William Aiken Jr.

William Aiken Jr. (January 28, 1806 – September 6, 1887) was the 61st governor of South Carolina, serving from 1844 to 1846. He also served in the state legislature and the United States House of Representatives, running unsuccessfully for speaker of the House in 1856 in "the longest and most contentious Speaker election in House history."

William Aiken Jr.
61st Governor of South Carolina
In office
December 7, 1844 – December 8, 1846
LieutenantJ. F. Ervin
Preceded byJames Henry Hammond
Succeeded byDavid Johnson
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from South Carolina's 2nd district
In office
March 4, 1853 – March 3, 1857
Preceded byJames L. Orr
Succeeded byWilliam P. Miles
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from South Carolina's 6th district
In office
March 4, 1851 – March 3, 1853
Preceded byIsaac E. Holmes
Succeeded byWilliam W. Boyce
Member of the South Carolina Senate from St. Philip's and St. Michael's Parish
In office
November 28, 1842 – December 7, 1844
Member of the South Carolina House of Representatives from St. Philip's and St. Michael's Parish
In office
November 26, 1838 – November 28, 1842
Personal details
Born(1806-01-28)January 28, 1806
Charleston, South Carolina, US
DiedSeptember 6, 1887(1887-09-06) (aged 81)
Flat Rock, North Carolina, US
Resting placeMagnolia Cemetery, Charleston, South Carolina
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse
Harriet Lowndes Aiken
​
​
(m. 1831)​
Professionbusinessman, planter

Aiken was one of the state's wealthiest citizens and a slave owner.[1] He owned one of the largest rice plantation in the state—Jehossee Island—with over 700 enslaved black people on 1,500 acres under cultivation, almost twice the acreage of the next largest plantation. By 1860, Aiken owned the entire Jehossee Island, and the plantation produced 1.5 million pounds of rice in addition to sweet potatoes and corn. After the Civil War, the plantation regained its preeminence, producing 1.2 million pounds of rice. Descendants of the Aiken family, the Maybanks, still own part of the island, having sold the remainder in 1992 to the U.S. as part of the ACE Basin National Wildlife Refuge.[2]

Early life
Aiken-Rhett House, 2022 in Charleston, SC

Aiken was the child of William Aiken, the first president of the pioneering South Carolina Canal and Rail Road Company, and Henrietta Wyatt.[3] Unfortunately, William Sr. was killed in a Charleston carriage accident and never saw his namesake town of Aiken, South Carolina. Aiken graduated from the College of South Carolina (now the University of South Carolina) at Columbia in 1825 and engaged in agriculture as a planter, entering politics in 1837. He was a member of the State House of Representatives 1838–1842, and served in the State Senate 1842–1844.[4] His term as governor ran from 1844 to 1846.[5]

Congressional service

Subsequent to his service as governor, Aiken served in the U. S. House of Representatives for the Thirty-second Congress, and he was returned to the Thirty-third and Thirty-fourth Congresses, from March 4, 1851, to March 3, 1857.[5] In December 1855, Aiken was a leading candidate for Speaker of the House of Representatives. After two months and 133 ballots, Aiken lost the race to Nathaniel P. Banks by a vote of 103 to 100, in what has been termed "the longest and most contentious Speaker election in House history".[6] In 1866 he was elected to represent his district in the Fortieth Congress, while the state was under a provisional governor, and he was not seated.[5]

Personal life
Harriet Lowndes Aiken

In 1831 Aiken was married to Harriet Lowndes Aiken (1812–1892) and had a daughter with her named Henrietta Aiken Rhett (1836–1918).

Following the Dred Scott decision, Aiken began traveling to more temperate Northern locations in the summer with some of his slaves, and became an early patron of the University of Minnesota, loaning it some $28,000 (approximately $750,000 in 2016 terms).[7]

Throughout the American civil war he was a loyal Unionist, though his friends were nearly all Secessionists.[5]

He was a successful businessman and planter and lived in Charleston, South Carolina. Aiken's first cousin, D. Wyatt Aiken served as a Confederate States Army officer and five-term U.S. Congressman. Aiken died at Flat Rock, NC, September 6, 1887, and was interred in Magnolia Cemetery at Charleston, South Carolina. His house, the Aiken-Rhett House, is part of the Historic Charleston foundation.

References
  1. "Congress slaveowners", The Washington Post, January 13, 2022, retrieved January 14, 2022
  2. Scott, Thomas L. (December 23, 2014). "9 of the Biggest Slave Owners in American History". Atlanta Black Star. Retrieved May 16, 2019.
  3. Clifton, James M. (2000). Aiken, William. doi:10.1093/anb/9780198606697.article.0400009. ISBN 978-0-19-860669-7. Retrieved November 13, 2022. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
  4. "Biographical Directory of the United States Congress". U. S. House of Representatives, Office of the Historian.
  5. Johnson 1906, p. 65
  6. "Historical Highlights, February 02, 1856". U. S. House of Representatives, Office of the Historian. Retrieved September 11, 2013.
  7. Brown, Curt. "Minnesota History: Southern slave owner helped revive University of Minnesota". Star Tribune. Retrieved January 14, 2022.

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