John F. Lewis

John Francis Lewis
John Francis Lewis
	John Lawrence Marye, Jr.
United States Senator; from Virginia
	In office; January 26, 1870 – March 4, 1875
Preceded by	Lemuel J. Bowden
Succeeded by	Robert E. Withers
Personal details
Born	March 1, 1818; Lynnwood, Virginia
Died	September 2, 1895 (aged 77); Lynnwood, Virginia
Political party	Republican

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

Reconstruction period after the Civil War

.

Early and family life

John F. Lewis was born on the "Lynnwood" plantation in rural Rockingham County, Virginia, a son of Samuel Hance Lewis (1794–1869) and Nancy Cameron Lewis (1795–1841). He attended a private school and farmed as a young man. He owned one 25 year old enslaved mulatto woman in 1850.^[1] He (or nore likely another John Lewis who married a woman named Amanda in Rockingham District 1) owned 8 slaves in 1860.

Lewis married Serena Helen Sheffey (1823–1901) in October 1842, and they raised two sons and four daughters. Daniel Sheffey Lewis (1843-1912) became a newspaperman as well as served for many years as treasurer of the city of Harrisonburg, and became one of the state's most prominent Republicans. His brother John Francis Lewis Jr. (1860-1915), survived him but committed suicide after suffering a stroke and learning he would not heal completely.

Career

He was a delegate to the Virginia secession convention in 1861, but refused to sign the ordinance of secession. He was the only member from east of the Allegheny Mountains that refused to endorse the document.

During the Civil War, portions of the Battle of Port Republic were fought on his family's land.

Lewis was an unsuccessful

Forty-third Congress. He was not a candidate for reelection as the Republicans had already become a minority party by 1874^[2]

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

United States Marshal for the western district of Virginia 1875–1882, when he resigned. Lewis was again elected lieutenant governor in 1881, alongside Readjuster Party candidate William E. Cameron, 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 farming.

Death and legacy

Lewis died at Lynnwood in Rockingham County, Virginia. He was buried in the family burial ground on the plantation.

References

^ 1850 U.S. Federal Census, Slave Schedule for District 56 and a half, Rockingham County, Virginia, p. 9 of 11 on ancestry.com
^ "The Republican Party of Virginia in the Nineteenth Century". www.encyclopediavirginia.org.

External links

Political offices
Preceded by Leopold C. P. Cowper	Lieutenant Governor of Virginia 1869–1870	Succeeded by John L. Marye, Jr.
Preceded by James A. Walker	Lieutenant Governor of Virginia 1882–1886	Succeeded by J. E. "Parson" Massey
U.S. Senate
Preceded by Lemuel J. Bowden	U.S. senator (Class 1) from Virginia January 26, 1870 – March 4, 1875 Served alongside: John W. Johnston	Succeeded by Robert E. Withers

[1] 1850 U.S. Federal Census, Slave Schedule for District 56 and a half, Rockingham County, Virginia, p. 9 of 11 on ancestry.com

[2] "The Republican Party of Virginia in the Nineteenth Century". www.encyclopediavirginia.org.

[1]

[2]

v t e United States senators from Virginia
Class 1	Grayson Walker Monroe S. Mason Taylor Venable Giles Moore Brent J. Barbour Randolph Tyler Rives Pennybacker J. Mason Willey Bowden Lewis Withers Mahone Daniel Swanson Byrd Sr. Byrd Jr. Trible Robb Allen Webb Kaine
Class 2	Lee Taylor H. Tazewell Nicholas Moore Giles A. Mason Eppes Pleasants Taylor L. Tazewell Rives Leigh Parker Roane Archer Hunter Carlile Johnston Riddleberger J. S. Barbour Hunton Martin Glass Burch Robertson Spong Scott J. Warner M. Warner

Authority control databases
International	FAST VIAF
National	United States Sweden
People	US Congress
Other	SNAC