History of the Negro Race in America from 1619 to 1880
Chapter 155 : UNITED STATES SENATORS.HIRAM R. REVELS, United States Senator from Mississippi, was bo

UNITED STATES SENATORS.

HIRAM R. REVELS, United States Senator from Mississippi, was born in Fayetteville, North Carolina, September 1, 1822; desiring to obtain an education, which was denied in his native State to those of African descent, he removed to Indiana; spent some time at the Quaker Seminary in Union County; entered the Methodist ministry; afterward received further instructions at the Clarke County Seminary, when he became preacher, teacher, and lecturer among his people in the States of Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, and Missouri; at the breaking out of the war, he was ministering at Baltimore; he a.s.sisted in the organization of the first two Colored regiments in Maryland and Missouri; during a portion of 1863 and 1864 he taught school in St. Louis, then went to Vicksburg, and a.s.sisted the provost marshal in managing the freedmen affairs; followed on the heels of the army to Jackson; organized churches, and lectured; spent the next two years in Kansas and Missouri in preaching and lecturing on moral and religious subjects; returned to Mississippi, and settled at Natchez; was chosen presiding elder of the Methodist Church, and a member of the city council; was elected a United States Senator from Mississippi as a Republican, serving from February 25, 1870, to March 3, 1871; was pastor of a Methodist Episcopal church at Holly Springs, Mississippi; removed to Indiana, where he was pastor of the African Methodist Episcopal Church at Richmond.

BLANCHE K. BRUCE, United States Senator from Mississippi, was born in Prince Edward County, Virginia, March 1, 1841; as his parents were slaves, he received a limited education; became a planter in Mississippi in 1869; was a member of the Mississippi Levee Board, and sheriff and tax-collector of Bolivar County from 1872 until his election to the United States Senate from Mississippi, February 3, 1875, as a Republican, to succeed Henry R. Pease, Republican, and took his seat March 4, 1875. His term of service expired March 3, 1881.

UNITED STATES CONGRESSMEN.

RICHARD H. CAIN was born in Greenbrier County, Virginia, April 12, 1825. His father removed to Ohio in 1831, and settled in Gallipolis.

He had no education, except such as was afforded in Sabbath-school, until after his marriage; entered the ministry at an early age; became a student at Wilberforce University at Xenia, Ohio, in 1860, and remained there for one year; removed, at the breaking out of the war, to Brooklyn, New York, where he was a pastor for four years; was sent by his Church as a missionary to the freedmen in South Carolina; was chosen a member of the Const.i.tutional Convention of South Carolina; was elected a member of the State Senate from Charleston, and served two years; took charge of a republican newspaper in 1868; was elected a representative from South Carolina in the Forty-third Congress as a Republican, receiving 66,825 votes against 26,394 for Lewis E.

Johnson, and was again elected to the Forty-fifth Congress as a Republican, receiving 21,385 votes against 16,074 votes for M. P.

O'Connor, Democrat.

ROBERT C. DE LARGE was born at Aiken, South Carolina, March 15, 1842; received such an education as was then attainable; was a farmer; was an agent of the Freedmen's Bureau from May, 1867, to April, 1868, when he was elected a member of the State Const.i.tutional Convention; was a member of the House of Representatives of the State Legislature in 1868, 1869, and 1870; was one of the State Commissioners of the Sinking Fund; was elected in 1870 State Land Commissioner, and served until he was elected a representative from South Carolina in the Forty-second Congress as a Republican, receiving 16,686 votes, against 15,700 votes for C. C. Bowen, Independent Republican; was appointed a trial justice, which office he held when he died at Charlestown, South Carolina, February 15, 1874.

ROBERT BROWN ELLIOTT was born at Boston, Ma.s.sachusetts, August 11, 1842; received his primary education at private schools; in 1853 entered High Holborn Academy in London, England; in 1855 entered Eton College, England, and graduated in 1859; studied law, and practises his profession; was a member of the State Const.i.tutional Convention of South Carolina in 1868; was a member of the House of Representatives of South Carolina from July 6, 1868, to October 23, 1870; was appointed on the 25th of March, 1869, a.s.sistant adjutant-general, which position he held until he was elected a representative from South Carolina in the Forty-second Congress as a Republican, receiving 20,564 votes against 13,997 votes for J. E. Bacon, Democrat, serving from March 4, 1871, to 1873, when he resigned; and was re-elected to the Forty-third Congress as a Republican, receiving 21,627 votes against 1,094 votes for W. H. McCan, Democrat, serving from December 1, 1873, to May, 1874, when he resigned, having been elected sheriff.

