MEANS, John Hugh,
governor of South Carolina, was born at Hampton, Fairfield district, S.C., Aug.
18, 1812, son of Thomas and Sarah Means. His father, a planter, was a native of
Boston, Mass. John Hugh Means was graduated at South Carolina college in 1832,
and during the nullification excitement in 1832-33 he became well known as an
advocate of state rights. He was married, Jan. 23, 1833, to Sallie, daughter of
Robert Stark of Columbia, S.C. He was a representative in the South Carolina
legislature for several terms, was governor of South Carolina, 1850-52, and
during his administration strengthened the state militia and advocated secession.
As president of the state convention of 1852, he declared the state had a right
to secede and govern itself independently. He was a delegate to the South
Carolina convention of 1860, and in 1861 entered the Confederate army as
colonel of the 17th South Carolina regiment. He took a prominent part in the
early movements of the civil war, and was attached to Evans's independent
brigade, Kemper's division, in the battle of Manassas, where he was mortally
wounded. He died at Manassas, Va., Aug. 28, 1862.
SOURCE: Rossiter
Johnson, Editor-In-Chief, The
Biographical Dictionary of America, Vol. 7: Lodge—Moul. This book contains
no page numbers, however the biographies are in alphabetical order.
