Thomas E. Miller

Infobox Congressman
honorific-prefix =
name = Thomas Ezekiel Miller
honorific-suffix =


state =South Carolina
district = 7th
term_start = September 24 1890
term_end = March 3 1891
preceded = William Elliot
succeeded = William Elliot
birth_date = June 17 1849
birth_place = Ferrebeville, South Carolina
death_date = April 8 1938
death_place = Charleston, South Carolina
nationality = African American
party = Republican
otherparty =
spouse = Anna M. Hume
partner =
relations =
children =
residence =
alma_mater = Lincoln University (Pennsylvania)
occupation =
profession = Educator
Attorney
net worth =
religion =


website =
footnotes =

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. [Edgar, Walter. "South Carolina Encyclopedia" (2006) pp. 999-1000, University of South Carolina Press, Columbia, South Carolina,ISBN 1-57003-598-2]

References

USRepSuccession box
state=South Carolina
district=7
before=William Elliot
years=September 24 1890 - March 3 1891
after=William Elliot

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