Tag: governor

Governor James V. Allred and the Texas Rangers

The 1935 election of James V. Allred as governor of Texas marked a turning point for the Texas Rangers as a law enforcement organization.  For several decades, the force had not kept up with the growth of crime in the Lone Star State.  There were a few bright spots, however, such as former Texas Ranger Frank Hamer’s 1934 stakeout and ambush of outlaws Bonnie and Clyde.  Although it had the effect of boosting the image of the Rangers that had deteriorated under earlier governors, the crime problems in the state still existed.

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James Webb Throckmorton, 12th Governor of Texas

throckmorton

Throckmorton was born in 1825 in Sparta, Tennessee and came to Texas with his family when he was about 16 when they settled near Melissa in North Texas.  His father Dr. William Throckmorton is the namesake of the town and county of Throckmorton.  James studied medicine with an uncle in Kentucky before returning to Texas in 1847 to fight in the Mexican-American War.  Throckmorton suffered from chronic kidney disfunction, so he only remained active for a few months.  He then married, settled near McKinney in Collin County and opened up a medical practice.  In the years that followed, he studied law as he also became more active in the community.  Eventually, he left the practice of medicine and devoted his time to politics and the law.  He successfully ran for the Texas House of Representatives in 1851 and served three terms.  He then ran for the Texas Senate where he served from 1857 to 1861 until the outset of the Civil War.

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Sam Houston Tribute, by Rufus Columbus Burleson 3/2/1893

Sam Houston was the 7th Governor of Texas, serving from December 21, 1859 to March 18, 1861.

Rufus Burleson personally knew General Sam Houston and was asked to address the Texas Legislature on March 2, 1893 at the memorial service commemorating the 100th anniversary of the birth of Gen. Houston, the same date memorializing the 57th year of Texas Independence. Burleson’s entire address amounts to some 40 pages of his memoirs, “The Life and Writings of Rufus Columbus Burleson.” Presented below is the conclusion of his address. His admiration for Gen. Houston is clearly evident. At this point in Burleson’s account, Houston had failed in his effort to prevent the succession of Texas from the Union, been ousted as Governor of the state that he so loved and the Civil War had begun.

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Governor Richard Coke (1829-1897)

Governor Coke, 15th Governor of Texas, serving from January 15, 1874 to December 21, 1876.  Coke was the husband of Mary Evans Horne of the pioneer McLennan County Horne family in 1852 and was the brother-in-law of Ophelia Jenkins Horne and her husband Lucius Louis Horne. Coke was born in Virginia and after graduating from William and Mary, he moved to Waco, Texas in 1850 to practice law.

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