Duncan Clinch Heyward (June 24, 1864January 23, 1943) was the
88th governor of South Carolina from January 20, 1903, to January 15, 1907.
Heyward was born in
Richland County to Edward Barnwell Heyward and Catherine Maria Clinch after his parents moved from
Colleton County
Colleton County is in the Lowcountry region of the U.S. state of South Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 38,604. Its county seat is Walterboro. The county is named after Sir John Colleton, 1st Baronet, one of the eight Lords ...
to avoid the
Union Army
During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union of the collective states. It proved essential to th ...
during the
Civil War
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
. His parents moved back to Colleton County after the war, but Heyward lived with his grandmother when his parents died shortly thereafter. He attended the private schools of
Charleston and went on to graduate from
Washington and Lee University
, mottoeng = "Not Unmindful of the Future"
, established =
, type = Private liberal arts university
, academic_affiliations =
, endowment = $2.092 billion (2021)
, president = William C. Dudley
, provost = Lena Hill
, city = Lexington ...
in
Lexington, Virginia, in 1885. Residing in
Walterboro, Heyward resumed the growing of rice on the part of the plantation he inherited from his parents. He became a member of the
Knights of Pythias and served as a
captain of a cavalry company in Colleton County.
Announcing his candidacy in 1901 for the
gubernatorial election of 1902, Heyward emerged as a frontrunner despite being a novice to politics.
Ben Tillman did not have a favorite in the contest, but Heyward was an acceptable choice to him because Heyward favored the Dispensary. Heyward won in the runoff election against
W. Jasper Talbert and became the
88th governor of South Carolina after running unopposed in the general election. He won a second term in
1904
Events
January
* January 7 – The distress signal ''CQD'' is established, only to be replaced 2 years later by ''SOS''.
* January 8 – The Blackstone Library is dedicated, marking the beginning of the Chicago Public Library syst ...
and served as governor until his term expired in 1907.
Speaking at the Southern Conference on Quarantine and Immigration in 1906 argued for a vision of the American South that subjugated blacks saying, "The white race is the predominant race and the Negro must understand once and for all that the bounds of the social and political questions will be determined by the white man alone and by the white man's code."
After leaving office, Heyward was appointed by President
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...
in 1913 to be the Collector of Federal Internal Revenue Taxes for South Carolina.
Heyward wrote the book "Seed from Madagascar" in 1937. The book provides insight to the details of rice planting in the South Carolina lowcountry, and chronicles the decline of the rice planting industry and the prominent Heyward family.
Heyward died in
Columbia, on January 23, 1943.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Heyward, Duncan Clinch
1864 births
1943 deaths
Washington and Lee University alumni
Democratic Party governors of South Carolina
University of South Carolina trustees
People from Richland County, South Carolina
People from Walterboro, South Carolina