Temple Lea Houston

For the television series, see Temple Houston (TV series).

Temple Lea Houston
Chicago Tribune, June 21, 1896

Texas State Senator from District 19 (based in Mobeetie in Wheeler County)
In office 1885–1889
Preceded by	Avery Matlock
Succeeded by	John Hall Stephens
Personal details
Born	(1860-08-12)August 12, 1860 Austin, Travis County Texas, USA
Died	August 15, 1905(1905-08-15) (aged 45) Woodward, Oklahoma
Resting place	Elmwood Cemetery in Woodward, Oklahoma
Nationality	USA
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Laura Cross Houston
Alma mater	Baylor University
Occupation	Lawyer

Temple Lea Houston (August 12, 1860 – August 15, 1905) was an attorney and politician who served from 1885 to 1889 in the Texas State Senate. He was the last-born child of Margaret Lea Houston and Sam Houston, the first elected president of the Republic of Texas.^{[lower-alpha 1]}

Biography

Coat of Arms of Temple Lea Houston

Temple Lea Houston was the only one of the Houstons' eight children to be born in the Texas governor's residence in Austin. By the time he was seven, both his parents had died. He lived with an older sister and her family in nearby Georgetown, Texas. At the age of thirteen, Houston left home to join a cattle drive and later worked on a riverboat on the Mississippi River. Aided by a friend of his father's, he gained an appointment as a page in the U.S. Senate and worked in Washington, D.C. for three years.

Houston returned to Texas in 1877 at the age of seventeen to attend the Agricultural and Mechanical College (now Texas A&M University). He transferred to Baylor University in Waco, Texas, where he graduated in 1880 with honors in law and philosophy. He "read the law" with an established firm and was admitted to the bar. He was the youngest attorney in Texas when he opened his practice.^[3] That year he was appointed as the attorney for Brazoria County near Houston, Texas.^[3]

In 1882, Houston was appointed as the district attorney of the 35th Judicial District of Texas, which then covered a large part of the Texas Panhandle, based in Mobeetie, Wheeler County.

Marriage and family

Established in his career, on February 14, 1883, Houston at the age of twenty-three married Laura Cross, the daughter of a planter. They lived near Fort Elliott, which protected the border against American Indians, as well as the important cattle drives. The couple had seven children, only four of whom lived past infancy.^[3]

Political career

Jeffrey Hunter portraying Houston in the 1963 television series Temple Houston

Houston was elected in 1884 to a single term in the Texas State Senate from District 19.

He concentrated his law practice on the Santa Fe railroad (the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway).^[3] He spoke French and Spanish, as well as seven Indian languages. In 1888, he gave the dedication address for the opening of the Texas State Capitol, which is still in use after several renovations.^[4]

In 1894, Houston moved his family to the cattle town of Woodward in Oklahoma Territory. He was legal counsel of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway; its Woodward depot became one of the most important points in the territory for cattle shipping to the East. Houston became widely known and popular for his courtroom dramatics. He was charged with murder in the shooting of a brother of the outlaw Al Jennings, after an argument in the Cabinet Saloon, and was acquitted.

Houston won a reputation as a brilliant trial lawyer. In 1899, he delivered his "Soiled Dove Plea" in a makeshift courtroom in Woodward's opera house. The argument on behalf of Minnie Stacey, a prostitute who worked at the Dew Drop Inn, became famous for winning her acquittal after ten minutes' consideration by the jury.^[3]

An historian, William T. Hagan, described Houston as "a flamboyant figure in his black frock coat and shoulder-length auburn hair topped off with a white Stetson. He liked to lace his arguments with literary allusions and could enthrall a courtroom or legislative chamber."^[5]^[6]

Death

Temple Lea Houston Grave, Elmwood Cemetery, Woodward, Oklahoma

Temple Lea Houston died on August 15, 1905. His wife Laura (Cross) Houston died April 17, 1938. They are buried together at Elmwood Cemetery in Woodward, Oklahoma.

Representation in other media

Edna Ferber modeled her main character of Yancey Cravat on Temple Houston in her novel Cimarron (1929). (The novel was adapted as film versions under the same name, produced in 1931 and 1960.)
Ross Elliott played Houston in "The Reluctant Gun" (1959) episode of the western anthology series, Death Valley Days.^[7]
In the 1960 film Oklahoma Territory, Houston was played by Bill Williams. Gloria Talbott was cast as Ruth Red Hawk, Ted de Corsia as Chief Buffalo Horn, X Brands as Running Cloud, and Walter Sande as Marshal Pete Rosslyn. The film was written by Orville H. Hampton and directed by Edward L. Cahn.
A 1963–1964 NBC/Warner Brothers television series entitled Temple Houston, which aired twenty-six episodes, was co-produced by the actor Jeffrey Hunter, who also played the part of Houston. Temple Houston was placed on the schedule in a matter of six weeks after it was sold by studio boss Jack Webb to the network.^[6]^[8]

