Randall L. Gibson
Randall L. Gibson | |
|---|---|
William P. Kellogg | |
| Succeeded by | Donelson Caffery |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Louisiana's 1st district | |
| In office March 4, 1875 – March 3, 1883 | |
| Preceded by | Effingham Lawrence |
| Succeeded by | Carleton Hunt |
| Personal details | |
| Born | September 10, 1832 Versailles, Kentucky |
| Died | December 15, 1892 (aged 60) Hot Springs, Arkansas |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Alma mater | Yale University |
| Signature | .png){kind=small} |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | Confederate States of America |
| Branch/service | Confederate States Army |
| Years of service | 1861–1865 |
| Rank | Brigadier General |
| Battles/wars | American Civil War |
Randall Lee Gibson (September 10, 1832 – December 15, 1892) was an attorney and politician, elected as a
Early life
Gibson was born in 1832 at "Spring Hill",
His paternal great-grandfather was
Gibson's father moved his family to Louisiana when Randall was a child, where the youth was educated in local academies. He went to college in the North, graduating from
Civil War
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Soon after the Louisiana's
On August 13, 1861, he was commissioned as
Postbellum career
In 1874, Gibson was elected as a
In 1882, Gibson was elected by the Louisiana state legislature (as was the procedure at the time) as
According to historian Daniel J. Sharfstein in The Invisible Line: Three American Families and the Secret Journey From Black to White (2011), during these years a political opponent challenged Gibson's status as a white man, based on records. Gibson investigated but learned only that his ancestors were property owners, which was "enough to satisfy most of Gibson's contemporaries."[5]
"Such status," Sharfstein explains, "could not mean anything but whiteness. ... As much as racial purity mattered to white Southerners, they had to circle the wagons around Randall Gibson. If someone of his position could not be secure in his race, then no one was safe."[5]
Sharfstein claims that Gibson's paternal line went back to freed African slaves in colonial Virginia.[5]
Randall Gibson died as a United States senator while in Hot Springs, Arkansas.[1] His body was returned to Kentucky, where he was buried at Lexington Cemetery in Lexington, Kentucky.[1] He was a member of The Boston Club of New Orleans.[6]
In memoriam
See also
- List of American Civil War generals (Confederate)
- List of United States Congress members who died in office (1790–1899)
Notes
- ^ ISBN 9780804780353. p. 254.
- ^ Daniel J. Sharfstein, "Black or White?", Opinionator blog, New York Times, May 14, 2011; accessed April 15, 2021
- ^ "Fort McDermott: 'The Men Dig, Dig, Dig'". Historical Marker Database. Retrieved September 25, 2015.
- ^ Records of the Committee on the Mississippi Levees (1875-77), History and Jurisdiction Archived October 8, 2017, at the Wayback Machine, National Archives.
- ^ a b c Raymond Arsenault, "Shades of White", New York Times, February 25, 2014, accessed April 15, 2021
- ^ "History of the Boston club, organized in 1841, by Stuart O. Landry".
References
- Sifakis, Stewart. Who Was Who in the Civil War. New York: Facts On File, 1988. ISBN 978-0-8160-1055-4.
- ISBN 978-0-8071-0823-9.
Further reading
- McBride, Mary Gorton (2007). Randall Lee Gibson of Louisiana. Baton Rouge: LSU Press. ISBN 9780807132340.
- Sharfstein, Daniel L. The Invisible Line: Three American Families and the Secret Journey From Black to White, New York: Penguin Press, 2011
External links
- Congressional biography
- Paul Heinegg, Free African Americans in Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Maryland and Delaware, 1995-2006
- Randall L. Gibson at Find a Grave
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