John Peter Richardson III

Who was John Peter Richardson III?

John Peter Richardson III was the 83rd Governor of South Carolina from 1886 to 1890.

Richardson was born in Clarendon County, South Carolina to John Peter Richardson II, a former Governor of South Carolina, and Juliana Augusta Manning. After graduating from South Carolina College in 1849, Richardson managed Elmswood Plantation in Clarendon County. He was also elected to the South Carolina House of Representatives during antebellum South Carolina.

With the outbreak of the American Civil War, Richardson enlisted in the Confederate Army in 1862 and was on the staff of Brigadier General James Cantey until the end of the war. After which, he was elected in 1865 to the South Carolina House of Representatives and later that year to the South Carolina Senate. Richardson was inactive in politics when Radical Republicans ruled the state during Reconstruction and returned in 1880 on the Democratic ticket running unopposed for state Treasurer.

In 1886, Richardson was endorsed by Clarendon County Democrats for the candidacy of governor.