Henry Massie Rector (May 1, 1816August 12, 1899) was an American politician and lawyer who served as the sixth
governor of Arkansas
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political r ...
from 1860 to 1862.
Early life and education
Henry Massie Rector was born in
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...
, the son of Fannie Bardella (Thruston) and Elias Rector. His Rector family descended from the German-speaking families of
Germanna
Germanna was a German settlement in the Colony of Virginia, settled in two waves, first in 1714 and then in 1717. Virginia Lieutenant Governor Alexander Spotswood encouraged the immigration by advertising in Germany for miners to move to Virgini ...
in the
Colony of Virginia
The Colony of Virginia, chartered in 1606 and settled in 1607, was the first enduring English colonial empire, English colony in North America, following failed attempts at settlement on Newfoundland (island), Newfoundland by Sir Humphrey GilbertG ...
, though both parents were also of English descent. He was educated by his mother and attended two years of school in Louisville. He moved to Arkansas in 1835, where he was later appointed
U.S. Marshal
The United States Marshals Service (USMS) is a federal law enforcement agency in the United States. The USMS is a bureau within the U.S. Department of Justice, operating under the direction of the Attorney General, but serves as the enforce ...
.
Political career
Rector was elected to the Arkansas Senate and served in that body from 1848 to 1850. He studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1854. From 1853 to 1857, he served as U.S. Surveyor-General of Arkansas for several years. From 1855 to 1859, he served in the Arkansas House of Representatives and spent one term as a justice of the Arkansas Supreme Court.
Rector was elected Governor of Arkansas in 1860. During his term Arkansas
seceded
Secession is the withdrawal of a group from a larger entity, especially a political entity, but also from any organization, union or military alliance. Some of the most famous and significant secessions have been: the former Soviet republics lea ...
from the
U.S.
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
and was admitted into the
Confederate States
The Confederate States of America (CSA), commonly referred to as the Confederate States or the Confederacy was an unrecognized breakaway republic in the Southern United States that existed from February 8, 1861, to May 9, 1865. The Confeder ...
. The constitution of Arkansas was rewritten reducing the term of office for Governor to two years. At the Arkansas secession convention in March 1861, Rector addressed the convention in an oratory urging the extension of slavery:
Rector left office in 1862 and served as a private in the state
militia
A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...
for the rest of the war. He participated in the 1874 constitutional convention.
Personal life
Rector was the first cousin of Representative
Henry Conway, Governor
James Conway and Governor
Elias Conway. Rector was also a third cousin of General
James Kemper. He was a first cousin of fellow Confederate general
Alexander Steen
Alexander Lennart Steen (born 1 March 1984) is a Canadian-born Swedish former professional ice hockey player. Steen was drafted 24th overall by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft, and started his NHL career with Toronto. Steen ...
.
His son,
Elias
Elias is the Greek equivalent of Elijah ( he, אֵלִיָּהוּ ''ʾĒlīyyāhū''; Syriac: ܐܠܝܐ ''Eliyā''; Arabic: الیاس Ilyās/Elyās), a prophet in the Northern Kingdom of Israel in the 9th century BC, mentioned in several holy ...
, ran for Governor of Arkansas twice and served in the Arkansas House of Representatives for several terms, served as Speaker of the House, and married the daughter of Senator
James Alcorn of
Mississippi
Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...
. His grandson,
James
James is a common English language surname and given name:
*James (name), the typically masculine first name James
* James (surname), various people with the last name James
James or James City may also refer to:
People
* King James (disambiguat ...
, was the first Arkansan to participate in the
Olympic Games
The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...
.
Death
Rector died in
Little Rock
( The "Little Rock")
, government_type = Council-manager
, leader_title = Mayor
, leader_name = Frank Scott Jr.
, leader_party = D
, leader_title2 = Council
, leader_name2 ...
and is buried in
Mount Holly Cemetery
Mount Holly Cemetery is a historic cemetery located in the Quapaw Quarter area of downtown Little Rock in the U.S. state of Arkansas, and is the burial place for numerous Arkansans of note. It was listed on the National Register of Historic ...
there.
Memorials
Rector Street in Little Rock is named after him. The north-bound frontage road along
Interstate 30
Interstate 30 (I-30) is a Interstate Highway in the southern states of Texas and Arkansas in the United States. I-30 travels from I-20 west of Fort Worth, Texas, northeast via Dallas, and Texarkana, Texas, to I-40 in North Little Rock, Ar ...
bears his name. The northeast Arkansas town of
Rector
Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to:
Style or title
*Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations
*Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...
is also named after him.
See also
*
List of governors of Arkansas
The governor of Arkansas is the head of government of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The governor is the head of the executive branch of the Arkansas government and is charged with enforcing state laws. They have the power to either approve or ve ...
*
The Family (Arkansas politics)
References
External links
*
Henry Massey Rectorat
The Political Graveyard
The Political Graveyard is a website and database that catalogues information on more than 277,000 American political figures and political families, along with other information. The name comes from the website's inclusion of burial locations of ...
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rector, Henry Massey
1816 births
1899 deaths
19th-century American lawyers
19th-century American politicians
1852 United States presidential electors
Methodists from Arkansas
American people of English descent
American proslavery activists
American surveyors
Arkansas lawyers
Democratic Party Arkansas state senators
Justices of the Arkansas Supreme Court
Burials at Mount Holly Cemetery
Confederate States of America state governors
Conway-Johnson family
Deaths in Arkansas
Democratic Party governors of Arkansas
Farmers from Arkansas
Democratic Party members of the Arkansas House of Representatives
People from Louisville, Kentucky
People of Arkansas in the American Civil War
Politicians from Hot Spring County, Arkansas
Politicians from Little Rock, Arkansas
Politicians from Saline County, Arkansas
Recipients of American presidential pardons
U.S. state supreme court judges admitted to the practice of law by reading law
United States Marshals