Henderson Clinton Slemp (August 6, 1832 – January 11, 1901), nicknamed "Captain Henry", was a farmer, Confederate officer and Virginia politician who served in 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 ...

Early and family life

Born near Turkey Cove in Lee County, Virginia, to Sebastian Smyth Slemp and his wife, the former Margaret Reasor, both of families long prominent in the region, Henry Slemp had a younger brother,

Campbell Slemp Campbell Slemp (December 2, 1839 – October 13, 1907) was a farmer and Confederate officer in southwest Virginia who became a Readjuster Democrat after Congressional Reconstruction and served in the Virginia House of Delegates. He eventually j ...

, and two elder sisters, Nervesta Overton Slemp Flanary and Alpha Slemp Habourn. He married two or three times and had 18 children. He married his first wife Joannah Barron on March 15, 1853, and their children were: Samuel Slemp (1852- ), Martha Slemp (1854-) Louis Hopkins Slemp (1856-1855), Huey Letcher Slemp (1858-1913), Adela Alice Slemp Flanary (1861-1947) and Bell Slemp (1863-). After her death, he married Malissa Habum on July 16, 1864, and had children Elizabeth Eva Slemp Cox (1867-1945), Milton G. Slemp (1869-), Ulysses S. Slemp (1870-1940), Venus Melissa Slemp (1872-1891), Alpha D. Brahe (1874-1900), Martha Luna Slemp Bailey (1877-1952) and Patton Wise Slemp (1885-1961).

Career

Although his younger brother Campbell Slemp recruited a company of Confederate soldiers after the 1861 harvest, Henry Slemp did not enlist for another year, and he did so in "Harlan County, Tennessee" (presumably

Harlan County, Kentucky Harlan County is a county located in southeastern Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population was 26,831. Its county seat is Harlan. It is classified as a moist countya county in which alcohol sales are prohibited (a dry county), but conta ...

) on December 1, 1862 by recruiting another company, which became Company S of the 64th Virginia Cavalry. Captain Henry Slemp was elected to the

Senate of Virginia 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 ...

in 1875 and served a single four-year term. He succeeded his superior officer during the war, Auburn L. Pridemore.Cynthia Miller Leonard, The Virginia General Assembly 1619-1978 (Richmond: Virginia State Library 1978) pp. 524, 528, 558 The district boundaries were changed for the 1879 session, with Buchanan County removed and Wise County added. Henry C. Wood thus succeeded to the revised senatorial district, although his younger brother Campbell Slemp won elected to 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 ...

as a Readjuster to represent Lee County in that election. Four years later, the politics of southwest Virginia remaining turbulent, Lee County voters elected Henry Slemp to represent them in the House of Delegates for one term beginning in late 1893. He succeeded M. B. Spencer and was succeeded by S. S. Surgener.

Death and legacy

Captain Henry Slemp died on January 11, 1901 (possibly in Washington, D.C.).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Slemp, Henry C. 1832 births 1901 deaths Virginia state senators Members of the Virginia House of Delegates People from Lee County, Virginia 19th-century American legislators 19th-century Virginia politicians