Thomas E. Miller

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Thomas Ezekiel Miller
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from South Carolina's 7th district
In office September 24, 1890 – March 3, 1891
Preceded by	William Elliot
Succeeded by	William Elliot
Born	June 17, 1849 Ferrebeville, South Carolina
Died	April 8, 1938 Charleston, South Carolina
Nationality	African American
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Anna M. Hume
Alma mater	Lincoln University (Pennsylvania)
Profession	Educator Attorney

Thomas Ezekiel Miller (June 17, 1849 – April 8, 1938) was a U.S. Representative from 7th Congressional District of South Carolina.

Born in Ferrebeville, South Carolina, Miller moved with his parents, Richard Miller and Mary Ferrebee, to Charleston, South Carolina in 1851 where he attended a black school. When the Civil War ended, he moved to Hudson, New York. Miller graduated from Lincoln University in Pennsylvania in 1872.

Miller moved to Grahamville, South Carolina and served as school commissioner of Beaufort County in 1872. He went on to study law at the South Carolina College. Following his graduation in 1875, he was admitted to the bar. Miller was a member of the South Carolina House of Representatives from 1874 to 1880. He went to the South Carolina Senate from 1880 to 1882. He was nominated for lieutenant governor but did not enter the race.

Miller unsuccessfully ran for Congress in 1888 over Democrat candidate William Elliot. Miller questioned this election and pressed allegations that many properly registered black voters had not been able to cast their ballots. The House Committee of Elections ruled in his favor, and Miller was elected into the Fifty-First Congress in 1890. He was defeated by Elliot in the election of 1890.

Miller was reelected to the South Carolina House of Representatives in 1894 and was a representative to the 1895 South Carolina constitutional convention. Because the new constitution effectively disenfranchised African American citizens, he and five other black delegates refused to sign it.

He did get the support of Benjamin Tillman to create a land-grant college for African Americans. In 1896, the Colored Normal, Industrial, Agricultural, and Mechanical College of South Carolina was created in Orangeburg, which became the South Carolina State University.

Miller resigned from the South Carolina House of Representatives to become its first president. In 1910, he opposed the election of Coleman Blease for governor. After victory, Blease asked for and received Miller's resignation.

Miller moved to Charleston and worked on various community causes. From 1923 to 1934, he lived in Philadelphia, but he returned to Charleston. He died on April 8, 1938.^[1]

[edit] References

United States House of Representatives
Preceded by William Elliot	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from South Carolina's 7th congressional district September 24, 1890 - March 3, 1891	Succeeded by William Elliot
Academic offices
Preceded by New position	President of Colored Normal, Industrial, Agricultural, and Mechanical College of South Carolina 1896-1911	Succeeded by -

• Thomas E. Miller at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress

Persondata
NAME	Miller, Thomas Ezekiel
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION	Attorney, politician, educator, African Amerian
DATE OF BIRTH	June 17, 1849
PLACE OF BIRTH	Ferrebeville, South Carolina
DATE OF DEATH	April 8, 1938
PLACE OF DEATH	Charleston, South Carolina