William Syphax ( -- June 15, 1891) was born into slavery but manumitted when he was about one year old, along with his mother Maria Carter Syphax and sister. As a young man, he became a U.S. government civil servant in Republican administrations, and built a network in the capital city.

He gained passage of a relief bill in Congress in 1866 to restore 17 acres of land his mother had received