Burwell Boykin Lewis represented both Alabama's 6th congressional district

Alabama's 6th congressional district

Alabama's 6th congressional district is a U.S. congressional district in Alabama, which elects a representative to the United States House of Representatives. It encompasses the counties of Chilton, Bibb and Shelby. It also includes parts of St. Clair County, Jefferson, Tuscaloosa, and Coosa counties...

 and Alabama's 8th congressional district

Alabama's 8th congressional district

Alabama's 8th congressional district, now obsolete, was established in 1877.At present, Alabama has seven congressional districts represented in the United States House of Representatives. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Alabama was apportioned eight congressional seats as a result of the 1880...

 in the United States House of Representatives

United States House of Representatives

The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...

.

Early life

Lewis was born in Montgomery, Alabama

Montgomery, Alabama

Montgomery is the capital of the U.S. state of Alabama, and is the county seat of Montgomery County. It is located on the Alabama River southeast of the center of the state, in the Gulf Coastal Plain. As of the 2010 census, Montgomery had a population of 205,764 making it the second-largest city...

 and soon moved, with his parents, to Mobile, Alabama

Mobile, Alabama

Mobile is the third most populous city in the Southern US state of Alabama and is the county seat of Mobile County. It is located on the Mobile River and the central Gulf Coast of the United States. The population within the city limits was 195,111 during the 2010 census. It is the largest...

. Both parents died while in Mobile and young Lewis went to Montevallo, Alabama

Montevallo, Alabama

Montevallo is a city in Shelby County, Alabama, United States. A college town, it is the home of the University of Montevallo, a public liberal arts university with around 3000 students. As of the 2000 census, the population of the city of Montevallo is 4,825....

 in Shelby County, Alabama

Shelby County, Alabama

Shelby County is a county of the U.S. state of Alabama and a part of the Birmingham–Hoover–Cullman Combined Statistical Area. It is named in honor of Isaac Shelby, Governor of Kentucky. The county seat of Shelby County is Columbiana. As of 2010 U.S. Census the population was 195,085. Shelby...

 to live with an uncle. While there he attended private schools. Upon completion he moved to Tuscaloosa

Tuscaloosa, Alabama

Tuscaloosa is a city in and the seat of Tuscaloosa County in west central Alabama . Located on the Black Warrior River, it is the fifth-largest city in Alabama, with a population of 90,468 in 2010...

 where he attended the University of Alabama

University of Alabama

The University of Alabama is a public coeducational university located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States....

. he next moved to Selma

Selma, Alabama

Selma is a city in and the county seat of Dallas County, Alabama, United States, located on the banks of the Alabama River. The population was 20,512 at the 2000 census....

 where he studied law. Lewis was admitted to the bar in 1859 and began to practice law in Montevallo. With the outbreak of the American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

 Lewis enlisted in the Confederate States Army

Confederate States Army

The Confederate States Army was the army of the Confederate States of America while the Confederacy existed during the American Civil War. On February 8, 1861, delegates from the seven Deep South states which had already declared their secession from the United States of America adopted the...

. He served with the Second Alabama Cavalry and attained the rank of captain. http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=L000272

Political life

Lewis was elected to the Alabama House of Representatives

Alabama House of Representatives

The Alabama House of Representatives is the lower house of the Alabama Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Alabama. The House is composed of 105 members representing an equal amount of districts, with each constituency containing at least 42,380 citizens. There are no term...

from 1870-1872. He moved to Tuscaloosa where he engaged in business activities before being elected to an at-large seat in the United States House of Representatives in 1875. This seat was to represent the 8th congressional district which was first apportioned as a result of the 1880 census. He was an unsuccessful candidate for the 1876 election but was elected to the 6th congressional district in 1878. He began his service in March 1879 and served until October 1880 when he resigned to serve as the president of the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa.

Later life

Lewis served as president of the UA for just over five years until his death in Tuscaloosa, in 1885.
His Great-Great-Grandson Bryan Lewis Rives (1966–present) resides in Murphysboro, IL.