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 1816 - 1899 (83 years)
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| Name |
Henry Massey Rector |
| Birth |
1 May 1816 |
Louisville, Jefferson County, KY  |
| Gender |
Male |
| Death |
12 Aug 1899 |
Little Rock, AR |
| Person ID |
I21879 |
Bob Juch's Tree |
| Last Modified |
31 Dec 2022 |
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| Notes |
- 1. How does Gov. Henry Massey Rector tie into the descendents of the
early Virginia Rectors? His aunt was Ann Rector who married Thomas
Conway. (They were married in Greene Co., Tennessee, the home of John B.
Rector and his wife Rebecca Sevier.) Two sons of Thomas and Ann Rector
Conway were governors of Arkansas too...James Sevier Conway (No. 1) and
Elias Nelson Conway. Son Henry Wharton Conway was a territorial
Congressman from Arkansas. Ann's nephew was a US Senator.
2. Does anyone know how to obtain a copy of RECTOR RECORDS by King?
John Fishback (Johannes Fishbach] of the 1714 Colony, moved from
Germantown to Jeffersonton, Culpeper County, Virginia. He was the
progenitor of five governors of States:
James Lawson Kemper (Virginia)
James Sevier Conway (Arkansas)
Elias Nelson Conway (Arkansas)
Henry Massey Rector (Arkansas)
William Meade Fishbach (Arkansas)
From Arkansas History Commission- March 2, 1934 Henry M.
Rector, sixth governor of the State of Arkansas, was born in
Louisville, Kentucky, May 1, 1816, a son of Elias and Fannie B.
( Thurston) Rector. Soon after his birth his family moved to St.
Louis, MO, where Elias Rector died in 1822. Subsequently
the widow married Stephen Trigg and removed to Saline County,
MO. Here Mr. Twiggs engaged in the manufacture of salt.
From the time that he was 13 until he was 17 years of age, it
was Henry's task to haul wood with an ox team to the salt works.
During this time he had no opportunity to attend school, but his
mother, who was an educated woman, taught him the rudiments of
an English education
[2613] In 1833 his Kentucky relatives sent him to Francis Goddard's
school in Louisville where he remained a student for two years
and then came to Arkansas to look after certain lands, which he,
as the only surviving child, had inherited from his father. Some
of the land in question is now a part of the Hot Springs
Reservation, which had been located upon the New Madrid
Certificate. Many years were spent in prosecution this claim
against other persons, and finally against the United States
Government, but Rector was unsuccessful in his efforts to
establish title to his claim.
[2614] During the years 1839 and 1840 Rector held a position as a
teller in a bank of the State of Arkansas. In 1841 he moved to a
farm in Saline County where he began to study law. From 1843 to
1845 he was United States Marshal for the District of Arkansas.
He was then admitted to the bar and began the practice of his
profession in Little Rock, Arkansas, but soon returned to Saline
Co. In 1848 he was elected to the State Senate for the district
composed of Perry and Saline Counties. He was Surveyor General
from 1853 to 1857: was elected to the lower house of the
legislature from Pulaski county in 1854 and in 1859 was elected
Associate Justice of the Supreme Court by the General Assembly.
[2615] In 1860 he resigned his position on the Supreme Bench to become
an independent Democratic candidate for governor. What was
known as the " Conway-Johnson Dynasty" was thought to be all
powerful in Arkansas politics. Rector, however, was a forcible
and convincing orator. By his persuasive eloquence and his
appeal to the common sense of the voters, he overthrew the "
Dynasty " and was elected by over a 2000 majority. There was the
a paper called The Independent published at Fayetteville by
William Quesenbury - popularly known as "Bill Cush" who was
very clever cartoonist. Immediately after the election he
published a cartoon entitled, "Tom Dick and Harry" in which
Thomas Hubbard, the Wig candidate, was represented as Old Mother
Hubbard examining a bare cupboard, Dick Johnson was seated
astride a whiskey barrel surrounded by a crowd of his supporters
to who he was explaining how it happened to his supporters,
while "Harry" Rector represented as a rooster was strutting
about and making a welkin ring with his crowing. (Welkin means
in the sky )
[2616] Professor Shinn in his " Pioneers and Makers of Arkansas says: "
the regular Democrats smarting under their defeat, took an undue
advantage of him in the convention of 1861 The body, while
providing for a new constitution which contained certain offices
in force, intentionally or unintentionally omitted to make any
provision whatever for the Governor's office. Rector's adherents
have always claimed that this was done intentionally and from
the meager records which have come down to posterity, it is
entirely safe to say that this contention of Rector's friend was
true. All the events, it was claimed that, as the constitution
did not provide for a Governor, a vacancy existed, which
contention was upheld by the Supreme Court. He served as
Governor from Nov. 15, 1860 to Nov. 4, 1862."
[2617] Upon retiring from his governor's office, Mr. Rector enlisted as
a private in the Confederate Reserve Corp ( refusing an
appointment as quartermaster ) and served until the close of the
war. For several years after the war he engaged in agriculture
pursuits in Garland County. He was delegate from the County to
the Constitutional Convention in 1874 and wielded a powerful
influence in framing the new organic law of Arkansas. He died at
his home in the City of Little Rock on August 12, 1899.
[2618] Governor Rector was twice married. His first wife, whom he was
united in Oct. 1838, was Miss Jane Elizabeth, daughter of
William Field, of Little Rock. She died November 20, 1857,
leaving four sons and three daughters, and in 1860 he married
Miss Ernestine Flore Linde, daughter of Albert Linde, of
Memphis, Tenn. One daughter was born of the second marriage.
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[2619] His son Henry Massie Rector MD was good in his profession in
Little Rock Arkansas Henry Massie 111 was a lawyer in Little
Rock Also Henry Massie Rector 4th and 5th lived in Little
Rock. Henry Massie Rector 111
From HISTORY OF THE SESCENDANTS OF J.J. RECTOR. As Governor of
Arkansas, Henry Massie Rector, was called upon by the U.S.
Government to supply troops for the Civil War, refused to send
troops to help the North. When he was turned out of office by
the people, he joined the Confederate Army as a private and to
show his contempt for Lincoln bought a slave in 1863. After the
war he retired to his plantation in Ark, His son Elias W.
Rector Married Rosebud Alcorn daughter of the Governor of Miss.
[2622] This publication has the information that is in the History of
J.J. Rector and also contains a letter by Henry Massie to John
Ross Chief of the Cherokee Indians promising support for him and
at the same time hoping that Ross would stand by the South who
could supply him Slaves to develop the Cherokee Indians. The
Indians should support the South as Lincoln was planning on
using the Cherokee Nation as a home for abolitionists and
northern moneyed people. Chief Ross said that their natural
feelings was for the South but the U.S. (north) had promised
the Indians security and the treaties were with Washington and
they felt that they had to stay neutral.
[2625] This morning Governor Rector of Arkansas issued a proclamation,
drafting into immediate service every man in the State subject
to military duty to respond in twenty days.
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