Thomas Mundy Peterson Thomas Mundy Peterson  (October 6, 1824 – February 4, 1904) of  Perth Amboy, New Jersey was the first  African-American  to  vote  in an  election  under the just-enacted provisions of the  15th Amendment  to the  United States Constitution . His vote was cast on March 31, 1870. [1] [2] Thomas Mundy Peterson  BornOctober 6, 1824 Metuchen, New Jersey DiedFebruary 4, 1904 (age 79) Perth Amboy, New Jersey Known forThe first African American to vote in the United States after the passage of the 15th Amendment BiographyEdi He was born in  Metuchen, New Jersey . His father, also named Thomas, worked for the Mundy family. He was a slave and his mother, Lucy Green, was a slave of Hugh Newell (1744–1816) of Freehold Township, New Jersey. Thomas was  manumitted  at age 21 by Newell's will. He was a  school  principal between 1870 and 1878 and a general handyman i...