Richard Howell Gleaves (1819 - 1907)

Born 4 Jul 1819 in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States

Husband of Georgina (Young) Gleaves — married 10 Jul 1860 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States

Died 8 Nov 1907 at age 88 in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States

Problems/Questions Profile manager: US Black Heritage Project WikiTree [send private message]

Richard Gleaves is a part of US Black history. Join: US Black Heritage Project Discuss: black_heritage

Preceded by 54th Lt. Governor Alonzo J. Ransier

Richard Howell Gleaves 55th Lt. Governor of South Carolina 1872—1876

Succeeded by 56th Lt. Governor William D Simpson

Biography

Richard Gleaves is Notable.

Richard Gleaves was a Freemason.

Richard Howell Gleaves was a lawyer, merchant, and politician who served as the 55th Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina.^[1]

Richard Gleaves was born free in Philadelphia on Independence Day, 1819. He was the the son of an English-woman and free Black father from Haiti who had immigrated to Philadelphia earlier in the century following the Haitian Revolution.

He was educated in both Philadelphia and New Orleans and worked as a steward and trader on Mississippi River steamboats. Gleaves would later move to Ohio. From the mid-1840s to the mid- 1860s, Gleaves lived in Ohio and Pennsylvania.

Richard H. Gleaves was Entered, Passed, and Raised in Laurel Masonic Lodge No.2. He would next become a founding member of Saint Cyprian No. 13. Gleaves served as the District Deputy Grand Master, First Independent African Grand Lodge for the territories west of the Allegheny Mountains. He would also serve as the Most Worshipful National Grand Master for the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of Free Ancient and Accepted York Right Masons (Compact) from 1865-1877. While in Beaufort South Carolina, Gleaves would purchase land which included the site of a Black fraternal hall now known as the Sons of Beaufort Lodge, located at 607 West Street. Brother Richard Howell Gleaves, along with Brother Martin Robison Delany, Brother George Vashon, and Brother Thomas Stringer, was instrumental in starting the Prince Hall Grand Lodge in Ohio in 1849.

In 1865 Richard Gleaves moved to Beaufort, South Carolina, and entered into business with Robert Smalls, a former slave who during the Civil War had captained a ship that he took from the Confederates. He worked as a factor and merchant agent, and practiced law he also helped organize the Union League and Republican Party in the state, presiding at the party's 1867 state convention. According to the 1870 census, he owned $500 in real estate and $600 in personal property. Gleaves held several offices during Reconstruction, including trial justice, probate judge, and commissioner of elections. In 1872, he was elected the state's lieutenant governor, serving December 7, 1872 to December 14, 1876; he ran unsuccessfully for reelection in 1877. Gleaves also served as a colonel in the state militia^[2].

Despite all of his accomplishments and success in life, Richard Howell Gleaves, lawyer, trial Judge, past Grand Master, Lt Governor of South Carolina, politician, at the end of his life he was working as a waiter at the Jefferson Club in Washington, D.C. He died in 1907^[3][4] and is buried in Columbian Harmony Cemetery in Washington, D.C.^[5]

Sources

1. ↑ Wikipedia: Richard Howell Gleaves
2. ↑ Foner, Eric. "Gleaves, Richard H.". Freedom's Lawmakers: A Directory of Black Officeholders during Reconstruction. Rev. ed. P. 87. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1996
3. ↑ Death: "District of Columbia Deaths, 1874-1961"
   citing reference ID cn 6301, District Records Center, Washington D.C.; FHL microfilm 2,116,291
   FamilySearch Record: F7BF-9WL
   FamilySearch Image: S3HY-6D9W-WCD
   Richard H Gleaves death 8 Nov 1907 (age 65) in District of Columbia, United States.
4. ↑ Death: "Pennsylvania, Philadelphia City Death Certificates, 1803-1915"
   citing cn 27551, Philadelphia City Archives and Historical Society of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia; FHL microfilm 1,402,913
   FamilySearch Record: JDPG-GW5
   FamilySearch Image: S3HY-6XHW-V6J
   Richard H Gleaves death 8 Nov 1907 (age 65) in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
5. ↑ Memorial: Find a Grave (has image)
   Find A Grave: Memorial #232864210
   Memorial page for Richard Howell Gleaves (4 Jul 1819-8 Nov 1907), citing Columbian Harmony Cemetery, Washington, District of Columbia, District of Columbia, USA; Maintained by FamilyTies (contributor 47950600).

• "United States Census, 1870", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M8R7-NBK : Thu Mar 07 02:53:42 UTC 2024), Entry for Robert Smalls and Hannah Smalls, 1870
• "United States, Freedman's Bank Records, 1865-1874", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NSYG-GHQ : Sat Mar 09 21:29:06 UTC 2024), Entry for Richard H. Gleaves and Georgianna, 1870.
• 1880 Census: "United States Census, 1880"
  citing Volume: 2; Affiliate Name: The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA); Affiliate Publication Number: T9; Affiliate Line Number: 00088; Digital film/folder number: 005157356; FHL microfilm: 1254121; Image number: 974; Sheet number: 240; Sheet letter: B; Packet letter: I
  FamilySearch Record: M6C7-WVF
  FamilySearch Image: 33S7-9YYK-3PTW
  Richard H Gleaves (60), married, Clerk Treas Dept, head of household in Washington, District of Columbia, United States. Born in Pennsylvania, United States.
• "United States Census, 1900", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MMFM-P6H : Wed Mar 06 09:15:02 UTC 2024), Entry for Richard H Gleaves and Georgina Gleaves, 1900.

See also:

• Wikidata: Item Q7326567, en:Wikipedia
• https://www.familysearch.org/photos/artifacts/131330969?p=44430288&returnLabel=Richard%20Howell%20Gleaves%20(MV63-YPD)&returnUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.familysearch.org%2Ftree%2Fperson%2Fmemories%2FMV63-YPD