Joseph Alston | |
|---|---|
 Joseph Alston, Governor of South Carolina | |
| 44th Governor of South Carolina | |
| In office December 1, 1812 – December 1, 1814 | |
| Lieutenant | Eldred Simkins |
| Preceded by | Henry Middleton |
| Succeeded by | David Rogerson Williams |
| 15th Speaker of theSouth Carolina House of Representatives | |
| In office November 28, 1809 – November 23, 1812 | |
| Governor | John Drayton Henry Middleton |
| Preceded by | Theodore Gaillard |
| Succeeded by | John Geddes |
| In office 1805 – November 28, 1808 | |
| Governor | Paul Hamilton Charles Pinckney |
| Preceded by | William C. Pinckney |
| Succeeded by | Theodore Gaillard |
| Member of the South Carolina House of Representatives fromGeorgetown Parish | |
| In office November 20, 1805 – December 10, 1812 | |
| Member of the South Carolina House of Representatives fromChrist Church Parish | |
| In office November 22, 1802 – November 26, 1804 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1779 (1779) All Saints' Waccamaw Parish,Pawleys Island, South Carolina, U.S. |
| Died | (aged 36–37) |
| Party | Democratic-Republican |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 1 |
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Joseph Alston (1779 – September 10, 1816) was the 44thGovernor ofSouth Carolina from 1812 to 1814.
The son ofWilliam Alston, he was born in All Saints' Waccamaw Parish inPawleys Island, South Carolina. Alston attended theCollege of New Jersey; but he left in 1796 without graduating. He then went to study law at the office ofEdward Rutledge and was admitted to thebar. Alston decided against practicing law and instead engaged in planting, becoming one of the wealthiestplanters in South Carolina.
In 1801, he married the daughter ofAaron Burr,Theodosia Burr Alston, partly to ingratiate himself withRepublican voters in an effort to downplay his aristocratic status. The couple's honeymoon was spent inNiagara Falls, the first recorded couple to do so.[1] Their son Aaron Burr Alston, born 1802, died in 1812.
Alston won election to theSouth Carolina House of Representatives for an 1802–1803 term and later for a more extended period, 1805 to 1812. In 1805, the House of Representatives chose Alston to be theSpeaker, and he pushed the legislature to adopt a more equitable basis of representation.
Alston was implicated in theBurr conspiracy by Burr's correspondence (which is considered unreliable since had been altered byJames Wilkinson), a journal entry ofHarman Blannerhasset, and testimony ofWilliam Eaton, and others.[2]
In 1812, theGeneral Assembly elected Alston to be theGovernor of South Carolina for a two-year term, after the removal ofThomas Sumter andAndrew Pickens as candidates.[3] Alston's private life suffered tragedy by the loss of his wife and only child and the disappearance of a ship headed towardsNew York City which his wife had boarded. His troubles continued as his tenure got off to a rocky start and his popularity plummeted.
With theWar of 1812 raging, Governor Alston called the statemilitia into service in 1813, to protect militarymagazines from theBritish. Some soldiers of the militia refused to serve, and Alston issued a statement that the refusal of service would result in adeath sentence. However, a court issued a writ ofhabeas corpus, and the men who had been charged withcourts-martial were released.
Subsequently, Alston dismissed the entire militia from service; but the residents were in shock that their state was then completely defenseless fromBritish attack. The Governor was forced to recall the militia into service after British forces landed onSt. Helena Island, and theSouth Carolina General Assembly correspondingly increased the powers of thegovernor for the use of the militia in wartime.
Alston left the governorship in 1814. He died inCharleston on September 10, 1816.[4]
"Allston, Joseph".The Biographical Dictionary of America. Vol. 1. 1906. p. 95.At Charleston, on the 10th inst. Gen. Joseph Alston, late governor of that state, aged 38 years
| Political offices | ||
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| Preceded by | Governor of South Carolina 1812–1814 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by William C. Pinckney | Speaker of theSouth Carolina House of Representatives 1805–1810 | Succeeded by |
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| National | |
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