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Alfred Fairfax (1840-??) - From Chautauqua County Fairfax was a Civil War veteran and the first African American elected to a state legislature. He was born a slave in Loudon County, Virginia but was reportedly sold after he tried to escape. He was then moved to Louisiana just prior to the outbreak of the Civil War. In 1862 he escaped and joined the Union Army, where he learned to read. After the war Fairfax became active in politics and became a minister. In fact, he was so active in Louisiana politics that he was elected to Congress in 1878; however, he wasn't able to take office as Democratic mobs forced him to flee. As southern white men fought for control during Reconstruction, Fairfax began to look elsewhere for a better place to live.

There were huge numbers of African-Americans who fled the south after the Civil War, many of whom settled in Kansas.

 These refugees were called "Exodusters."

Like numerous other "freedmen," Reverend Fairfax chose Kansas, which provided much "hope" for those fleeing oppression in the south. Though they didn't find a "Utopia" in Kansas, they did find more freedom and less resistance from their Kansas neighbors. Fairfax soon gathered up some 200 families and in 1880, they began to make the trek to Kansas, most of whom settling in Chautauqua County. Fairfax established the Little Coney Colony, obtained a 200-acre farm, raised cotton and other farm products, operated his own cotton gin, and became the pastor at the New Hope Baptist Church in nearby Parsons. Little Coney Colony was incorporated in 1881 and was called home to about 56 families. 

Fairfax achieved political distinction in 1888 when he was elected to represent Chautauqua County in the Kansas State Legislature. Although he served only one term, he was the Chairman of the House Committee on Immigration, worked to repeal the segregation provisions of the 1879 Kansas school statute, and introduced a bill which provided all children equal access to Kansas Public Schools. Unfortunately, the bill did not pass. During his short tenure, he received much praise from both the white and black press. In return for his hard work, he asked: "that the great state of Kansas, the glorious leader of every reform, shall not take a backward step by continuing to legalize distinction and discrimination against a loyal, brave and true race even though their faces be dark."

David W. Finney (1839-1916) - A farmer, miller and Kansas legislator, Finney was born in Parke County, Indiana on August 22, 1839. He received a limited education in his native state, served through the Civil War as a member of Company A, Eighty-fifth Indiana Infantry, and in 1866 became a resident of Woodson County, Kansas. Since the time he became of legal age, he took an active part in politics as a Republican and in 1867 he was elected to represent Woodson County in the Kansas Legislature. He was frequently called upon to act as delegate to state or district conventions; was a state senator from 1876 to 1880, representing the district composed of Woodson and Coffey Counties; was president of the senate when the first prohibition law was passed; was receiver of the Topeka Land Office for about three months in 1877; was Right-of-Way Agent for the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe railroad Company for a time, and in 1882 was elected Lieutenant-Governor. The legislature of 1883 changed the name of Sequoyah County to Finney in his honor. After his term as Lieutenant-Governor he became the senior member of the firm of Finney & Co., operating a large flour mill at Neosho Falls. He died on November 1, 1916 and was buried at Neosho Falls.