The first three Presidents of the Republic of Texas reflected the various swings of political sentiment among Texas voters. Sam Houston was followed by Mirabeau B. Lamar. Following the Lamar term, Sam Houston was again elected President of the Republic and took office on December 13, 1841.
Continue reading Presidents, Republic of Texas, Part 3 (1842-1845)Tag: texas
Presidents, Republic of Texas, Part 2 (1836-1841)
Sam Houston and Mirabeau B. Lamar:
Sam Houston always had people who opposed him, whether it concerned his political philosophy, his lifestyle or his military strategy. One such individual was Mirabeau B. Lamar. These two men would serve as the first two Presidents of the young Republic of Texas.
Continue reading Presidents, Republic of Texas, Part 2 (1836-1841)Post, Texas
The town of Post, Texas is the county seat of Garza County and was founded by Charles William Post, known for his Post cereals and other grain products. Post had been attracted by the relatively undeveloped area nearby and in 1906, he acquired 213,324 acres that now straddle Garza, Hockley and Lynn Counties in Texas. Out of this, he carved out a large tract for his own Double U Ranch and laid out a model town situated in Garza County. Continue reading Post, Texas
John Coffee Hays, Texas Ranger
Ranger John Coffee “Jack” Hays was born in Little Cedar Lick, Wilson County, Tennessee, January 28, 1817. In “Texas Rising,” he seems to be a somewhat less important character, likely because most of his service as a Texas Ranger occurred after the Texas Revolution. Hays was related to Andrew Jackson’s family in that Mrs. Jackson was his great aunt. His father fought with Andrew Jackson and gave Jack his middle name Coffee in honor of Gen. John Coffee who had also served under Jackson.
When Hays was still a young man, he left Tennessee and moved to Mississippi where he learned surveying. Some accounts have him coming to Texas in 1836, early enough to serve under Erastus “Deaf” Smith and Henry W. Karnes while others maintain that he arrived in late 1837 or early 1838. Regardless, he had settled in San Antonio by February, 1840 and apparently “rangered” while he also served as a surveyor. He fought in the Battle of Plumb Creek and in 1840 he became Captain of a company of Rangers under Mirabeau B. Lamar, during the interim years after the Texas Revolution but before the Mexican-American War. In addition to Plum Creek, he was also involved in action at Cañon de Ugalde, Bandera Pass and Painted Rock.
Continue reading John Coffee Hays, Texas RangerPresidents, Republic of Texas, Part 1
The list below shows the presidents and vice presidents of the Republic of Texas during its existence.
| President | Vice President |
| David G. Burnet (Interim) Mar. 16, 1836 – Oct. 22, 1836 | Lorenzo de Zavala Mar. 16, 1836 – Oct. 17, 1836 |
| Sam Houston Oct. 22, 1836 – Dec. 10, 1838 | Mirabeau B. Lamar Oct. 22, 1836 – Dec. 10, 1838 |
| Mirabeau B. Lamar Dec. 10, 1838 – Dec. 13, 1841 | David G. Burnet Dec. 10, 1838 – Dec. 13, 1841 |
| Sam Houston Dec. 13, 1841 – Dec. 9, 1844 | Edward Burleson Dec. 13, 1841 – Dec. 9, 1844 |
| Anson Jones Dec. 9, 1844 – Feb. 19, 1846 | Kenneth Anderson Dec. 9, 1844 – July 3, 1845 |
The Republic began with the Treaties of Velasco in May 1836 and ended with the annexation of Texas, orchestrated by Anson Jones. Capitals of the Republic included Washington-on-the-Brazos, Harrisburg, Galveston, Velasco, Columbia, Houston and Austin. Some of these names are no longer familiar to us. Harrisburg became part of Houston; Velasco became part of Freeport.
The various presidents differed widely in their idealogy and vision for the future of Texas. We don’t intend to editorialize about what they believed, just to discuss them as individuals. Their personal views helped to shape the direction that the Republic took during its existence.
Texas History Notebook 