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 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 enforceme ...

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 Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

and was admitted into the Confederate States. 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, 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 there.

Memorials

Rector Street in Little Rock is named after him. The north-bound frontage road along Interstate 30 bears his name. The northeast Arkansas town of Rector is also named after him.

References

External links

*
Henry Massey Rector
at

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