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“G” is for Gleaves, Richard Howell (1819-1907)

“G” is for Gleaves, Richard Howell (1819-1907). Lieutenant governor, jurist, merchant. Born a free person of color in Philadelphia, Gleaves moved to Beaufort in 1866 where he practiced law and went into business with Robert Smalls. Gleaves helped form the South Carolina Union League and was instrumental in organizing the Republican Party in South Carolina. In 1872 he was elected lieutenant governor of the state and reelected in 1874, in which capacity he served as president ex officio of the S.C. Senate. Re-elected in 1876, he resigned from office when the federal government recognized Wade Hampton as governor. The new governor then appointed him a trial justice for Beaufort. He left South Carolina in 1877 but returned in 1880 as a special inspector of customs. In 1882, Richard Howell Gleaves moved back to Washington.

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Dr. Walter Edgar has two programs on South Carolina Public Radio: Walter Edgar's Journal, and South Carolina from A to Z. Dr. Edgar received his B.A. degree from Davidson College in 1965 and his Ph.D. from the University of South Carolina in 1969. After two years in the army (including a tour of duty in Vietnam), he returned to USC as a post-doctoral fellow of the National Archives, assigned to the Papers of Henry Laurens.