Wentworth Cheswell was an American assessor, auditor, Justice of the Peace, teacher and Revolutionary War veteran in Newmarket, New Hampshire. He was of mixed race, one-quarter African and three-quarters European, and listed on the census as white.
Elected as town constable in 1768, he was elected to other positions,
serving in local government every year but one until his death.
Cheswell is considered by George Mason University to be the first African American elected to public office in the history of the United States.
Around the time of his marriage, Wentworth purchased a plot of land
from his father Hopestill. His grandfather Richard is believed to be the
first African American in New Hampshire to own land. A deed shows that Richard purchased 20 acres from the
Hilton grant in 1717. In 1801, Wentworth was among the founders of the
first library in the town and provided in his will for public access to
his personal library.
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Source: Wikipedia
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