“J” is for Jefferies, Richard Manning (1888-1964)

“J” is for Jefferies, Richard Manning (1888-1964). Attorney, legislator, governor. A native of Union County, Jefferies reading law and settled in Walterboro. In 1926 he was elected to his first of eight terms in the South Carolina Senate. He was a part of the loose coalition of lowcountry legislators known as the “Barnwell Ring.” By 1941 he was president pro tempore and chairman of the powerful Finance Committee. With the death of Governor Joseph Harley, Jefferies succeeded to the governorship and served for eleven months. He did not seek a term as governor in his own right. Instead, he ran for his old senate seat, which he retained until 1958. In 1942 Richard Manning Jefferies became general manager of Santee Cooper, the South Carolina Public Service Authority—a position he retained until his death.