Rainey, Joseph Hayne, 1832-1887

Joseph Hayne Rainey (June 21, 1832 – August 1, 1887) was an American politician. He was the first black person to serve in the United States House of Representatives and the second black person (after Hiram Revels) to serve in the United States Congress. His service included time as presiding officer of the House of Representatives. Born into slavery in South Carolina, he and his family were freed in the 1840s when his father purchased their freedom. Revels and Rainey were both members of the Republican Party.

Joseph Hayne Rainey was born into slavery in 1832 in Georgetown, South Carolina. He and his brother Edward were of mixed race; their mother Grace was of African and French descent, likely descended from slaves brought by refugees from Saint-Domingue during and after the revolution that created Haiti. Their father Edward Rainey, also enslaved, had been allowed by his master to work independently to earn money and developed a successful business as a barber; he paid a portion of his income to his master as required by law. Edward saved a substantial sum; by the 1840s he purchased his freedom and that of his wife and two sons. With education severely limited for black people, as an adult Rainey followed his father by becoming a barber; it was an independent and well-respected trade that enabled him to build a wide network in his community.