Benjamin F. Randolph
| Benjamin F. Randolph | |
|---|---|
| Member of the South Carolina Senate from the Orangeburg, SC district |
|
|
In office August 11, 1868 – October 16, 1868 |
|
| Preceded by | Reconstruction Era |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1820 Kentucky |
| Died | October 16, 1868 Hodges, South Carolina |
| Resting place | Randolph Cemetery 34°0′35.23″N 81°3′14.17″W / 34.0097861°N 81.0539361°W |
| Political party | Republican |
| Alma mater | Oberlin College |
| Profession | Minister (Christianity), Newspaper Editor, Educator |
| Signature |  |
Benjamin Franklin Randolph (1820 – October 16, 1868) was an African American educator, an army chaplain during the Civil War, and a Methodist minister, newspaper editor, politician, and state senator in the early part of the Reconstruction Era in South Carolina. Randolph was selected to be one of the first African American Electors in the United States at the 1868 Republican National Convention, for the Ulysses Grant Republican presidential ticket. Randolph also served as the chair of the state Republican Party Central Committee. He was a delegate to the 1868 South Carolina Constitutional Convention, where he played an important role in establishing the first universal public education system in the state, and in granting for the first time the right to vote to black men and non-property owning white men. On October 16, 1868, Randolph was assassinated by members of the KKK.
Benjamin Franklin Randolph was born in Kentucky in 1820, the child of free African Americans. He moved with his family to Ohio as a child, where he attended school in Warren County, OH. He enrolled in Oberlin Preparatory & Collegiate in 1854 and matriculated at Oberlin College in 1857, studying in the Classics Department. In 1858, he moved to Buffalo, NY, where he served as the principal of a public school for black students.
In December 1863, Randolph volunteered to serve in Civil War for the Union, joining the 26th Regiment Infantry U.S. Colored Troops at Rikers Island, New York, serving as its chaplain. As the only African American officer in the 26th, he received the Regimental banner from Vincent Colyer at the unit's commissioning ceremony on March 27, 1864.
...
Wikipedia