Richard Howell Gleaves (July 4, 1819 – November 1907) was a lawyer, merchant, and politician who served as the 55th

Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina The lieutenant governor of South Carolina is the second-in-command to the governor of South Carolina. Beyond the responsibility to act or serve as governor in the event of the office's vacancy, the duties of the lieutenant governor are chiefly ce ...

from December 7, 1872 to December 14, 1876. He served under Governors Franklin J. Moses, Jr. and

Daniel Henry Chamberlain Daniel Henry Chamberlain (June 23, 1835April 13, 1907) was an American planter, lawyer, author and the 76th Governor of South Carolina from 1874 until 1876 or 1877. The federal government withdrew troops from the state and ended Reconstruction ...

. A

Haitian-American Haitian Americans (; ; ) are a group of Americans of full or partial Haitian origin or descent. The largest population of Haitian citizens in the United States live in Little Haiti to the South Florida area. In addition, they have sizeable popu ...

of mixed ancestry, Gleaves was one of the highest elected

black Americans African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

during the

Reconstruction era The Reconstruction era was a period in History of the United States, US history that followed the American Civil War (1861-65) and was dominated by the legal, social, and political challenges of the Abolitionism in the United States, abol ...

Early life

Richard Howell Gleaves was born free in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

to a

Haiti Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of the Bahamas. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican ...

an father, who had immigrated earlier in the century following the

Haitian Revolution The Haitian Revolution ( or ; ) was a successful insurrection by slave revolt, self-liberated slaves against French colonial rule in Saint-Domingue, now the sovereign state of Haiti. The revolution was the only known Slave rebellion, slave up ...

, and an English mother. He was educated in Philadelphia as well as in

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

, where a relatively large free black community existed.

Career

He worked as a steward on

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...

steamboats before moving to

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

and

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

. While back in the north, Gleaves was an active in the Prince Hall Freemasons, which had primarily African-American membership. He worked to organize Prince Hall lodges across the northern states. In 1866 following the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

, Gleaves moved to

Beaufort, South Carolina Beaufort ( , different from that of Beaufort, North Carolina) is a city in Beaufort County, South Carolina, United States, and its county seat. Chartered in 1711, it is the second-oldest city in South Carolina, behind Charleston, South Carolina ...

. There he went into business with

Robert Smalls Robert Smalls (April 5, 1839 – February 23, 1915) was an American politician who was born into slavery in Beaufort, South Carolina. During the American Civil War, the still enslaved Smalls commandeered a Confederate transport ship in Charlesto ...

, a former slave who during the war had captained a ship that he took from the Confederates. Gleaves purchased property in the town. His land included the site of a black fraternal hall now known as the Sons of Beaufort Lodge, located at 607 West Street. Gleaves, like his business partner Robert Smalls, went into politics and helped establish the

Union League The Union Leagues were quasi-secretive men's clubs established separately, starting in 1862, and continuing throughout the Civil War (1861–1865). The oldest Union League of America council member, an organization originally called "The Leagu ...

and the

South Carolina Republican Party The South Carolina Republican Party (SCGOP) is the state affiliate of the national Republican Party in South Carolina. It is one of two major political parties in the state, along with the South Carolina Democratic Party, and is the dominant par ...

. He presided over that party's convention in 1867. From 1870–1872, he held multiple elected positions, including trial justice, probate judge and commissioner of elections. In 1872 and 1874, Gleaves was elected as the 55th

. In 1874, he defeated

Martin Delany Martin Robison Delany (May 6, 1812January 24, 1885) was an American abolitionist, journalist, physician, military officer and writer who was arguably the first proponent of black nationalism. Delany is credited with the Pan-African slogan of "Af ...

, an African American running as an Independent Republican, for the office. In 1876, Gleaves was a delegate to the

1876 Republican National Convention The 1876 Republican National Convention was a presidential nominating convention held at the Exposition Hall in Cincinnati, Ohio on June 14–16, 1876. President Ulysses S. Grant had considered seeking a third term, but with various scandals, a ...

which chose Ohio Governor

Rutherford B. Hayes Rutherford Birchard Hayes (; October 4, 1822 – January 17, 1893) was the 19th president of the United States, serving from 1877 to 1881. Hayes served as Cincinnati's city solicitor from 1858 to 1861. He was a staunch Abolitionism in the Un ...

as its nominee. In the general election, there was massive fraud in

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

. Republican Party officeholders, including Gleaves, were defeated. The end of the

Reconstruction Era The Reconstruction era was a period in History of the United States, US history that followed the American Civil War (1861-65) and was dominated by the legal, social, and political challenges of the Abolitionism in the United States, abol ...

and the removal of federal troops from South Carolina following the 1876 election signified the restoration of essentially one-party rule in the South, and Gleaves was the last Republican Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina until

Bob Peeler Robert Lee "Bob" Peeler (born January 4, 1952) served as the 86th Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina from January 1995 to January 2003. He was the first Republican Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina since Richard Howell Gleaves served du ...

was elected in the 1994 election. Democratic Governor

Wade Hampton Wade Hampton may refer to the following people: People *Wade Hampton I (1752–1835), American soldier in Revolutionary War and War of 1812 and U.S. congressman * Wade Hampton II (1791–1858), American plantation owner and soldier in War of 1812 * ...

appointed Gleaves to the position of trial justice in Beaufort but he declined and moved out of state. He had been indicted for fraudulent issuance of legislative pay certificates. After the 1880 presidential election, he returned to South Carolina when President

James A. Garfield James Abram Garfield (November 19, 1831 – September 19, 1881) was the 20th president of the United States, serving from March 1881 until his death in September that year after being shot two months earlier. A preacher, lawyer, and Civi ...

appointed him to the lucrative position of special customs inspector. This position lasted until 1882. He spent the end of his life working as a waiter at the Jefferson Club in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

Gleaves was a prominent

Freemason Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

, the sixth National Grand Master of the Prince Hall National Grand Lodge of North America.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gleaves, Richard 1819 births 1907 deaths Lieutenant governors of South Carolina American people of English descent American politicians of Haitian descent African-American people in South Carolina politics African-American politicians during the Reconstruction Era South Carolina Republicans South Carolina lawyers Masonic grand masters Politicians from Philadelphia People from Beaufort, South Carolina Washington, D.C., Republicans 20th-century African-American politicians

Early life

Career

See also

References