JERE HARALSON was born in Muscogee County, Georgia, April 1, 1846, the slave property of John Walker; after Walker's death, was sold on the auction-block in the city of Columbus, and bought by J. W. Thompson, after whose death he became the property of J. Haralson, of Selma, and so remained until emanc.i.p.ated in 1865; received no education until after he was free, when he instructed himself; was elected to the State House of Representatives of Alabama in 1870; was elected to the State Senate of Alabama in 1872; was elected a representative from Alabama in the Forty-fourth Congress as a Republican, receiving 19,551 votes against 16,953 votes for F. G. Bromberg, Democrat, serving from December 6, 1875, to March 3, 1877; was defeated by the Republican candidate for the Forty-fifth Congress, receiving 8,675 votes against 9,685 votes for Charles L. Sh.e.l.ley, Democrat, and 7,236 votes for James T. Rapier, Republican.

JOHN R. LYNCH was born in Concordia Parish, Louisiana, September 10, 1847, a slave; and he remained in slavery until emanc.i.p.ated by the results of the Rebellion, receiving no early education; a purchaser of his mother carried her with her children to Natchez, where, when the Union troops took possession, he attended evening school for a few months, and he has since by private study acquired a good English education; he engaged in the business of photography at Natchez until 1869, when Governor Ames appointed him a justice of the peace; he was elected a member of the State Legislature from Adams County, and re-elected in 1871, serving the last term as Speaker of the House; was elected a representative from Mississippi in the Forty-third Congress as a Republican, receiving 15,391 votes against 8,430 votes for H.

Ca.s.sidy, Sr., Democrat; and was re-elected to the Forty-fourth Congress as a Republican (defeating Roderick Seals, Democrat), serving from December 1, 1873, to March 3, 1877.

CHARLES E. NASH was born at Opelousas, Louisiana; received a common-school education at New Orleans; was a bricklayer by trade; enlisted as private in the Eighty-third Regiment, United States Cha.s.seurs d'Afrique, April 20, 1863, and was promoted until he became acting sergeant-major of the regiment; lost a leg at the storming of Fort Blakely, and was honorably discharged from the army May 30, 1865; was elected a representative from Louisiana in the Forty-fourth Congress as a Republican, receiving 13,156 votes against 12,085 votes for Joseph M. Moore, Democrat, serving from December 6, 1875, to March 3, 1877; was defeated as the Republican candidate for the Forty-fifth Congress, receiving 11,147 votes against 15,520 votes for Edward White Robertson, Democrat.

JOSEPH H. RAINEY was born at Georgetown, South Carolina (where both of his parents were slaves, but, by their industry, obtained their freedom), June 21, 1832; although debarred by law from attending school he acquired a good education, and further improved his mind by observation and travel; his father was a barber, and he followed that occupation at Charlestown till 1862, when, having been forced to work on the fortifications of the Confederates, he escaped to the West Indies, where he remained until the close of the war, when he returned to his native town; he was elected a delegate to the State Const.i.tutional Convention of 1868, and was a member of the State Senate of South Carolina in 1870, resigning when elected a representative from South Carolina in the Forty-first Congress as a Republican (to fill the vacancy caused by the non-reception of B. F.

Whittemore), by a majority of 17,193 votes over Dudley, Conservative; was re-elected to the Forty-second Congress, receiving 20,221 votes against 11,628 votes for C. W. Dudley, Democrat; was re-elected to the Forty-third Congress, receiving 19,765 votes, being all that were cast; was re-elected to the Forty-fourth Congress, receiving 14,370 votes against 13,563 votes for Samuel Lee, Republican; was re-elected to the Forty-fifth Congress, receiving 18,180 votes against 16,661 votes for J. S. Richardson, Democrat, serving from March 4, 1869.

ALONZO J. RANSIER was born at Charlestown, South Carolina, in January, 1834; was self-educated; was employed as s.h.i.+pping-clerk in 1850 by a leading merchant, who was tried for violation of law in "hiring a Colored clerk," and fined one cent with costs; was one of the foremost in the works of reconstruction in 1865; was a member of a convention of the friends of equal rights in October, 1865, at Charlestown, and was deputed to present the memorial there framed to Congress; was elected a member of the State Const.i.tutional Convention of 1868; was elected a member of the House of Representatives in the State Legislature in 1869; was chosen chairman of the State Republican Central Committee, which position he held until 1872; was elected a presidential elector on the Grant and Colfax ticket in 1868; was elected lieutenant-governor of South Carolina in 1870 by a large majority; was president of the Southern States Convention at Columbia in 1871; was chosen a delegate to, and was a vice-president of, the Philadelphia Convention which nominated Grant and Wilson in 1872; and was elected a representative from South Carolina in the Forty-third Congress as a Republican, receiving 20,061 votes against 6,549 votes for W. Gurney, Independent Republican, serving from December 1, 1873, to March 3, 1875.

