Arnoldus Vanderhorst | |
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38th Governor of South Carolina | |
In office December 17, 1794 – December 8, 1796 |
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Lieutenant | Lewis Morris |
Preceded by | William Moultrie |
Succeeded by | Charles Pinckney |
Mayor of Charleston, South Carolina | |
In office 1790 – 1792 |
|
Preceded by | Thomas Jones |
Succeeded by | John Huger |
In office 1785 – 1786 |
|
Preceded by | Richard Hutson |
Succeeded by | John Faucheraud Grimke |
Member of the South Carolina Senate from Christ Church Parish | |
In office August 31, 1779 – January 1, 1787 |
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Member of the South Carolina General Assembly from St. Phillip's and St. Michael's Parish | |
In office March 25, 1776 – October 17, 1778 |
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Personal details | |
Born |
Christ Church Parish, South Carolina |
March 21, 1748
Died | January 29, 1815 Kiawah Island, South Carolina |
(aged 66)
Resting place | St. Michael's Churchyard, Charleston, South Carolina |
Profession | planter |
Arnoldus Vanderhorst (/vænˈdrɑːs/; March 21, 1748 – January 29, 1815) was a general of the South Carolina militia during the Revolutionary War and the 38th Governor of South Carolina from 1794 to 1796.
Born in Christ Church Parish, Vanderhorst took up planting at his plantation on the eastern half of Kiawah Island in the Lowcountry. He participated in the Revolutionary War as an officer under the command of Francis Marion. During the war, he also served in the South Carolina House of Representatives from 1776 to 1780 and in the South Carolina Senate from 1780 to 1786. After his service in the state Senate, Vanderhorst was elected mayor of Charleston for two terms. He was elected mayor of Charleston, South Carolina on September 12, 1785.
In 1794, he was elected by the General Assembly as a Federalist to be Governor of South Carolina. During his administration, Vanderhorst pressed the legislature for the revision of the criminal code because the sentences were so harsh that jurors would grant acquittal. In addition, he advocated for a prison system similar to that of the state of Pennsylvania instead of the state jails that were of medieval barbarity.