Houston family tree

John Houston m. Margaret McClung (c.1650–1735) Ireland
- John Houston (1690–1755) m. Margaret Mary Cunningham (1694–1754), both born in Ireland and died in Virginia
  - James Houston died in Ireland
  - Robert H. Houston (1720–1760), born in Ireland, died in Virginia m.Margaret Dunlap Davidson (b. 1720)
    - John Huston m. Anna Logan
    - Samuel Davidson Houston (1745–1807) m. Elizabeth Blair Paxton (1757–1831)
      - Paxton Houston
      - Robert Houston
      - James Houston m. Rebecca G. Herndon
      - John Houston
      - Sam Houston (1793–1863)
        m. Eliza Allen (m. 1829 div. 1837)
        
        m. Tiana "Diana" (Rogers) Gentry (m. 1830) (died 1838)
        
        m. Margaret Moffette Lea (1819–1867)^{[lower-roman 1]} m. (May 9, 1840 - his death)
        Sam Houston Jr., MD (1843–1894)^{[lower-roman 2]} m. Lucy Anderson (1845–1886)^{[lower-roman 3]}
        Henry Howard Houston (b. 1871)^{[lower-roman 4]}
        
        Margaret Bell Houston (1876–1966)^{[lower-roman 4]}
        
        Nellie Houston (1879–1882)^{[lower-roman 4]}
        
        John Houston (b. 1880)^{[lower-roman 4]}
        
        Harry Howard Houston (1883–1935)^{[lower-roman 4]}
        
        Nancy "Nannie" Elizabeth (1846–1920)^{[lower-roman 2]} m. Joseph Clay Stiles Morrow (1839–1925)^{[lower-roman 3]}
        Margaret Houston Morrow (1867–1948) m. Robert Alexander John (1864–1933)^{[lower-roman 5]}
        Jean Houston John (b.1891) m. Franklin T. Baldwin (b.1889)
        Jean Houston Baldwin (1916–2002) m. Governor Price Daniel (1910–1988)^{[lower-roman 6]}
        Price Daniel, Jr. (1941–1981) Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives 1973–1975^{[lower-roman 7]}
        
        Emily Preston Morrow (1869–1892)^{[lower-roman 5]}
        
        Jennie Belle Morrow (1871–1977)^{[lower-roman 5]}
        
        Preston Morrow (1875–1909)^{[lower-roman 5]}
        
        Temple Houston Morrow (1878–1966)^{[lower-roman 5]}
        
        Elizabeth Paxton Morrow (1886–1906)^{[lower-roman 5]}
        
        Margaret Lea Houston (1848–1906)^{[lower-roman 2]} m. Captain Weston Lafayette Williams (1835–1899)^{[lower-roman 3]}
        Houston Williams (1869–1931)^{[lower-roman 8]}
        
        Margaret Madge Williams (1872–1955)^{[lower-roman 8]}
        
        Franklin W. Williams (b. 1874)^{[lower-roman 8]}
        
        James Royston Williams (1877–1953) ^{[lower-roman 8]}
        
        Marian Lee Williams (b. 1880)^{[lower-roman 8]}
        
        Mary William Houston (1850–1931)^{[lower-roman 2]} m. John Simeon Morrow (1840–1886) ^{[lower-roman 3]}
        John Houston Morrow (1871–1916)^{[lower-roman 9]}
        
        Andrew Morrow (1875–1881)^{[lower-roman 9]}
        
        Jesse Morrow (b.1876)^{[lower-roman 9]}
        
        Jessie Lea Morrow (1885–1975)^{[lower-roman 9]}
        
        Maude Louise Morrow (1883–1957)^{[lower-roman 9]}
        
        Antoinette Power Houston (1852–1932)^{[lower-roman 2]} m. Dr. William S. Lorraine Bringhurst (1844–1913)^{[lower-roman 3]}
        Antoinette Bush Bringhurst (b.1850)^{[lower-roman 10]}
        
        Sam Houston Bringhurst (b.1874)^{[lower-roman 10]}
        
        C.M. Bringhurst (1880–1900)^{[lower-roman 10]}
        
        William Stuart Bringhurst (b.1885)^{[lower-roman 10]}
        
        Nettie Houston Bringhurst (1887–1935)^{[lower-roman 10]}
        
        Andrew Jackson Houston (1854–1941)^{[lower-roman 2]} United States Senator
        m. Carrie Glenn Purnell (1858–1884)^{[lower-roman 3]}
        Ariadne T. Houston (1979–1969)^{[lower-roman 11]}
        
        Margaret Houston (1882–1943)^{[lower-roman 11]}
        
        Carrie Marie Houston (1883–1893)^{[lower-roman 11]}
        
        m. Elizabeth Hart Good (1864–1907)^{[lower-roman 3]}
        Josephine Anna Houston (1889–1914)^{[lower-roman 12]}
        