JAMES T. RAPIER was born in Florence, Alabama, in 1840; was educated in Canada; is a planter; was appointed a notary public by the governor of Alabama in 1866; was a member of the first Republican Convention held in Alabama, and was one of the committee that framed the platform of the party; represented Lauderdale County in the Const.i.tutional Convention held at Montgomery in 1867; was nominated for secretary of State in 1870, but defeated with the rest of the ticket; was appointed a.s.sessor of internal revenue for the second collection-district of Alabama in 1871; was appointed State commissioner to the Vienna Exposition in. 1873 by the governor of Alabama; was elected a representative from Alabama in the Forty-third Congress as a Republican, receiving 19,100 votes against 16,000 votes for C. W.

Oates, Democrat, serving from December 1, 1873, to March 3, 1875; and was defeated as the Republican candidate for the Forty-fourth Congress, receiving 19,124 votes against 20,180 votes for Jeremiah N.

Williams, Democrat.

ROBERT SMALLS was born at Beaufort, South Carolina, April 5, 1839; being a slave, was debarred by statute from attending school, but educated himself with such limited advantages as he could secure; removed to Charlestown in 1851; worked as a rigger, and led a seafaring life; became connected in 1861 with "The Planter," a steamer plying in Charlestown harbor as a transport, which he took over Charlestown Bar in May, 1862, and delivered her and his services to the commander of the United States blockading squadron; was appointed pilot in the United States navy, and served in that capacity on the monitor "Keokuk" in the attack on Fort Sumter; served as pilot in the quartermaster's department, and was promoted as captain for gallant and meritorious conduct December 1, 1863, and placed in command of "The Planter," serving until she was put out of commission in 1866; was elected a member of the State Const.i.tutional Convention of 1868; was elected a member of the State House of Representatives in 1868, and of the State Senate (to fill a vacancy) in 1870, and re-elected in 1872; and was elected a representative from South Carolina in the Forty-fourth Congress as a Republican, receiving 17,752 votes against 4,461 votes for J. P. M. Epping, Republican; and was re-elected to the Forty-fifth Congress, receiving 19,954 votes against 18,516 votes for G. D. Tillman, Democrat, serving from December, 6, 1875, to March 3, 1877; and is now a member.

JOSIAH T. WALLS was born at Winchester, Virginia, December 30, 1842; received a common-school education; was a planter; was elected a member of the State Const.i.tutional Convention in 1868; was elected a member of the State House of Representatives in 1868; was elected to the State Senate 1869-1872; claimed to have been elected a representative from the State-at-large to the Forty-second Congress as a Republican, but the election was contested by his compet.i.tor, Silas L. Niblack, who took the seat January 29, 1873; was re-elected for the State-at-large, receiving 17,503 votes against 15,881 votes for Niblack, Democrat; and was re-elected to the Forty-fourth Congress, receiving 8,549 votes against 8,178 votes for Jesse J. Finley, Democrat.

BENJ. STERLING TURNER was born in Halifax County, North Carolina, March 17, 1825; was raised as a slave, and received no early education, because the laws of that State made it criminal to educate slaves; removed to Alabama in 1830, and, by clandestine study, obtained a fair education; became a dealer in general merchandise; was elected tax-collector of Dallas County in 1867, and councilman of the city of Selma in 1869; was elected a representative from Alabama in the Forty-second Congress as a Republican, receiving 18,226 votes against 13,466 votes for S. J. c.u.mming, Democrat, serving from March 4, 1871, to March 3, 1873; was defeated as the Republican candidate for the Forty-third Congress, receiving 13,174 votes against 15,607 votes for F. G. Bromberg, Democrat and Liberal and 7,024 votes for P.

Joseph, Republican.

JEFFERSON F. LONG, Macon, Georgia. Took his seat Feb. 24, 1871.

BUREAU OFFICER.

Honorable BLANCHE K. BRUCE, Register of the United States Treasury; appointed by President James A. Garfield, 1881.

NEGROES IN THE DIPLOMATIC AND CONSULAR SERVICE OF THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT.

_Hayti._--E. D. Ba.s.sETT, Pennsylvania, 1869-77.

_Hayti._--JOHN M. LANGSTON, District of Columbia, Minister Resident and Consul-General to Hayti, 1877.

_Liberia._--J. MILTON TURNER, Missouri.

_Liberia._--JOHN H. SMYTH, North Carolina. Reappointed in 1882.

_Liberia._--HENRY HIGHLAND GARNET, New York, Minister Resident and Consul-General to Liberia.

LIEUTENANT-GOVERNORS.

The following Colored men were Lieutenant-Governors during the years of reconstruction. At the head of them all for bravery, intelligence, and executive ability stands Governor Pinchback. One of the first men of his race to enter the army in 1862 as captain, when the conflict was over and his race free, he was the first Colored man in Louisiana to enter into the work of reconstruction. He has been and is a power in his State. He is true to his friends, but a terror to his enemies.

A sketch of his life would read like a romance.

_Louisiana._ _South Carolina._ _Mississippi._ OSCAR J. DUNN, ALONZO J. RANSIER, ALEX. DAVIS.

P. B. S. PINCHBACK, RICHARD H. GLEAVES, C. C. ANTOINE.