Complex sentence: After working as a school principal, Cheatham served as the elected Register of Deeds for Vance County (1884-1888) before being narrowly elected to Congress over incumbent Furnifold M. Simmons (who would later lead the White Supremacy campaigns that disfranchised North Carolina blacks).
Split into simpler sentences: After working as a school principal, Cheatham served as the elected Register of Deeds for Vance County (1884-1888). In 1888, Cheatham was narrowly elected to Congress over incumbent Furnifold M. Simmons (who would later lead the White Supremacy campaigns that disfranchised North Carolina blacks).