Richard Franklin SIMPSON, Congress, SC (1798-1882)

SIMPSON, Richard Franklin, a Representative from South Carolina; born in Laurens, S.C., March 24, 1798; was graduated from South Carolina College (now the University of South Carolina) at Columbia in 1816; studied law; was admitted to the bar in 1819 and began practice in Pendleton, S.C.; held several local offices; served as major during the Seminole War in 1835; member of the State senate 1835-1841; elected as a Democrat to the Twenty-eighth, Twenty-ninth, and Thirtieth Congresses (March 4, 1843-March 3, 1849); declined to be a candidate for renomination in 1848; engaged in agricultural pursuits; member of the secession convention in 1860 and signed the ordinance of secession; died in Pendleton, Anderson County, S.C., October 28, 1882; interment in the family cemetery near that city.

Source: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1771-Present