***George Elliott Hart***
(b. about 1854)
South Carolina. Black.
Occupation: laborer
Father's occupation: laborer
George E. Hart was born in South Carolina to Jobe and Elizabeth Hart. In the 1880 Census, his parents are described illiterate laborers working in Lyons, South Carolina (in Orangeburg County).
George registered as a student at the University of South Carolina on April 1, 1874. He started in the college preparatory (or sub freshman) class, but the next year he was advanced to the freshman college class and was following the classical studies track. The university closed before he completed a degree.
After the university closed, George returned to Orangeburg County and worked as a laborer. He was living with his parents in 1880.
George played a significant role in the 1878 election. This election was an important one as it was the first held since the end of Reconstruction. George was appointed as an election supervisor for the polling station at Bookhardt's (also spelled "Bookhart's") in Orangeburg County. In South Carolina, each polling station was assigned two election supervisors, one appointed by Republicans and one appointed by Democrats. George's Democratic counterpart was Thomas Livingstone, a middle-aged White farmer. The two supervisors shared the responsibility of running the election with three managers of elections. The managers at Bookhardt's were all Democrats. To help maintain order, three state constables, aligned with Democrat-controlled state government, were also present.
Election Day passed without incident. However, when the election managers began counting ballots, they noticed several irregularities. Several of the ballots were found with a second ballot folded inside. All such ballots were for the Democratic ticket, which suggests that some Democratic voters had tried to fraudulently cast more than one vote. The election managers destroyed all such double votes. After doing so, the ballot count remained suspicious. Two-hundred and eighty-one ballots remained, but both George and the election mangers had only counted two hundred and sixty two-voters. To rectify the situation, one of the managers drew out ballots and then tore them apart until the ballot count matched the count of voters. This provoked some controversy. The ballot counting was done in public. Several African-American spectators noticed that the election manager was mostly tearing up Republican ballots, and they began grumbling. Despite this, George did not object and certified the resulting vote count. The certified outcome was 173 votes for the Democratic ticket and 127 for the Republican one.
Both at Brookhardt's and in South Carolina in general, Democrats swept the election. However, many Republicans alleged that the victory had been obtained through voter fraud. The election of Brookhardt's congressman fell under particular scrutiny. That year the incumbent, an African-American Republican, had not run for re-election, and the election ended up being a contest between the Democrat Michael P. O'Connor and the Republican Edmund William McGregor Mackey. Both O'Connor and Mackey were White South Carolinians with significant political experience.
O'Connor was certified as the elected congressman. The Secretary of State certified that O'Connor had received 20,568 votes while Mackey had received only 13,182 (and 11 votes were cast for other candidates). Mackey contested the result, and. Congress launched an investigation into his claims. Among other activities, Congress took testimony from many individuals involved in the election. George was among those who testified.
Ultimately, Congress upheld the reported election outcome, so O'Connor remained in office. He ran for re-election two years later (in 1880) and was again opposed by Mackey. The election was much more chaotic than the one that had been held two years ago.
As in the previous election, George was the Republican-appointed election supervisor for Bookhardt's precinct. On Election Day, he ran into irregularities almost immediately. He showed up that morning to the regular polling place, but found that nobody else was present. After waiting for some time, he was told that the polling station had been moved to a private residence (that of one Mr. Snyder).
Upon arriving at the polling station, he found that the three election managers were there, and they had already opened the station to voters. As in the previous election, all the managers were Democrats. A Democratic supervisor should also have been present, but he never showed up.
Law enforcement officers, eight state constables and four U.S. marshals, were also present at the polling station. All marshals were African-American Republicans, and they were more active than the marshals present at the last election, although witnesses disagreed on their exact conduct. One witness, Samuel M. Kemmerlin, said that the marshals were "extremely officious." Kemmerlin, a White farmer and ex-Confederate, had not been an election official, but he had been present at the polling station for most of the day.
The clerk of the board of election managers, Olin L. Strock, recalled the marshals differently. He said that they were "overbearing" and had "acted in a very ungentlemanly manner." He further said that they had been encouraged in their behavior by a crowd that assembled outside of the polling station.
A crowd of a few hundred (witness estimates vary from two to three hundred to one hundred and fifty) stood around the polling station all day. The crowd consisted almost entirely of African-American Republicans. Many were armed with guns and clubs.
Over the course of the day, the marshals prevented several people from voting. The first person was one Mr. McGrue, a Democrat. When McGrue tried to cast his vote, one of the marshals told him that he could not because he'd been criminally convicted for stealing cotton. McGrue responded by shoving the marshal and was then arrested.
The marshals also tried to prevent a Republican, Arnold Dantzler, from voting. One marshal told him that he could not vote as he'd been convicted of burglary. However, Dantzler produced a pardon signed by the governor and was then allowed to vote.
