Richard Simms was a state legislator who served in the Louisiana House of Representatives and the Louisiana State Senate during the Reconstruction era.[1]
Richard Simms | |
|---|---|
| Louisiana House of Representatives | |
| In office 1872–1874 | |
| Louisiana House of Representatives | |
| In office 1876–1878 | |
| Louisiana State Senate | |
| In office 1880–1892 | |
| Louisiana House of Representatives | |
| In office 1892–1894 | |
| Personal details | |
| Political party | Republican |
Biography
editSimms was first elected to represent the St. Landry Parish in the Louisiana House of Representatives from 1872 until 1874.[1][2]
At the 1874 and 1876 Republican State Conventions he represented St. James Parish along with four other delegates from the parish.[3][4] In 1876 he was working as sheriff for the Parish of St. James.[5]
He was elected again to the Louisiana House of Representatives to serve from 1876 until 1878,[1] this time representing St. James Parish.[6]
Approaching the end of the session in October 1878 he again ran for the position of parish sheriff, but lost out coming second to Victor Miles.[7] He was a member of the State Central Executive Committee of the Republican Party of Louisiana in 1879 when P. B. S. Pinchback was president.[8]
Simms was nominated to run on the Republican ticket for State Senator in a long and "stormy session" at the Republican Senatorial Convention October 15, 1879.[9] He was one of two nominations the other being G. H. Hill and the first fifty-three ballots were deadlocked and on the fifty-forth ballot he succeeded by eight to seven.[9] Simms was then elected to serve in the Louisiana State Senate for three session from 1880 until 1892.[1][10]
He along with the other four black senators voted against a bill put forth by Charles Parlange in 1884 to put convicts to work on levees and to break the current lease of the prison.[11]
Simms again returned to the Louisiana House of Representatives in 1892 representing St. James Parish and presumed to have served until 1894.[12]
In 1896 Simms was a delegate to the Eleventh Republican National Convention in St. Louis representing the central district.[13]
Notes
edit- In some of the contemporary newspaper articles his name was given as Richard Simmes, including the reporting of his nomination on the Republican ticket for the senate.[14]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c d Foner, Eric (1 August 1996). Freedom's Lawmakers: A Directory of Black Officeholders During Reconstruction. LSU Press. p. 197. ISBN 978-0-8071-2082-8. Retrieved October 30, 2022.
- ^ Vincent, Charles (28 January 2011). Black Legislators in Louisiana during Reconstruction. SIU Press. p. 148, 233. ISBN 978-0-8093-8581-2. Retrieved 30 October 2022.
- ^ "Republican State Convention". New Orleans Republican. 8 August 1874. p. 1. Retrieved 30 October 2022.
- ^ "Republican State Convention (1876)". New Orleans Republican. 1 June 1876. p. 1. Retrieved 30 October 2022.
- ^ "Judicial Notices - Richard Simms, Sheriff". Le Louisianais. 21 October 1876. p. 2. Retrieved 30 October 2022.
- ^ "Official: State Senators and Members of the House of Representatives". New Orleans Republican. 7 December 1876. p. 4. Retrieved 30 October 2022.
- ^ "Election Returns of the Parish of St. James". The New Orleans Daily Democrat. 21 November 1878. p. 3. Retrieved 30 October 2022.
- ^ "State Central Executive Committee of the Republican Party of Louisiana". The Weekly Louisianian. 10 May 1879. p. 3. Retrieved 30 October 2022.
- ^ a b "Republican Senatorial Convention: Richard Simms for State Senator". The Donaldsonville Chief. 18 October 1879. p. 2. Retrieved 30 October 2022.
- ^ "SENATE DIRECTORY 1880-2004" (PDF). Louisiana State Legislature. Retrieved 30 October 2022.
- ^ Carleton, Mark T. (1967). "The Politics of the Convict Lease System in Louisiana: 1868-1901". Louisiana History: The Journal of the Louisiana Historical Association. 8 (1): 16–21. ISSN 0024-6816. JSTOR 4230931. Retrieved 30 October 2022.
- ^ "The General Assembly: Senate and House". Abbeville Meridional. 14 May 1892. p. 3. Retrieved 30 October 2022.
- ^ Official Report of the Proceedings. Republican National Committee. 1896. p. 66. Retrieved 30 October 2022.
- ^ "Republican District Ticket". The Donaldsonville Chief. 1 November 1879. p. 3. Retrieved 30 October 2022.
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