South Caroliniana Library

EARLE, Joseph Haynsworth, (great-grandson of Elias Earle, cousin of John Laurens Manning Irby, and nephew of William Lowndes Yancey), a Senator from South Carolina; born in Greenville, Greenville County, S.C., April 30, 1847; attended private schools in Sumter, S.C.; at the outbreak of the Civil War enlisted in the Confederate Army; graduated from Furman University, Greenville, S.C., in 1867; taught school for two years; studied law; admitted to the bar in 1870 and commenced practice in Anderson, S.C.; returned to Sumter, S.C., in 1875 and continued the practice of law; also interested in the logging business and in agricultural pursuits; member, State house of representatives 1878-1882; member, State senate 1882-1886; attorney general of South Carolina 1886-1890; declined the nomination for Governor in 1888; unsuccessful candidate for Governor in 1890; returned to Greenville in 1892; elected circuit judge in 1894; elected as a Democrat to the United States Senate and served from March 4, 1897, until his death in Greenville, S.C., May 20, 1897; interment in Christ Churchyard.