Biography of Louisiana Governor Ruffin Golson Pleasant, native of Shiloh, Union Parish Louisiana Submitted for the Union Parish Louisiana USGenWeb Archives by Linda Davis, 6/2006 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://usgwarchives.net/la/lafiles.htm ************************************************ ================================================================================= Biography of Louisiana Governor Ruffin Golson Pleasant, native of Shiloh, Union Parish Louisiana Researched and written by Linda Davis ================================================================================== Ruffin Golson Pleasant was born on June 2, 1871 in the rural community of Shiloh in western Union Parish, Louisiana. He was the eldest child of Benjamin Franklin Pleasant and his wife Martha Washington Dudy. Like so many other of the earliest residents of Union Parish, the Pleasant and their allied lines had migrated west from the Carolinas, to Perry County, AL and on to Union Parish, LA. They were a hardy Scottish group of pioneers of the Presbyterian faith. The name Ruffin Pleasant can be traced through this lineage from Gov. Pleasant, to his uncle and nephew, several cousins then to his grandfather, on to ancestors in the late 1700’s in North Carolina. Ruffin Pleasant attended local schools until starting at Ruston College in 1886 and then Mount Lebanon College from 1887 until 1889. He studied at Louisiana State University from 1890 until 1894, and from there he went to Harvard Summer School in 1895 to study law. In 1896 he began at Yale Law School, finishing there in 1897. He also served as an instructor from 1896 until 1898 at Louisiana State University. He was accepted to the Louisiana bar in 1899. At the age of 32, Ruffin Pleasant took a Texas bride in 1906, Anna Ector. She was the youngest child of Matthew Duncan Ector and his third wife Sallie Parrish Chew of KY. No children were noted in the Pleasant households on any census. While at LSU, Ruffin Pleasant became very active in football and other related activities. He was the captain of the LSU football team in the first LSU-Tulane game in 1893. He, along with a couple others, promoted school spirit by organizing the LSU Marching Band, which started as a mere 11-member group. In 1916 this band lead the inaugural parade for its founder and newly elected governor, Ruffin G. Pleasant. On the night of February 15, 1898, the American cruiser Maine exploded and sank in Havana harbor, killing 260 sailors on board. It had been sent to Cuba to protect U.S. citizens and property following anti-Spanish rioting. This attack started the Spanish-American War, thus causing the U.S. Congress to request a volunteer army for combat. Lt Colonel Ruffin Pleasant served in the First Louisiana Regiment of Infantry, United States Volunteers from the outbreak of the of the Spanish-American War. After the war, he returned to his law studies, becoming a noted lawyer with a career that totaled over twenty-five years in Shreveport, LA. He entered politics on the local level then quickly he excelled up the political ladder in various positions reaching the office of State Attorney General by 1912. In 1916 Ruffin Pleasant was elected by popular vote to a four-year term as Governor of the State of Louisiana on the Democratic ticket. He was governor of the state during World War I. Using his past military experience, he rallied the state to provide various needs for a country at war. The demand for cotton caused an increase in the price of cotton, which in turned was beneficial to the state’s economy. The state continued to supply the nation with its natural resources. Six black carbon plants in the state provided 27% of the nation’s supply. Besides oil, now natural gas was discovered near Monroe. During this time, Camp Beauregard in Alexandria was established as a US. Army training camp and now is used by the National Guard. Another achievement of Gov. Pleasant was to issue a proclamation proclaiming October 17, 1917 as registration day for women in Louisiana; thus, Louisiana was the only state to make voter registration compulsory for women. Maybe this is the reason that an all female hall on the campus of LSU was named for the governor. The arts were rapidly developing during Pleasant’s term with jazz bands and French Impressionist in News Orleans. In 1915, News Orleans experienced one of its worst seasons of hurricanes and flooding causing thousands of dollars in real estate to be destroyed. Gov. Pleasant inherited this city’s recovery during his term and the city was rebuilt. Ruffin Pleasant’s political allies changed with the wind. At first he was a strong ally of the colorful and dynamic Huey Long, but later was on of his bitterness enemies. Long proclaimed that Gov. Pleasant’s hands were like an “octopus” and into many pockets including Standard Oil’s. The oil company employed many of Pleasant’s LSU friends. John M. Parker was a close political friend. By 1920 there were many disagreements between the two, hence Parker ran against Pleasant becoming the next governor of Louisiana. After being governor, Ruffin Pleasant returned to Shreveport to continue his law practice. In 1921 he served as a member of the Louisiana Constitutional Convention. Two years later, he and his wife Anne founded Pleasant Hall School in their Highland Avenue home in Shreveport. The first class graduated in 1931. After Anne’s death, her sister, Lucille Johnson, managed the school. Their home served as one of the oldest private schools in Louisiana, and is still standing. It began with kindergarten, and soon expanded to middle school. Ruffin Pleasant died in Shreveport, LA on September 12, 1937, which was 3 years to the day that his beloved wife Anne had died. A Historian Marker was erected on State Road #2 near Bernice, LA to honor Pleasant and former Gov. William Heard as both were born near that site. Gov. Pleasant and Gov. William Heard were distant cousins by marriage. ============================================== References: Louisiana State website: www.sec.state.la.us.com LSU websites www.lsu.edu Political Graveyard: www.politicalgraveyard.com Brenda Keck Reed’s data www.rootsweb.com Spanish American War: www.paspanishamericanwar.com Marguerite Malone’s book The Southern Heard Family and Allied Families published 1988. Federal Census Louisiana 1880-1930 Federal Census Texas 1870-1880 #################################################