Background
Heyward was born in Richland County to Edward Barnwell Heyward and Catherine Maria Clinch after his parents moved from Colleton County to avoid the Union Army during the Civil War.
Heyward was born in Richland County to Edward Barnwell Heyward and Catherine Maria Clinch after his parents moved from Colleton County to avoid the Union Army during the Civil War.
He attended the private schools of Charleston and went on to graduate from Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia, in 1885.
Announcing his candidacy in 1901 for the gubernatorial election of 1902, Heyward emerged as a frontrunner despite being a novice to politics. Ben Tillman did not have a favorite in the contest, but Heyward was an acceptable choice to him because Heyward favored the Dispensary. After leaving office, Heyward was appointed by President Woodrow Wilson in 1913 to be the Collector of Federal Internal Revenue Taxes for South Carolina.
Heyward wrote the book "Seed from Madagascar" in 1937.
The book provides insight to the details of rice planting in the South Carolina lowcountry, and chronicles the decline of the rice planting industry and the prominent Heyward family. Heyward died in Columbia, on January 23, 1943.
He became a member of the Knights of Pythias and served as a captain of a cavalry company in Colleton County.