Barnabas Kelet Henagan

Barnabas Kelet Henagan (June 7, 1798 – January 10, 1855) was a physician and South Carolina politician who became the 58th Governor due to the death of Patrick Noble on April 7, 1840.

Barnabas Kelet Hanagan
Secretary of State of South Carolina
In office
December 2, 1846 – December 7, 1850
GovernorDavid Johnson
Whitemarsh B. Seabrook
Preceded byRobert Q. Pinckney
Succeeded byBenjamin Perry
Member of the South Carolina Senate from Marion District
In office
November 25, 1844 – December 2, 1846
Preceded byBenjamin Gause
Succeeded byRobert Harllee
58th Governor of South Carolina
In office
April 7, 1840 – December 9, 1840
LieutenantNone
Preceded byPatrick Noble
Succeeded byJohn Peter Richardson II
38th Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina
In office
December 7, 1838 – April 7, 1840
GovernorPatrick Noble
Preceded byWilliam DuBose
Succeeded byWilliam K. Clowney
Member of the South Carolina Senate from Marlboro District
In office
November 24, 1834 – November 26, 1838
Preceded byRobert Blair Campbell
Succeeded byDaniel C. Murdoch
Personal details
Born(1798-06-07)June 7, 1798
Marlboro District
DiedJanuary 10, 1855(1855-01-10) (aged 56)
Charleston, South Carolina
Resting placeRogers Cemetery, Marlboro County, South Carolina
Alma materHeidelberg University
Professionphysician, planter

Early life and career

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Henagan was born in Marlboro District on June 7, 1798, to Darby and Drusilla Henegan. He was educated at the academies in Marlboro County and he went on to study medicine at the University of Heidelberg in Germany. Afterwards he returned to South Carolina to practice medicine as a physician and he also engaged in planting. In 1826, he became the president of the Brownsville Minerva Academy.

Political career

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Henagan won election to the South Carolina Senate in 1834 and was elected by the General Assembly to be the 38th Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina in 1838. In the final year of his term, Governor Patrick Noble died on April 7, 1840, and Henagan assumed the governorship. His term as governor lasted less than a year, but Henagan deplored to the Legislature the poor condition of the public schools in the state and the corruption of the electoral process. After leaving office in 1840, Henagan was reelected to the state Senate in 1844 and served as the Secretary of State from 1846 to 1850.

Later life

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Henagan died on January 10, 1855, in Charleston and was buried at Rogers Cemetery in Marlboro County.

References

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  • Wallace, David Duncan (1951). South Carolina: A Short History. University of North Carolina Press. pp. 461, 489.
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Political offices
Preceded by Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina
1838–1840
Succeeded by
Preceded by Governor of South Carolina
1840
Succeeded by