Richard Simms
{{Short description|Louisiana reconstruction era American politician}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2025}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name =
| image =
| office1 = Louisiana House of Representatives
| term_start1 = 1872
| term_end1 = 1874
| office2 = Louisiana House of Representatives
| term_start2 = 1876
| term_end2 = 1878
| office3 = Louisiana State Senate
| term_start3 = 1880
| term_end3 = 1892
| office4 = Louisiana House of Representatives
| term_start4 = 1892
| term_end4 = 1894
| birth_date =
| birth_place =
| death_date =
| death_place =
| death_cause =
| resting_place =
| party = Republican
}}
Richard Simms was an American state legislator who served in the Louisiana House of Representatives and the Louisiana State Senate during the Reconstruction era.{{cite book |last1=Foner |first1=Eric |title=Freedom's Lawmakers: A Directory of Black Officeholders During Reconstruction |date=1 August 1996 |publisher=LSU Press |isbn=978-0-8071-2082-8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oO62QgAACAAJ |language=en |access-date=October 30, 2022|page=197}}
Biography
Simms was first elected to represent the St. Landry Parish in the Louisiana House of Representatives from 1872 until 1874.{{cite book |last1=Vincent |first1=Charles |title=Black Legislators in Louisiana during Reconstruction |date=28 January 2011 |publisher=SIU Press |isbn=978-0-8093-8581-2 |pages=148, 233 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CqlhPs8aou4C&dq=%22Richard+Simms%22&pg=PA148 |access-date=30 October 2022 |language=en}}
At the 1874 and 1876 Republican State Conventions he represented St. James Parish along with four other delegates from the parish.{{cite news |title=Republican State Convention |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/112256471/republican-state-convention/ |access-date=30 October 2022 |work=New Orleans Republican |date=8 August 1874 |pages=1}}{{Open access}}{{cite news |title=Republican State Convention (1876) |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/112257608/republican-state-convention-1876/ |access-date=30 October 2022 |work=New Orleans Republican |date=1 June 1876 |pages=1}}{{Open access}}
In 1876 he was working as sheriff for the Parish of St. James.{{cite news |title=Judicial Notices - Richard Simms, Sheriff |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/112257884/judicial-notices-richard-simms/ |access-date=30 October 2022 |work=Le Louisianais |date=21 October 1876 |pages=2}}{{Open access}}
He was elected again to the Louisiana House of Representatives to serve from 1876 until 1878, this time representing St. James Parish.{{cite news |title=Official: State Senators and Members of the House of Representatives |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/112258529/official-state-senators-and-members-of/ |access-date=30 October 2022 |work=New Orleans Republican |date=7 December 1876 |pages=4}}{{Open access}}
Approaching the end of the session in October 1878 he again ran for the position of parish sheriff, but lost out coming second to Victor Miles.{{cite news |title=Election Returns of the Parish of St. James |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/112258848/election-returns-of-the-parish-of-st/ |access-date=30 October 2022 |work=The New Orleans Daily Democrat |date=21 November 1878 |pages=3}}{{Open access}}
He was a member of the State Central Executive Committee of the Republican Party of Louisiana in 1879 when P. B. S. Pinchback was president.{{cite news |title=State Central Executive Committee of the Republican Party of Louisiana |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/112259099/state-central-executive-committee-of/ |access-date=30 October 2022 |work=The Weekly Louisianian |date=10 May 1879 |pages=3}}{{Open access}}
Simms was nominated to run on the Republican ticket for State Senator in a long and "stormy session" at the Republican Senatorial Convention October 15, 1879.{{cite news |title=Republican Senatorial Convention: Richard Simms for State Senator |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/112259266/republican-senatorial-convention/ |access-date=30 October 2022 |work=The Donaldsonville Chief |date=18 October 1879 |pages=2}}{{Open access}}
He was one of two nominations the other being G. H. Hill and the first fifty-three ballots were deadlocked and on the fifty-forth ballot he succeeded by eight to seven.
Simms was then elected to serve in the Louisiana State Senate for three session from 1880 until 1892.{{cite web |title=SENATE DIRECTORY 1880-2004 |url=https://legis.la.gov/legisdocs/members/s1880-2024.pdf |website=Louisiana State Legislature |access-date=30 October 2022}}
He along with the other four black senators voted against a bill put forth by Charles Parlange in 1884 to put convicts to work on levees and to break the current lease of the prison.{{cite journal |last1=Carleton |first1=Mark T. |title=The Politics of the Convict Lease System in Louisiana: 1868-1901 |journal=Louisiana History: The Journal of the Louisiana Historical Association |date=1967 |volume=8 |issue=1 |pages=16–21 |jstor=4230931 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/4230931 |access-date=30 October 2022 |issn=0024-6816}}
Simms again returned to the Louisiana House of Representatives in 1892 representing St. James Parish and presumed to have served until 1894.{{cite news |title=The General Assembly: Senate and House |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/112260042/the-general-assembly-senate-and-house/ |access-date=30 October 2022 |work=Abbeville Meridional |date=14 May 1892 |pages=3}}{{Open access}}
In 1896 Simms was a delegate to the Eleventh Republican National Convention in St. Louis representing the central district.{{cite book |title=Official Report of the Proceedings |date=1896 |publisher=Republican National Committee. |pages=66 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UgEMAQAAIAAJ&dq='Richard+Simms'&pg=PA66 |access-date=30 October 2022 |language=en}}
See also
Notes
- In some of the contemporary newspaper articles his name was given as Richard Simmes, including the reporting of his nomination on the Republican ticket for the senate.{{cite news |title=Republican District Ticket |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/112260355/republican-district-ticket/ |access-date=30 October 2022 |work=The Donaldsonville Chief |date=1 November 1879 |pages=3}}{{Open access}}