Fortune Riard
Louisiana State Senate
In office
1876–1878
Personal details
Born1832/3
Louisiana
DiedFebruary 28, 1889
Political partyRepublican

Alexander Fortune Riard (1832/3 – February 28, 1889), was a carpenter, merchant, lawyer and state legislator who served in the Louisiana State Senate from 1876 until 1878.[1][2]

Biography

Riard was born free in Louisiana in 1832 or 1833 and was described as mulatto.[1][3] He was educated in France where he also served as a naval officer.[4]

He was a Republican and was also the Lafayette agent for the New Orleans Republican newspaper which was the official journal of the Republican party.[5]

Riard first unsuccessfully ran for the Louisiana State Senate in 1868 contenting the seat for the 10th senatorial district.[6] In 1872 the Republican party nominated Riard again to run for the Senate against T. C. Anderson who ran as an independent and again was unsuccessful.[7]

He was a delegate to the Louisiana Constitutional Convention in 1868 representing Lafayette Parish, Louisiana[8][3] and was a signatory to the final published constitution.[9] Also in 1868 he had received threats and was forced to flee from the Lafayette Parish for a while.[1] Riard owned property in the parish.[4]

In the 1870 United States census he was listed as a carpenter.[1] He later became a merchant in New Orleans owning and operating Riard's Employer's and Servants Intelligence Bureau and Claim Agency[1][10] The agency was located at 184 Poydras Street, New Orleans and became the biggest in Louisiana.[4] He obtained a law degree from Straight University in 1876.[11] He was admitted to practice law in Louisiana in May 1876[2] and as a lawyer his agency then qualified as a United States Claim Agency.[4]

He was a navel officer in New Orleans in 1877 and the Rutherford B. Hayes administration wanted to remove him asserting he was "unable to read or write" as he signed with an X, although others declared he was not illiterate.[12]

Riard was elected to serve on the Louisiana State Senate in 1876 and served until 1878.[1] He was elected again to the senate in 1880 but did not take his seat.[1] The election was challenged stating that R. S. Perry had received more votes and Riard was not eligible as he had not been a resident of the 11th senatorial district at the time of the election.[13] The vote went to Perry 25 yays to 5 nays and Perry was sworn in and seated.[13]

He was appointed as a deputy revenue collector for the internal revenue in 1881.[1]

Riard died at his home in Lafayette on February 28, 1889.[14]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Foner, Eric (1 August 1996). Freedom's Lawmakers: A Directory of Black Officeholders During Reconstruction. LSU Press. p. 181. ISBN 978-0-8071-2082-8. Retrieved February 11, 2023.
  2. 1 2 "Court Record". New Orleans Republican. 31 May 1876. p. 1. Retrieved 11 February 2023.Open access icon
  3. 1 2 "The Louisiana Convention". MixedRaceStudies.org. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Vincent, Charles (28 January 2011). Black Legislators in Louisiana during Reconstruction. SIU Press. pp. 53–54. ISBN 978-0-8093-8581-2. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
  5. ↑ "Agents for the Republican". New Orleans Republican. 26 March 1868. p. 3. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
  6. ↑ "Qu'est-ce que Cela vent dire?". The Opelousas Courier. 24 October 1868. p. 1. Retrieved 11 February 2023.Open access icon
  7. ↑ "The Opelousas Journal". St. Landry Democrat. 5 June 1874. p. 2. Retrieved 11 February 2023.Open access icon
  8. ↑ "Important Military Order - Assembling of the State Convention". The Times-Picayune. 22 October 1867. p. 2. Retrieved 11 February 2023.Open access icon
  9. ↑ "Constitution of the State of Louisiana". The South-Western. 8 April 1868. p. 5. Retrieved 11 February 2023.Open access icon
  10. ↑ "Riard's Employer's and Servants Intelligence Bureau and Claim Agency". The Weekly Louisianian. 27 September 1879. p. 2. Retrieved 11 February 2023.Open access icon
  11. ↑ "Straight University Exhibition". New Orleans Republican. 10 June 1876. p. 5. Retrieved 11 February 2023.Open access icon
  12. ↑ "What a Tribute special known about it". New Orleans Republican. 16 March 1877. p. 4. Retrieved 11 February 2023.Open access icon
  13. 1 2 Senate, United States Congress (1880). Reports of Committees: 30th Congress, 1st Session - 48th Congress, 2nd Session. p. 250. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
  14. ↑ "Obituary for Alexander Fortune Riard". St. Landry Democrat. 2 March 1889. p. 1. Retrieved 11 February 2023.Open access icon


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