John Francis Lewis (March 1, 1818September 2, 1895) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

planter and politician from

Rockingham County, Virginia Rockingham County is a county located in the U.S. state of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 83,757. Its county seat is the independent city of Harrisonburg. Along with Harrisonburg, Rockingham County forms the Harrisonbur ...

. He served two terms as the ninth and 14th Lieutenant Governor of Virginia and represented

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

as a

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in the

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during the

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period after 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 ...

Biography

John F. Lewis was born on the "

Lynnwood Lynnwood is a city in Snohomish County, Washington, United States. The city is part of the Seattle metropolitan area and is located north of Seattle and south of Everett, near the junction of Interstate 5 and Interstate 405. It is the four ...

" plantation in rural

, a son of Samuel Hance Lewis (1794–1869) and Nancy Cameron Lewis (1795–1841). He attended an old field school and engaged in agricultural pursuits as a young adult. He married Serena Helen Sheffey (1823–1901) in October 1842, and they raised six children. He was a delegate to the Virginia

secession 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 le ...

convention in 1861, but refused to sign the ordinance of secession. He was the only member from east of the

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that refused to endorse the document. During the Civil War, portions of the

Battle of Port Republic The Battle of Port Republic was fought on June 9, 1862, in Rockingham County, Virginia, as part of Confederate Army Maj. Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson's campaign through the Shenandoah Valley during the American Civil War. Port Republic ...

were fought on his family's land. Lewis was an unsuccessful Union Party candidate for

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in 1865. He was elected as Virginia's lieutenant governor in 1869 and served from October 5 of that year until January 1, 1870. Upon the readmission of Virginia to representation in the U.S. Congress, Lewis was elected as a Republican to the United States Senate and served from January 26, 1870, to March 4, 1875. He served on the Committee on the District of Columbia in the Forty-third Congress. He was not a candidate for reelection as the Republicans had already become a minority party by 1874 and wouldn't control either house on their own in Virginia for the rest of the 19th century. He returned home and was appointed by

Presidents President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union Ar ...

and

Rutherford B. Hayes Rutherford Birchard Hayes (; October 4, 1822 – January 17, 1893) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 19th president of the United States from 1877 to 1881, after serving in the U.S. House of Representatives and as governo ...

as the

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for the western district of Virginia 1875-1882, when he resigned. Lewis was again elected lieutenant governor in 1881, alongside

Readjuster Party The Readjuster Party was a bi-racial state-level political party formed in Virginia across party lines in the late 1870s during the turbulent period following the Reconstruction era that sought to reduce outstanding debt owed by the state. Readj ...

candidate

William E. Cameron William Evelyn Cameron (November 29, 1842January 25, 1927) was a Confederate soldier who became a Virginia lawyer, journalist, and politician. He served as the 39th Governor of Virginia from 1882–1886, elected as the candidate of the Rea ...

, and served with him from 1882 to 1886. After his term, no Republican served as Virginia's lieutenant governor until John N. Dalton served from 1974 to 1978. He retired from politics after his term and resumed his agricultural pursuits. He died at

in Rockingham County, Virginia. He was buried in the family burial ground on the plantation.

References

External links

New York Times, obituary for John F. Lewis, September 3, 1895

Biographic sketch at U.S. Congress website

Encyclopedia Virginia entry on the Lieutenant Governorship
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lewis, John F. 1818 births 1895 deaths People from Rockingham County, Virginia American people of Welsh descent Republican Party United States senators from Virginia Virginia Republicans Lieutenant Governors of Virginia Virginia Secession Delegates of 1861 United States Marshals American planters People of Virginia in the American Civil War Southern Unionists in the American Civil War