Jesse J. Finley

Jesse Johnson Finley (November 18, 1812 – November 6, 1904) was an American politician and military officer who was a brigadier general in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War and a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives from Florida after the Reconstruction era. He also served as mayor of Memphis, Tennessee; a volunteer officer in the United States Army during the Second Seminole War; a member of the Arkansas Senate; a member of the Florida Senate; and a circuit court judge in Florida. Finley served as a Circuit Judge of the Western Judicial Circuit of Florida from 1853 to 1861.

Congressional Service to the United States of America (1876 to 1882) Finley successfully contested the election of Josiah T. Walls to the 44th United States Congress. Walls, a black Republican, was unseated after party-line vote of the congressional committee elected to throw out votes from a predominantly black district that favored Walls 568 to 11 for Finley. Finley served in the United States House of Representatives during the 44th, 45th, and 47th United States Congress as a member of the Democratic Party (United States). Finley served from April 19, 1876, to March 3, 1877. Finley successfully contested the election of Horatio Bisbee, Jr. to the 45th United States Congress and served from February 20 to March 3, 1879. He presented credentials as a Member-elect to the 47th United States Congress and served from March 4, 1881, to June 1, 1882, when he was succeeded by Horatio Bisbee, Jr., who successfully contested Finley's election.

Finley presented credentials on December 5, 1887, as a Senator-designate to the United States Senate for the term commencing March 4, 1887, but was not permitted to qualify because the appointment was made before the vacancy occurred.

Personal life Finley had a son, Charles A. Finley, who served as an administrator at Florida Agricultural College, and a daughter.

Death (1904) Finley died on November 6, 1904, in Lake City, Florida. He was interred to Evergreen Cemetery in Gainesville, Florida. JJ Finley Elementary School was located in Gainesville, Florida, at the corner of Northwest 5th Avenue and 19th Street, about 1 kilometer north of the University of Florida. On June 16, 2020, the School Board of Alachua County (Florida) removed J.J. Finley's name from the school, during protests associated with the murder of George Floyd. A citizen committee appointed by the Alachua County school board recommended renaming the school after African-American research physicist and Gainesville native Carolyn Parker, and the change was adopted in August 2020.

In January 2019, the Gainesville City Commission named a city park in honor of Finley. The vote to name the park for Finley was unanimous. In February 2020, the City of Gainesville City Commission removed Finley's name from the park, by a unanimous vote. The City process to approve a new name required input from a citizen advisory board. The City suspended advisory board activity during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. The park remained unnamed through the pandemic. The Gainesville Sun inaccurately reported that the playground was renamed "as part of the city of Gainesville and Alachua County's truth and reconciliation process".