Thomas Seay was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 Democratic politician

Politician

A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...

 who was the 27th Governor of Alabama

Alabama

Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...

 from 1886 to 1890.

Seay Hall at the Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University

Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University

Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University, also known as Alabama A&M University or AAMU, is a public, historically black university, Land-grant university located in Normal, Madison County, Alabama....

 is named for him.

Thomas Seay was born on November 20, 1846, near Erie in present day Hale County

Hale County, Alabama

Hale County is a county of the U.S. state of Alabama. It is named in honor of Confederate officer Stephen Fowler Hale. As of 2010 the population was 15,760. Its county seat is Greensboro and it is part of the Tuscaloosa Metropolitan Statistical Area....

. This area was part of Greene County

Greene County, Alabama

Greene County is the least populous county in the U.S. state of Alabama. Its name is in honor of Revolutionary War General Nathanael Greene of Rhode Island. As of 2010 the population was 9,045...

 at the time of his birth to Reuben and Ann McGee Seay. Thomas grew up on a plantation until age twelve when the family moved to Greensboro

Greensboro, Alabama

Greensboro is a city in Hale County, Alabama, United States. At the 2000 census the population was 2,731. The city is the county seat of Hale County. It is part of the Tuscaloosa, Alabama Metropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...

. There he attended Southern University (Greensboro) until the outbreak of the Civil War

Civil war

A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same nation state or republic, or, less commonly, between two countries created from a formerly-united nation state....

 interrupted his studies.

In 1863 Seay enlisted in the Confederate Army and served with his company around Mobile

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...

. He was captured at Spanish Fort

Spanish Fort, Alabama

Spanish Fort is a suburb of Mobile, Alabama in Baldwin County, Alabama, United States, located on the eastern shore of Mobile Bay. The 2000 census lists the population of the city as 5,423. It is part of the Daphne-Fairhope-Foley micropolitan area....

 and at Blakeley and was imprisoned on Ship Island. Seay returned to Southern University(Greensboro,AL) after the war, graduating in 1867. He then studied law and practiced as a junior member of Coleman and Seay from 1869 to 1885. Seay also engaged in planting.

Thomas Seay began his political career in 1874 when he ran unsuccessfully for the state senate. He was successful in 1876 and remained in the senate for ten years, serving as president from 1884-1886. Seay was elected governor in 1886 and reelected in 1888.

This administration is noteworthy for Seay's success in reducing taxes while increasing social services and running state government in the black. An advocate for social welfare programs, the central Alabama

Alabama

Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...

 native supported crucial legislation. During his administration women and children were limited to an eight hour work day. Pensions were provided for disabled Confederate veterans and their widows. Seay was also supportive (in the context of late 19th century standards) of measures to improve the rights and education of Alabama's black citizens.

Several new schools were established during Seay's term. Among these were the State Normal School at Troy (now Troy State University) and the State Normal School for Colored Students in Montgomery (now Alabama State University

Alabama State University

Alabama State University, founded 1867, is a historically black university located in Montgomery, Alabama. ASU is a member school of the Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund.- History :...

). In Talladega

Talladega, Alabama

Talladega is a city in Talladega County, Alabama, United States. At the 2000 census the population was 15,143. The city is the county seat of Talladega County. Talladega is approximately 50 miles east of Birmingham, Alabama....

 the Alabama Academy for the Blind

Alabama Institute for the Deaf and Blind

The Alabama Institute for the Deaf and Blind is a school for people with blindness and/or deafness operated by the U. S. State of Alabama in the city of Talladega...

 was established, removing that responsibility from the Alabama Institute for the Deaf

Alabama Institute for the Deaf and Blind

The Alabama Institute for the Deaf and Blind is a school for people with blindness and/or deafness operated by the U. S. State of Alabama in the city of Talladega...

.

Bessemer

Bessemer, Alabama

Bessemer is a city outside of Birmingham in Jefferson County, Alabama, United States eight miles west of Hoover. The population was 29,672 at the 2000 Census, but by the 2009 U.S...

 was founded in 1887 and the iron and steel industry in Jefferson County

Jefferson County, Alabama

Jefferson County is the most populous county in the U.S. state of Alabama, with its county seat being located in Birmingham.As of the 2010 U.S. Census, the population of Jefferson County was 658,466...

 began to boom soon after. An especially exciting event to occur while Seay was in office was the 1887 visit of President Grover Cleveland to Montgomery

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...

.

Other events during Seay's administration were not so joyful. The convict lease system began and businessmen soon realized the opportunity for exploitation of this work force. The Hawes Riot took place in Birmingham

Birmingham, Alabama

Birmingham is the largest city in Alabama. The city is the county seat of Jefferson County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Birmingham had a population of 212,237. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, in estimate by the U.S...

; thirteen people died. Evidence of discontent among Alabamians occurred when farmers organized the Farmer's Alliance to draw attention to their problems.

In 1890 Seay was defeated by James M. Pugh in his bid for a U.S. Senate seat. He did not run for office again although he helped Thomas G. Jones

Thomas G. Jones

Thomas Goode Jones was an American Democratic politician who was the 28th Governor of Alabama from 1890 to 1894. Born in 1844 in Macon, Georgia and died in 1914 in Montgomery, Alabama....

 in his campaign for governor against Populist Reuben Kolb.

Seay married Ellen Smaw of Greene (later Hale) County on July 12, 1875. She bore him a son and a daughter before her death in 1879. In 1881 he married Clara de Lesdernier by whom he had four more children. Seay died at the age of 49 on March 30, 1896 in Greensboro

Greensboro, Alabama

Greensboro is a city in Hale County, Alabama, United States. At the 2000 census the population was 2,731. The city is the county seat of Hale County. It is part of the Tuscaloosa, Alabama Metropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...

.

Sources

• Alabama Department of Archives and History, Public Information Subject Files.

National Cyclopedia of American Biography.

• Owen, Thomas M. History of Alabama and Dictionary of Alabama Biography, 1921.
• Stewart, John Craig. The Governors of Alabama, 1975.
• Summersell, Charles G. Alabama: A State History, 1955.
• Summersell, Charles G. "The Alabama Governor's Race in 1892." Alabama Review, January 1955.
• http://www.archives.alabama.gov/govs_list/g_seayth.html