Francis Everod Rives (January 14, 1792 – December 26, 1861) was a Virginia Democratic politician and businessman who served two terms in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

. After making his fortune as a slave trader, Rives became a planter and soon won election and re-election multiple times to both houses of the

Virginia General Assembly The Virginia General Assembly is the legislative body of the Commonwealth of Virginia, the oldest continuous law-making body in the Western Hemisphere, the first elected legislative assembly in the New World, and was established on July 30, 161 ...

before his two terms representing

Virginia's 2nd congressional district Virginia's second congressional district is a U.S. congressional district in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It currently encompasses all of Accomack, Northampton, and York Counties; all of the independent cities of Virginia Beach and Willia ...

, and afterward represented several counties near Petersburg in the

Virginia Senate The Senate of Virginia is the upper house of the Virginia General Assembly. The Senate is composed of 40 senators representing an equal number of single-member constituent districts. The Senate is presided over by the lieutenant governor of Virg ...

as well as served as the city's mayor. Rives also helped establish the state-chartered

Petersburg Railroad The Petersburg Railroad ran from Petersburg, Virginia, south to Garysburg, North Carolina, from which it ran to Weldon via trackage rights over the Seaboard and Roanoke Railroad (later eliminated with a new alignment). History Founding In 183 ...

Early and family life

Born in

Prince George County Prince George County is a county (United States), county located in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 43,010. Its county seat is Prince George, Virginia ...

, near

Petersburg, Virginia Petersburg is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 33,458. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines Petersburg (along with the city of Colonial Heights) with Din ...

, Rives received a private education appropriate to his class. He also served as an ensign in the state militia during the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...

, stationed in Norfolk. Rives in October 1833 married Eliza Jane Pegram Rives (1802–1874), who survived him and bore several children, including a daughter, Mary Chieves Rives Frazer (1821–1851).

Business and political career

In 1818, Rives and his neighbors Peyton Mason Sr. and Jr. formed a slave trading partnership. The business known as "Peyton Mason and Company" bought bondspeople in Virginia and walked them further south. Rives twice personally drove coffles of enslaved people through

Fayetteville, North Carolina Fayetteville () is a city in and the county seat of Cumberland County, North Carolina, United States. It is best known as the home of Fort Bragg, a major U.S. Army installation northwest of the city. Fayetteville has received the All-America C ...

and westward to Tennessee and some all the way down the

Natchez Trace The Natchez Trace, also known as the Old Natchez Trace, is a historic forest trail within the United States which extends roughly from Nashville, Tennessee, to Natchez, Mississippi, linking the Cumberland, Tennessee, and Mississippi rivers. ...

Natchez, Mississippi Natchez ( ) is the county seat of and only city in Adams County, Mississippi, United States. Natchez has a total population of 14,520 (as of the 2020 census). Located on the Mississippi River across from Vidalia in Concordia Parish, Louisiana, N ...

. Having thus made his fortune, Rives became a planter himself, and also sought political office. Prince George County voters elected and re-elected Rives as one of their (part-time) representatives in the

Virginia House of Delegates The Virginia House of Delegates is one of the two parts of the Virginia General Assembly, the other being the Senate of Virginia. It has 100 members elected for terms of two years; unlike most states, these elections take place during odd-numbe ...

from 1821 to 1831. He then joined the Democratic party and successfully won election to the

State senate A state legislature in the United States is the legislative body of any of the 50 U.S. states. The formal name varies from state to state. In 27 states, the legislature is simply called the ''Legislature'' or the ''State Legislature'', whil ...

, where he represented Prince George and neighboring

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island of England. Referred to as 'The Island' by residents, the Isle of ...

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

, Surry and

Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...

Counties from 1831 to 1836, and later from 1848 to 1851. Rives may have worked as an agent for the slavetrading firm

Franklin and Armfield The Franklin and Armfield Office, which houses the Freedom House Museum, is a historic commercial building in Alexandria, Virginia (District of Columbia retrocession, until 1846, the District of Columbia). Built c. 1810–20, it was first used ...

in the 1830s. In the 1840 census, Rives considered himself a resident of Sussex County and 27 of the 37 people in his household were enslaved. In the 1840s and 1850s, he made Petersburg his official residence. In 1840 he listed his occupation as "Law", and he and his wife lived with a young doctor, an elderly non-relative and young girl (possibly all servants), in 1860, Rives listed himself as "Gentleman" and lived with three other white adults in central Petersburg. Rives also owned 13 enslaved people in the city in 1850, and N.F. Rives an additional 8 persons (6 of them under 12 years old) in Petersburg, A decade later, F.E. Rives owned 33 enslaved people in Petersburg. Moreover, in 1850 John E. Rives owned 34 enslaved people in Sussex County. In 1860, G.E. Rives owned 6 slaves in Prince George County, and John E. Rives owned 35 slaves in Sussex County. Rives won election and re-election as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

to the Twenty-fifth and Twenty-sixth Congresses (March 4, 1837 – March 3, 1841), but chose not to seek re-election in 1840. While a Congressman, he served as chairman of the Committee on Elections (Twenty-sixth Congress). In addition to his plantations, Rives worked to build and manage railways in Virginia and

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

. He was a principal of the

, and sometimes accused of chicanery for his efforts to boost Petersburg at the expense of railroad competitors as well as

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

, its port city rival. Petersburg voters elected him as the city's mayor, and he served from May 6, 1847, to May 5, 1848.

Death and legacy

Francis Rives died in late 1861, possibly on November 30 at Littleton in Sussex County, or on December 26, 1861, in Petersburg.Virginia Death index on ancestry.com He is interred in

Blandford Cemetery Blandford Cemetery is a historic cemetery located in Petersburg, Virginia. The oldest stone, marking the grave of Richard Yarbrough, reads 1702. It is located adjacent to the People's Memorial Cemetery, a historic African-American cemetery. Alt ...

in Petersburg.

Electoral history

*1837; Rives was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives with 80.61% of the vote, defeating fellow Democrat William B. Goodwyn. *1839; Rives was re-elected with 57.6% of the vote, defeating Whig James W. Pegram.

References

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rives, Francis Everod 1792 births 1861 deaths Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Virginia People from Prince George County, Virginia Democratic Party Virginia state senators Democratic Party members of the Virginia House of Delegates Mayors of Petersburg, Virginia 19th-century American legislators 19th-century American slave traders 19th-century Virginia politicians