Hiram Runnels

Hiram Runnels

Hiram George Runnels (born December 15, 1796 in Hancock County , Georgia , † December 17, 1857 in Houston , Texas ) was an American politician and governor of the state of Mississippi from 1833 to 1835 .

Early years and political advancement

Hiram Runnels attended public schools in Georgia and later in Mississippi. At first he was based in Monticello . In 1822 he moved to the capital Jackson . Between 1822 and 1830 he served as State Auditor in charge of the Mississippi State Audit Office. Runnels became a member of the Democratic Party founded by President Andrew Jackson . He was a loyal supporter of the president and supported him during the nullification crisis with South Carolina . In 1830 he was a member of the Mississippi House of Representatives .

Mississippi Governor

In 1831, Runnels unsuccessfully applied for the office of governor of his state. In May 1833 he was more successful. He managed to win the gubernatorial election against incumbent Abram M. Scott . Scott passed away before the end of his term in office. Due to a reform of the state constitution that had taken place shortly before, there was confusion about the exact start of the term of office of Governor Runnels. They waited until November 30, 1833: on that day, according to the amended constitution, the term of office of the new governor was to begin. The months between June and November were bridged by the President of the State Senate , Charles Lynch . Runnels took up his new office on November 30, 1833. During his two-year tenure, funding for the new government building in Jackson was secured and the militia reformed. The importation of slaves for auction was forbidden, but this did not mean the end of slavery . The land in the north of the state, which had recently been ceded by the Indians, was divided into 16 new counties.

In 1835, Runnels was not re-elected. He resigned from office on November 20 this year. But with that he created a new problem. The legislature had meanwhile moved the governors' terms of office to January. Since the State Senate was not in session at the time, its President could not take over the office. That only happened on December 3, 1835, when John A. Quitman took over the governor's office. In the meantime, the state was without a governor for about two weeks.

Another résumé

After his governorship, Runnels was President of the new Union Bank in 1838 and again a member of the House of Representatives of his state in 1841. In 1842, after the collapse of his bank, a dispute broke out between Runnels and one of the directors, which even led to a duel. After that incident, Runnels moved to Texas. There he was a delegate to the constituent assembly of that state in 1845. Later he was also a member of the Senate of that state. Hiram Runnels died in December 1857. He was married to Obedience A. Smith, with whom he had two children. His nephew Hardin R. Runnels was later governor of Texas.

literature

• Robert Sobel and John Raimo (Eds.): Biographical Directory of the Governors of the United States, 1789–1978. Volume 2, Meckler Books, Westport, 1978. 4 volumes.

Web links

• Hiram Runnels in the National Governors Association (English)
• Mississippi Historical Society ( Memento from July 2, 2019 in the web archive archive.today )
• Hiram Runnels in the database of Find a Grave (English)