Benjamin Cudworth Yancey Jr.

Benjamin Cudworth Yancey Jr. (April 27, 1817 – October 24, 1891) was an American politician, lawyer, officer in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War and diplomat.

Colonel
Benjamin Cudworth Yancey Jr
Member of the Georgia House of Representatives
from the Clarke County district
In office
1875–1879
United States Minister Resident, Argentina
In office
December 1, 1858 – September 30, 1859
Preceded byJames A. Peden
Succeeded byJohn F. Cushman
President of the Alabama State Senate
Member of the Alabama House of Representatives
from
In office
1855–1856
Member of the South Carolina House of Representatives
from the Edgefield District district
In office
1846–1849
Personal details
Born(1817-04-27)April 27, 1817
Charleston, South Carolina
DiedOctober 24, 1891(1891-10-24) (aged 74)
Resting placeMyrtle Hill Cemetery[1]
Rome, Georgia
EducationFranklin College (A.B.)
Harvard Law School (B.L.)
OccupationDiplomat, Politician, Soldier
Military career
Allegiance Confederate States
Service/branch Confederate States Army
Rank Colonel
Unit Georgia State Troops[2]
Battles/warsAmerican Civil War

Background

Yancey, the brother of a leading Fire-Eater William Lowndes Yancey, was born in Charleston, South Carolina in 1817. He attended Franklin College (now known as the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences), the founding school of the University of Georgia in Athens, was a member of the Phi Kappa Literary Society and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (A.B.) degree in 1836. He also attended Harvard Law School where he graduated with a Bachelor of Law (B.L.).

Political and diplomatic career

From 1846 to 1849, he was elected to the South Carolina General Assembly House of Representatives for the Edgefield District and served one term. He also practiced law in Hamburg, South Carolina at that time. He moved to Cherokee County, Alabama, and was elected to the Alabama Senate in 1855, serving as the president of that body from 1855 to 1856. He was Minister Resident to Argentina in 1858.[3] During the Civil War, he was a major in Cobb's Legion. He participated in the Virginia campaign, but was subsequently transferred, as colonel, to Georgia in command of state troops.

For twenty years he owned a slave who eventually went by the name of Robert Webster, the son of Daniel Webster. He allowed Robert Webster to work in Atlanta during the Civil War, where Webster did quite well financially. After the war, Yancey lost his property and borrowed money from his former slave.[4]

In 1867, Yancey was elected president of the Alabama State Agricultural society, and he served as a trustee of the University of Georgia from 1860 to 1889. In 1875, Yancey was elected to the Georgia House of Representatives as a representative of Clarke County until 1879. He died in 1891.

Family

Yancey married twice, first to Laura Hines and second to Sarah Paris Hamilton.

References
  1. "Benjamin Cudworth Yancey". Find A Grave. Retrieved 26 April 2018.
  2. Owen, Thomas (1921). History of Alabama and Dictionary of Alabama Biography. Chicago: S J Clarke publishing Company. p. 1820.
  3. A Standard History of Georgia and Georgians, Volume 5, by Lucian Lamar Knight
  4. Smithsonian Magazine, October 2014
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