When it came time to count the votes, several problems arose. George had counted that 262 voters had cast ballots, but the election managers had counted 281. Neither count agreed with the number of ballots. They found 298 ballots in the ballot box, and several of the ballots had additional ballots folded inside. The managers destroyed three folded in Democratic ballots, but they counted two similar Republican ballots they found. The managers then proceeded to destroy additional ballots so that the total number matched the number of voters. They ended up destroying 16 Republican ballots and 1 Democratic ballot. This resulted in an outcome of 212 votes for Mackey and 69 votes for O'Connor.
The managers received a signed letter of protest against counting votes at Bookhardt's. The letter was signed by three White men, almost certainly all Democrats (two had served in the Confederate army). The men submitted their protest because (1) the poll station was moved but no notice of the move given, (2) the polling station hadn't opened on time, and (3) no Democratic supervisor was present.
While the managers were counting the votes, they were watched by the crowd assembled outside. The crowd was very loud and boisterous with people shouting about how "The [ballot] box is ours" and they were going to win the election.
To complete their work, the managers needed to bring the box containing the ballots to the commissioners of election in the town Orangeburg. The marshals stated that George should bring the ballot box to Orangeburg, but one of the managers stated this should be done an election manager, not a supervisor. The managers deliberated on the matter, and after hearing all the shouting outside, they become concerned that any (Democratic) manager who tried to carry the ballot box outside would be mobbed by the crowd, so they gave it to George.
George left the polling station accompanied by two of the marshals. Upon seeing George emerge from the station with the ballot box, a number of men triumphantly fired off several volleys from their guns and used "all kind of language which was not becoming in any crowd to use." The crowd then followed George as he carried off the ballot box.
That night George stored the ballot box at his home and went to bed. The next morning he traveled to Orangeburg to present the ballot box to the commissioners of election. However, when he arrived in the town and went to the commissioners' office, they rudely refused to accept the box. George left it with a local White Republican lawyer (Abial Lathrop). The lawyer and other Republicans made additional attempts to submit the ballot box to the commissioners, but the commissioners persisted in their refusal. Ultimately, the commissioners reported that no returns from Bookhardt's and three other precincts.
The Secretary of State certified the statement of votes received from the Orangeburg commissioners. This resulted in O'Connor winning the election with 17,569 votes to Mackey's 12,297 votes. The chief supervisor of election certified a different statement of votes. He included the votes from precincts like Bookhart's. This still resulted in O'Connor's victory, but by a much narrower margin: 18,338 votes against 17,455 for Mackey.
After O'Connor was announced the electoral victor, Mackey contested this outcome through Congress for a second time. George again provided testimony about voting at Brookhart's. O'Connor died before Congress made a decision regarding Mackey's claims, and he was replaced by the Democrat Samuel Dibble in a special election. Near the end of Dibble's term (in May 1882), Congress overturned the reported election and made Mackey the congressman elect. After serving out the term, he was re-elected.
George appears to have remained in Orangeburg County after the 1880 election. In August 1890, he was appointed postmaster for the town of Elloree. Five years later (in April 1895), he ran into problems. He was arrested on charges that he had embezzled money order and postal funds. After a preliminary hearing, he was placed under $1,000 bond, but the ultimate outcome of the legal proceedings is unknown.
George last appears in the 1910 Census. That year he was living in the town of Eutaw and working as a carpenter.
Sources
1). 1880; Census Place: Lyons, Orangeburg, South Carolina; Roll: 1237; Page: 198A.
2) 1910; Census Place: Eutaw, Orangeburg, South Carolina; Roll: T624_1469; Page: 20A; Enumeration District: 0129; FHL microfilm: 1375482.
3). United States, Congress, House. E. W. M. Mackey vs. M. P. O'Connor: Papers in the Case of Mackey vs. O'Connor, Second Congressional District of South Carolina. Government Printing Office, 1880. 46th Congress, 2nd session, Mis. Doc. No. 40., Part 1. pp. 343-345.
4). United States, Congress, House. E. W. M. Mackey vs. M. P. O'Connor: Papers in the Case of Mackey vs. O'Connor, Second Congressional District of South Carolina. Government Printing Office, 1880. 46th Congress, 2nd session, Mis. Doc. No. 40., Part 2. pp. 1315-1319.
5) 3). United States, Congress, House. E. W. M. Mackey vs. M. P. O'Connor: Papers in the Case of Mackey vs. O'Connor, Second Congressional District of South Carolina. Government Printing Office, 1881. 467h Congress, 1st session, Mis. Doc. No. 15. pp. 655-
6) "Still another postmaster." The State [Columbia, SC], April 20, 1895. p. 8.
7) Record of Appointment of Postmasters, 1832-1971. NARA Microfilm Publication, M841, 145 rolls. Records of the Post Office Department, Record Group Number 28. Washington, D.C.: National Archives. Volume #:65. Volume Year Range: 1889-1904.