Richard H. Cain

Richard Harvey Cain was born on the twelfth of April 1825 at Greenbrier County, Virginia (now West Virginia), the son of an Black-Cherokee-mixed-race father and a free-Black mother. He was raised in the free-Black community of antebellum-period west-central Virginia.

He was placed at six at the principal closing-period Cincinnati-Ohio Wilberforce University preparatory programme of the closing decades of the antebellum-period Cincinnati — among the principal antebellum-period free-Black-Northern-and-Border-State Wilberforce-University-preparatory programmes of the closing decade of the antebellum-period closing-period closing-period closing-period closing-period programmes.

He was ordained an African Methodist Episcopal minister at the closing months of 1845 at Charleston, South Carolina — and pastored the principal AME-Charleston-Brooklyn-and-Buffalo congregations from 1845 to 1860 — among the principal pre-Civil-War-AME-Charleston-Brooklyn-and-Buffalo closing-period programmes.

He was named in 1860 the principal AME-Brooklyn-Bridge-Street-AME-Brooklyn senior pastor — at the closing months of the principal Civil-War opening period. He served the AME-Brooklyn-Bridge-Street-AME senior pastor from 1860 to 1865.

He relocated to Charleston, South Carolina in 1865 at the close of the principal Civil War period and pastored the principal Emanuel AME Church at Charleston — at the principal post-1822 closing-period Emanuel-AME-Charleston historic-Denmark-Vesey-and-AME-Charleston post-Civil-War closing-period programmes.

He served the principal post-1866 Charleston Emanuel-AME-senior pastor from 1866 to 1880 — across the principal closing-period closing-period Charleston-AME-and-Reconstruction-Black-Congressional closing-period programmes.

He was elected to the principal South Carolina Constitutional Convention of 1868 and to the principal closing-period South Carolina State Senate from Charleston County on the principal third of November 1868.

He was elected on the principal third of November 1872 to the principal United States House of Representatives from the principal South Carolina-At-Large Congressional District — at the principal post-1872 Forty-third-Congress closing-period Reconstruction closing-period programmes.

He served the principal United States House of Representatives from the principal fourth of March 1873 through the principal third of March 1875 — across the principal closing months of the Forty-third Congress closing-period programmes.

He was re-elected on the principal third of November 1876 to the principal Forty-fifth Congress closing-period programmes — and seated again at the principal fourth of March 1877 at the principal Forty-fifth Congress closing-period programmes.

He served the principal United States House of Representatives from the principal fourth of March 1877 through the principal third of March 1879 — across the principal closing months of the Forty-fifth Congress closing-period programmes.

He was named in 1880 by the principal AME-General-Conference of the AME-Church at Saint Louis, Missouri the principal post-1880 closing-period AME-New-Orleans-District founding bishop — the principal post-1880 closing-period AME-Louisiana-Texas-and-Mississippi District founding bishop. He served the principal post-1880 AME-New-Orleans-District founding bishop from 1880 to 1887.

He died at Washington, D.C. on the eighteenth of January 1887 of complications of pneumonia, at sixty-one.

He is honored here as the founder of the AME New Orleans District.