1st Congress of the Republic of Texas

1st Congress of the Republic of Texas
2nd Congress of the Republic of Texas

The building that housed the House of Representatives of the Republic of Texas in Columbia (shown ca. 1897)
Legislative body Congress of the Republic of Texas
Jurisdiction Republic of Texas
Meeting place Columbia and Houston
Term October 3, 1836 (1836-10-03) – June 13, 1837 (1837-06-13)
House of Representatives
Members 31 Representatives
House Speaker Ira Ingram (1st session)[1]
Branch T. Archer (2nd session)
Senate
Members 14 Senators
Senate President Mirabeau Lamar
Senate President pro tem. Richard Ellis (1st session)[2]
Jesse Grimes (2nd session)[3]
Sessions
1st October 3, 1836 (1836-10-03) – December 22, 1836 (1836-12-22)
2nd May 1, 1837 (1837-05-01) – June 13, 1837 (1837-06-13)

The First Congress of the Republic of Texas, consisting of the Senate of the Republic of Texas and House of Representatives of the Republic of Texas, met in Columbia at two separate buildings (one for each chamber) and then in Houston from October 3, 1836, to June 13, 1837, during the first year of Sam Houston's presidency.

All members of Congress were officially non-partisan.[4] According to the Constitution of the Republic of Texas of 1836, each member of the House of Representatives was elected for a term of one year.[5] Each county was guaranteed at least one representative.[6]

Each Senator was elected for a three-year term to represent a district that each had a nearly equal portion of the nation's population. Each district could have no more than one Senator.

Members

Senate

House of Representatives

Austin County

  • Moseley Baker

Bexar County

Brazoria County

Colorado County

  • J. G. Robertson

Goliad County

  • John M. Chenoweth

Gonzales County

  • William S. Fisher

Harrisburg County

  • John W. Moore, until October 11, 1836[lower-alpha 1]
    • Jesse H. Cartwright, from October 11, 1836

Jackson County

  • Samuel A. White

Jasper County

  • S. L. Lewis

Jefferson County

  • Claiborne West

Liberty County

Mina County

  • John Wheeler Bunton
  • Jesse Billingsley

Matagorda County

  • Ira Ingram, 1st session*
    • Daniel Davis D. Baker, 2nd session

Milam County

  • Francis Marcus Weatherred, Jr., until October 31, 1836[lower-alpha 1]
    • Samuel Tabor Allen, from October 31, 1836

Nacogdoches County

Refugio County

  • Elkanah Brush

Red River County

Sabine County

San Augustine County

  • William W. Holman
  • Joseph Rowe

San Patricio County

  • John Turner, until October 20, 1836[lower-alpha 1]
    • John Geraghty, from October 20, 1836

Shelby County

  • Richard Hooper
  • Sydney Oswald Penington

Victoria County

Washington County

  • William Warner Hill
  • W. W. Gant, from October 21, 1836

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Resigned upon evidence presented that he was not duly elected

Standing committees

Senate

  • Ways and Means
  • Judiciary
  • Post Office and Post Roads
  • State of the Republic
  • Military Affairs
  • Roads, Bridges, and Ferries
  • Claims and Accounts
  • Public Lands
  • Indian Affairs
  • County Boundaries
  • Naval Affairs

House of Representatives

  • Ways and Means
  • Judiciary
  • Post Office
  • State of the Republic
  • Military Affairs
  • Roads, Bridges, and Ferries
  • Claims and Accounts
  • Public Lands
  • Indian and Indian Affairs
  • County Boundaries
  • Naval Affairs
  • Foreign Relations

Employees

Senate

House of Representatives

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Raines, C. W. (1901). Year Book for Texas. Austin, Texas: Gammel Book Company. pp. 59–60. Retrieved March 21, 2015.
  2. 1 2 "Officers of the Senate" 1 (45) (1 ed.). Telegraph and Texas Register. December 9, 1836. p. 2. Retrieved March 21, 2015.
  3. 1 2 McDonald Spaw, Patsy (1990). The Texas Senate: Republic to Civil War, 1836-1861, Volume 1. College Station, Texas: Texas A&M University Press. p. 24. ISBN 0890964424.
  4. Erath, Lucy A. (October 1923). Barker, Eugene C.; Bolton, Herbert E., eds. "Memoirs of George Bernard Erath IV". The Southwestern Historical Quarterly (Texas State Historical Association) 27 (2): 140. Retrieved March 21, 2015.
  5. May, Janice C. (1996). The Texas State Constitution: A Reference Guide. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 4. ISBN 0313266379.
  6. Steen, Ralph W. (June 12, 2010). "Congress of the Republic of Texas". Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved March 21, 2015.
  7. 1 2 "Officers of the Senate" 1 (45) (1 ed.). Telegraph and Texas Register. December 9, 1836. p. 3. Retrieved March 21, 2015.
  8. Laughlin, Charlotte (June 12, 2010). "Byars, Noah Turner". Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved March 21, 2015.
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