ; “1950 United States Federal Census,” database with images, Ancestry.com entry for A.B. Henderson, accessed March 22, 2024, https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/62308/images/43290879-Michigan-099728-0025  

19.  “Florida, Death Certificates,” database with images, FamilySearch, entry for Gustavus Henderson, accessed February 28, 2024, https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HT-D1XQ-TVN 

20. Gustavus Henderson Burial Record, Greenwood Cemetery Records.