Miller, Thomas Ezekiel

Miller, Thomas Ezekiel, a Representative from South Carolina; born in Ferrebeville, Beaufort County, S.C., June 17, 1849; was of the Negro race; moved with his parents to Charleston, S.C., in 1851; attended the public schools in Charleston, S.C., and in Hudson, N.Y.; employed as a newsboy on a railroad; was graduated from Lincoln University, Chester County, Pa., in 1872; moved to Grahamville, S.C., and served as school commissioner of Beaufort County in 1872; member of the State house of representatives in 1874, 1876, and 1878; studied law; was admitted to the bar in 1875 and practiced law in Beaufort, S.C.; member of the State executive committee 1878-1880; served in the State senate in 1880; successfully contested as a Republican the election of William Elliott to the Fifty-first Congress and served from September 24, 1890, to March 3, 1891; unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1890 to the Fifty-second Congress; again a member of the State house of representatives in 1894; member of the State constitutional convention in 1895; president of the State colored college in Orangeburg, S.C., from 1896 until 1911, when he resigned; retired from active pursuits in 1911 and lived in Charleston, S.C., until 1923, when he moved to Philadelphia, Pa.; in 1934 returned to Charleston, S.C., where he resided until his death there on April 8, 1938; interment in Brotherhood Cemetery.