Hiram George Runnels (December 15, 1796 — December 17, 1857) was a

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 ...

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

from the states 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 ...

and

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

. He was 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 ...

who served as the ninth

governor of Mississippi 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 November 20, 1833, to December 3, 1835.

Biography

Tunnels was born in

Hancock County, Georgia Hancock County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 8,735. The county seat is Sparta. The county was created on December 17, 1793, and named for John Hancock, a Founding Father of the Amer ...

, on December 15, 1796, to Harmon M. and Hester (Hubert) Runnels. A poor frontier family, the Runnels relocated to Mississippi when Hiram was a child. The Runnels were the first white people to build a house in what would become

Monticello, Mississippi Monticello is a town in and the county seat of Lawrence County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 1,571 at the 2010 census. Geography Monticello is in central Lawrence County, on the west side of the Pearl River. U.S. Route 84 runs ...

. He married Obedience Smith in 1823. Although he received a limited education, Runnels worked as a schoolteacher before serving as the state’s auditor and treasurer from 1822 to 1830. Runnels also served as a volunteer in the

army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

during various conflicts with Native Americans. He was elected to in the

Mississippi House of Representatives The Mississippi House of Representatives is the lower house of the Mississippi Legislature, the lawmaking body of the U.S. state of Mississippi. According to the state constitution of 1890, it is to comprise no more than 122 members elected fo ...

in 1830. After an unsuccessful run for governor in 1831, Runnels was elected in May 1833 by only 558 votes. Due to the closeness of the result, he did not take office until the following November. During his tenure as governor, Runnels secured funding for a new statehouse in

Jackson Jackson may refer to: People and fictional characters * Jackson (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the surname or given name Places Australia * Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region * Jackson North, Qu ...

, restructured the state militia, signed a ban on the importation of slaves for auction, and oversaw the formation of sixteen new counties in the land seized from the Chickasaw Indians. A devoted

Jacksonian Democrat Jacksonian democracy was a 19th-century political philosophy in the United States that expanded suffrage to most white men over the age of 21, and restructured a number of federal institutions. Originating with the seventh U.S. president, Andr ...

, Runnels angered his political allies when he refused to order the state militia to support and arm vigilantes who killed and maimed dozens of white and black people suspected of fomenting a slave rebellion during the summer of 1835. On the other hand, more conservative voters and Whigs accused Runnels of verbally condoning

vigilantism Vigilantism () is the act of preventing, investigating and punishing perceived offenses and crimes without Right, legal authority. A vigilante (from Spanish, Italian and Portuguese “vigilante”, which means "sentinel" or "watcher") is a pers ...

and preventing the militia and local law enforcement officials from suppressing extralegal violence. Facing criticism from Whigs and many Democrats over the affair, Runnels narrowly lost his reelection bid and left office in November 1835. In 1838, Runnels was appointed president of the newly chartered Union Bank in Jackson, a position that placed him in deeper conflict with other Democrats. When Union Bank collapsed in 1840, the new governor of Mississippi, Alexander McNutt, accused Runnels and others of corruption. Runnels responded by canning the governor in the streets of Jackson. Debates related to the state’s

central banking A central bank, reserve bank, or monetary authority is an institution that manages the currency and monetary policy of a country or monetary union, and oversees their commercial banking system. In contrast to a commercial bank, a central ba ...

system also led to a duel between Runnels and Volney E. Howard, a director at Union Bank, that same year. Despite these conflicts, Runnels was reelected to represent

Hinds County Hinds County is a county located in the U.S. state of Mississippi. With its county seats ( Raymond and the state's capital, Jackson), Hinds is the most populous county in Mississippi with a 2020 census population of 227,742 residents. Hinds Cou ...

in the state legislature in 1841. Runnels moved to

in 1842 and purchased a cotton plantation located on the

Brazos River The Brazos River ( , ), called the ''Río de los Brazos de Dios'' (translated as "The River of the Arms of God") by early Spanish explorers, is the 11th-longest river in the United States at from its headwater source at the head of Blackwater Dr ...

near

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

. He represented Brazoria County during the Convention of 1845. He was elected to the

Texas State Senate The Texas Senate ( es, Senado de Texas) is the upper house of the Texas State Legislature. There are 31 members of the Senate, representing single-member districts across the U.S. state of Texas, with populations of approximately 806,000 per cons ...

in 1855 but failed to qualify for office. He was elected to the Senate again in 1857, but died before taking office. The Texas Senate passed a memorial resolution in his honor, and Benjamin F. Tankersly was sworn into office in his stead. Runnels died in Houston on December 17, 1857, and was buried in Glenwood Cemetery.

Personality

The son of a man who was "would fire up and fight anybody and at any time," Runnels's personality reflected the rough-hewn violence of his frontier upbringing. Describes as excitable and volatile, his narrow defeat in the 1835 Mississippi gubernatorial race was partially attributed to an emotional outburst against one of his opponents during which he used some very harsh and unparliamentary language.

Legacy

Runnels County, Texas Runnels County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 9,900. Its county seat is Ballinger. The county was created in 1858 and later organized in 1880. It is named for Hiram G. Runnels, a Texa ...

, was named in his honor. Runnels was the uncle of

Texas Governor The governor of Texas heads the state government of Texas. The governor is the leader of the executive and legislative branch of the state government and is the commander in chief of the Texas Military. The current governor is Greg Abbott, who ...

Hardin Richard Runnels Hardin Richard Runnels (August 30, 1820 – December 25, 1873) was a United States politician. He served as the sixth Governor of Texas for one term but notably was the only person to ever defeat Sam Houston in a political contest. Early lif ...

, and

William R. Baker William Robinson Baker (1820–1890) was a railroad executive, Texas State Senator and Mayor of Houston, Texas. Early life Baker was born on May 21, 1820, in Baldwinsville, New York to Asa Baker and the former Hannah Robinson. He lived in New ...

, a

Texas State Senator The Texas Senate ( es, Senado de Texas) is the upper house of the Texas Legislature, Texas State Legislature. There are 31 members of the Senate, representing single-member districts across the U.S. state of Texas, with populations of approximate ...

was married to Runnels’ niece, Hester.

References

External links

* 1796 births 1857 deaths Burials at Glenwood Cemetery (Houston, Texas) Governors of Mississippi Baptists from Mississippi American planters People from Hancock County, Georgia Mississippi Democrats Democratic Party governors of Mississippi Members of the Mississippi House of Representatives State Auditors of Mississippi 19th-century American politicians People from Hinds County, Mississippi 19th-century Baptists {{Mississippi-politician-stub