Runnels was born in
Hancock County, Georgia, on December 15, 1796, to Hester (Hubert) and
Harmon M. Runnels. The Runnels relocated to
Mississippi Territory when Hiram was a child. The family descended from English colonists. The Runnels were the first white people to build a house in what would become
Monticello, Mississippi. He married Obedience Smith in 1823. Although he received a limited education, Runnels worked as a schoolteacher before serving as the state's auditor and treasurer from 1822 to 1830. Runnels also served as a volunteer in the
army during various conflicts with Native Americans. He was elected in the
Mississippi House of Representatives in 1830. After an unsuccessful
run for governor in 1831, Runnels was
elected in May 1833 by only 558 votes. Due to the closeness of the result, he did not take office until the following November. During his tenure as governor, Runnels secured funding for a new
statehouse in
Jackson, restructured the state militia, signed a ban on the importation of enslaved people for auction and oversaw the formation of sixteen new counties in the land seized from the
Chickasaw Indians. A devoted
Jacksonian Democrat, Runnels angered his political allies when he refused to order the state militia to support and arm vigilantes who killed and maimed dozens of white and black people suspected of inciting a slave rebellion during the summer of 1835. On the other hand, more conservative voters and
Whigs accused Runnels of verbally condoning
vigilantism and preventing the militia and local law enforcement officials from suppressing extralegal violence. Facing criticism from Whigs and many Democrats over the affair, Runnels narrowly lost his reelection bid and left office in
November 1835. In 1838, Runnels was appointed president of the newly chartered Union Bank in Jackson, placing him in deeper conflict with other Democrats. When Union Bank collapsed in 1840, the new governor of Mississippi,
Alexander McNutt, accused Runnels and others of corruption. Runnels responded by canning the governor in the streets of Jackson. Debates related to the state's
central banking system also led to a duel between Runnels and
Volney E. Howard, a director at Union Bank, that same year. His wife listed 29 slaves as her "separate property" possibly "in anticipation of an imminent duel...so that her property would not be affected if her husband should die." Despite these conflicts, Runnels was reelected to represent
Hinds County in the state legislature in 1841. Runnels moved to
Texas in 1842 and purchased a cotton plantation located on the
Brazos River near
Houston. He represented Brazoria County during the
Convention of 1845. He was elected to the
Texas State Senate in 1855 but failed to qualify for office. He was elected to the Senate again in 1857 but died before taking office. The Texas Senate passed a memorial resolution in his honor, and
Benjamin F. Tankersly was sworn into office in his stead. Runnels died in Houston on December 17, 1857, and was buried in
Glenwood Cemetery. == Personality ==