***Seymore Elijah Smith***
(b. November 25, 1854, d. October 10, 1919)
South Carolina. Black.
Occupation: deputy collector of port, lawyer, farm laborer, railway postal clerk, teacher.
Father's occupation: Farmer
Seymore (alternatively spelled as Seymour) E. Smith was born in Edgefield County, South Carolina to Henry Smith and Mariah A. Smith. By 1870, the family was living in Aiken County (a county formed from parts of Edgefield and other counties) and were working as farmers.
Seymore registered as a student at the University of South Carolina at some point between February 1874 and January 1876. He was a college student following the modern studies track. The university closed before he completed his degree.
After the university closure, Seymore returned to Aiken. By 1880, he was working as a teacher. However, he began to study law and was admired to the South Carolina bar in 1888. In Aiken, he was involved in seven criminal cases between 1888 and 1904.
Seymore became involved in a discrimination suit in the 1890s. On September 13, 1890, Seymore's wife Rebecca was in Graniteville (a small town in Aiken County) and tried to take a train to the town of Aiken. When she tried to purchase a ticket, the ticket agent refused and ordered her to purchase the ticket in a different room. After Rebecca refused to leave, the agent forcefully removed her.
The complaint that was filed alleged that Rebecca had been in the room reserved for female passengers and was asked to move to the room for male passengers. However, at trial, the agent testified that the rooms were for white and black passengers respectively.
In an unusual coincidence, the defendant in the suit was former South Carolina Governor Daniel H. Chamberlain. Chamberlain had been the Governor of South Carolina when Seymore was a student. By 1889, he had left government and become receiver of the railroad company, after the company had experienced a long period of financial difficulty.
Rebecca's complaint played out in the legal system over the course of three years. A trial was first held in the Aiken county common pleas circuit court. The jury found for the railroad company. Seymour and Rebecca filed an appeal with the state Supreme Court, but the court upheld the decision.
Seymore was also active in Republication politics. He twice ran, in 1888 and in 1890, for U.S. House Representative for the 2nd district, the district that included Aiken County. Both times he ran against the Democratic incumbent George D. Tillman, the brother of well-known South Carolina politician Ben Tillman. Both times Seymore lost the election by a significant margin, by 1,405 votes to 10,704 in 1888 and by 1,671 votes to 9,956 in 1890. The next election Tillman ran unopposed.
Seymore also provided legal aid to candidates for congress. The first Republican to run for the 2st district after Seymore's defeat was Benjamin P. Chatfield, a white carpetbagger from Connecticut. Chatfield ran in 1896 and in 1898, both times against the Democratic incumbent W. Jasper Talbert. Chatfield lost the elections by even larger margins than Seymore had (635 votes against 7,999 for Talbert in 1898).
Chatfield was running for office during an especially difficult time for Republican candidates. The state constitution had been revised in 1895, largely for the purpose of disenfranchising African American voters. After his second electoral loss, Chatfield tried to contest the election results. He argued that voting laws created by the new constitution violated the Fourteenth amendment. In contesting the election, Chatfield was aided helped by a group of lawyers that included Seymore. They were unsuccessful, and Talbert remained in office until 1903.
While working in law, Seymour also held a series of federal appointments. During the 1880s and early 1890s, he worked for the railway mail service.
Around 1899, he moved to Charleston to work as a deputy collector at the Port of Charleston. The deputy collectors worked under the Collector of the Port. When Seymour started his position, the position of Collector was held by John R. Tolbert, a scalawag.
Tolbert was a controversial figure within the state. The year before Seymour began working at the port (in 1898), Tolbert and several other family members were wounded at an Election Day riot in Phoenix, South Carolina (near Greenwood).
Tolbert's management of the Charleston custom house came under scrutiny in 1900. That year a U.S. treasury agents and state dispensary constables found a large amount of contraband alcohol stored in the custom house. This was a violation of customs regulations and state dispensary law. The discovery put Tolbert's appointment in jeopardy, and Seymour traveled to Washington D.C. to advocate that Tolbert and a deputy collector be allowed to retain their positions. However, Seymour was unsuccessful, and Tolbert was dismissed. Seymour was allowed to keep his position.
Tolbert was replaced by Robert M. Wallace. Like Tolbert, Wallace was a scalawag, but he was held in higher regard by state Democrats. Wallace only held the position for a short time as he was replaced by Seymour's former classmate William D. Crum in late 1902. Crum's appointment is described in greater detail in his blogpost.
Seymore died in Charleston on October 10, 1919. The cause of death was given as arteriosclerosis and cerebral hemorrhage. He is buried in Pine Lawn Cemetery in Edgefield.
Sources
1). 1880; Census Place: Gregg, Aiken, South Carolina; Roll: 1218; Page: 47D
2). Official Register of the United States, Containing a List of the Officers and Employees in the Civil, Military, and Naval Service Together with a List of Vessels Belonging to the United States, Volume 2. 1895.
2). Official Register of the United States, Containing a List of the Officers and Employees in the Civil, Military, and Naval Service Together with a List of Vessels Belonging to the United States, Volume 1. 1905.
3). Charleston, South Carolina, City Directory, 1919
4). Burke, W. L. All for Civil Rights : African American Lawyers in South Carolina, 1868-1968, University of Georgia Press, Athens. 2017
5). "Political Notes and Gossip." Yorkville enquirer, February 6, 1889, p. 2.
6). "Our Washington Letter." Edgefield advertiser, February 9, 1898, p. 2.
7). "Wrangling Office Hunters." The watchman and southron, March 2, 1898, p. 3
8). "Republican State Convention" The watchman and southron, March 28, 1900, p. 8
9). "Will try his old pull" The Manning times, April 18, 1900, p. 4.
9). "Seymour Smith Goes to Try His Old Pull. Negro Republican Will Endeavor to Save Collector." The State, April 12, 1900
10). 1900; Census Place: Aiken, Aiken, South Carolina; Page: 7; Enumeration District: 0022
11). 1870; Census Place: Spring Grove, Edgefield, South Carolina; Roll: M593_1495; Page: 475A
12). "The news in brief" The advocate, March 23, 1911, p. 5.
13). a ghastly assemblage sept 30, 1892
13) "The final figures" The Abbeville press and banner, December 2, 1896, p. 11.
14). The Southeaster Reporter. Vol.17. St Paul, West Publishing Co. (1893). pp . 371-377.
15). 1900; Census Place: Aiken, Aiken, South Carolina; Page: 7; Enumeration District: 0022; FHL microfilm: 1241515
16). "John R. Tolbert and Contraband Whiskey." The watchman and southron, April 11, 1900, p. 2.
17). "John R. Tolbert Dismissed." Keowee courier, April 26, 1900, p. 1.
Posted 11/12/20