Edmund H. Deas (Duke of Darlington) served as chairman of the Darlington County Republican Party in 1884 and 1888 and was a delegate to four national conventions from 1888-1908. An African-American candidate for Congress in 1884 and 1890, Deas was deputy collector of Internal Revenue in SC 1889-1894 and 1897-1901. He remained in his Darlington home until his death in 1915 at age 60.