Henry Weston Cardozo (September 1, 1830 – February 21, 1886) was an American carpenter, cobbler, county auditor, shipwright, tailor, Methodist Episcopal minister, and Reconstruction era South Carolina state senator.

Henry Weston Cardozo
Member of the South Carolina Senate
from Kershaw County
In office
November 22, 1870 – March 17, 1874
Preceded byJustus K. Jillson
Succeeded byFrank Carter
Personal details
BornSeptember 1, 1830
Charleston, South Carolina, U.S.
DiedFebruary 21, 1886(1886-02-21) (aged 55)
Burial placeRandolph Cemetery,
Columbia, South Carolina, U.S.
Occupations
Political partyRepublican
Spouse
Catherine F. McKinney
(m. 1853)
Children6
RelativesFrancis Lewis Cardozo (brother)
Thomas W. Cardozo (brother)
Benjamin N. Cardozo
(distant relative)

Early life

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Henry Weston Cardozo was born in September 1830. Cardozo's mother, Lydia Weston, was a former slave of African American and Native American ancestry. His father, Isaac Nunez Cardozo, was Sephardic Jewish of Portuguese descent.[1][2][3] He was the eldest sibling and had two sisters, Lydia and Eslander. His younger brothers, Francis Lewis Cardozo and Thomas W. Cardozo, were educators and also became politicians during the Reconstruction era. Their father, Isaac Cardozo, died in 1855. Henry was working as a shoemaker by age 14. He also worked as a carpenter and shipbuilder.[4] He apprenticed with a manufacturer of threshing machines.[citation needed]

In 1855, he married Catherine F. McKinney in Charleston, South Carolina. His sister Eslander married Catherine's brother Christopher McKinney. In June 1858, he and his family (wife, son, mother, two sisters, brother-in-law, mother-in-law, sister-in-law, nephew) left Charleston aboard the steamship Nashville on the way to New York.[5] According to the 1860 census, his mother and sisters were living together in Cleveland, Ohio, and Henry worked as a tailor in that city while living with his wife and their sons Isaac (age 4) and William (age 1).

Career

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After the American Civil War ended in 1865, he moved back to South Carolina. He served as County Auditor of Charleston County and was elected to the state senate from Kershaw County, and assumed office on November 22, 1870. He also became a minister in the Methodist Episcopal Church[1] and was later pastor of the Old Bethel United Methodist Church. He moved to Cincinnati, Ohio, and died on February 21, 1886.[6]

He is buried in Randolph Cemetery with eight other Reconstruction era legislators.[7]

References

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  1. ^ a b Woody, Howard; Beard, Davie (2003). South Carolina Postcards: Camden. Vol. VIII. Charleston, South Carolina: Arcadia Publishing. p. 35. ISBN 0738515035. OCLC 755103522.
  2. ^ Lewis, Femi (March 6, 2017). "Francis Lewis Cardozo: Educator, Clergyman and Politician". ThoughtCo.
  3. ^ Waldfogel, Sabra (August 1, 2014). "Jews and Slavery: Isaac Cardozo and Lydia Weston". Jewish Book Council. Retrieved January 4, 2021.
  4. ^ Simmons, William J. (1887) Men of Mark: Eminent, Progressive and Rising. Cleveland, Ohio: George M. Rewell & Co. pp. 428-431 ISBN 1468096818
  5. ^ The Charleston Daily Courier. Charleston, South Carolina. June 28, 1858. p. 4
  6. ^ "Macon Weekly Telegraph Archives, Mar 2, 1886, p. 13". NewspaperArchive.com. March 2, 1886. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
  7. ^ National register of Historic Places - Randolph Cemetery. U.S. Department of the Interior. December 12, 1994. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
Party political offices
Preceded by
Unknown
Chairman of the Kershaw County Republican Party
1868–1869
Succeeded by
Unknown
Political offices
South Carolina Senate
Preceded by Member of the South Carolina Senate from Kershaw County
1870-1874
Succeeded by
Frank Carter