        William Rogers Houston (1858–1920)^{[lower-roman 2]}
        
        Temple Lea Houston (1860–1905)^{[lower-roman 2]}, Texas state senator 1885–1888 m. Laura Cross (1863–1938)^{[lower-roman 3]}
        Temple Lea Houston Jr. (1884–1920)^{[lower-roman 13]}
        
        Louise Houston (1885–1887)^{[lower-roman 13]}
        
        Samuel Houston III (1892–1952)^{[lower-roman 13]}
        
        Richard Caldon Houston (1895–1974)^{[lower-roman 13]}
        
        Mary Houston (1898–1977)^{[lower-roman 13]}
      - William Houston m. Mary Ball
      - Isabella Houston
      - Mary Houston
        m. Col. Matthew Wallace
        
        m. Gen. William Wallace
      - Eliza Houston m. Samuel Moore
    - Bettie Houston m. James McClung
    - Margaret Houston
    - Esther Houston
    - Mary Houston
  - Isabelia Houston
  - Esther Houston
  - John Houston
  - Samuel Houston
  - Mathew Houston

Notes

↑ Married Samuel Houston (SR staff 2013, 1st gen).
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Child of Samuel and Margaret Houston (SR staff 2013, 1st gen).
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Married (SR staff 2013, 2nd gen).
1 2 3 4 5 Child of Sam and Lucy (SR staff 2013, 2nd gen).
1 2 3 4 5 6 Child of Nancy and Joseph (SR staff 2013, 2nd gen).
↑ "Jean Houston Baldwin Daniel". Dress Collection. TWU. Retrieved March 11, 2016.
↑ Daniel, Murph. "Marion Price Daniel, Jr.". Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved March 11, 2016.
1 2 3 4 5 Child of Margaret and Weston (SR staff 2013, 2nd gen).
1 2 3 4 5 Child of Mary and John (SR staff 2013, 2nd gen).
1 2 3 4 5 Child of Antoinette and William (SR staff 2013, 2nd gen).
1 2 3 Child of Andrew and Carrie (SR staff 2013, 2nd gen).
↑ Child of Andrew and Elizabeth (SR staff 2013, 2nd gen).
1 2 3 4 5 Child of Temple and Laura (SR staff 2013, 2nd gen).

SOURCE: Genealogy of the Houston and Lea families, and descendants of Sam and Margaret Houston is documented here:

Roberts, Madge Thornall (1993). Star of Destiny: The Private Life of Sam and Margaret Houston. Denton, TX: University of North Texas Press – via Questia (subscription required) . ISBN 0-929398-51-3.

Appendix B - DESCENDANTS OF SAM AND MARGARET HOUSTON (pp. 373-379)
Appendix C - GENEALOGY OF THE LEA AND HOUSTON FAMILIES (pp. 380-382)

References

SR staff (26 November 2013), "Samuel Houston Family Tree", Star of the Republic Museum (Blinn College), retrieved 21 April 2015 Generations: First and Second.

Footnotes

↑ David G. Burnet was the first president of the Republic of Texas, serving on an interim basis March 18 – October 22, 1836, while Sam Houston led the army against the Mexican forces.^[1] After Houston's capture of Santa Anna, elections were held in the Republic and he became the first elected president of the Republic and later the third president. After Texas was annexed by the United States, Sam Houston became a United States senator from Texas, and was later elected as the state's seventh governor.^[2]

References

↑ "A Guide to the David Gouverneur Burnet Papers, 1798–1965". Briscoe Center for American History. Retrieved 6 August 2014.
↑ Kreneck, Thomas H. "Sam Houston". Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved 6 August 2014.
1 2 3 4 5 Anderson, H. Allen. "Temple Lea Houston". Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved 2 March 2012.
↑ Texas Capitol Building Dedication, Texas Bob website
↑ William T. Hagan, Charles Goodnight: Father of the Texas Panhandle (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2007) , pp. 89–90
1 2 Billy Hathorn, "Roy Bean, Temple Houston, Bill Longley, Ranald Mackenzie, Buffalo Bill, Jr., and the Texas Rangers: Depictions of West Texans in Series Television, 1955 to 1967", West Texas Historical Review, Vol. 89 (2013), pp. 106–109
↑ ""The Reluctant Gun", Death Valley Days, December 26, 1959". Internet Movie Data Base. Retrieved May 8, 2014.
↑ "Temple Houston: The Story Behind a Forgotten Television Western", Wildest Westerns website

External links

Houston Family Papers, 1836–1969 and undated, in the Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library, Texas Tech University
Beth Ann Doughty, "Houston, Temple", Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture

Temple Lea Houston at Find a Grave

Preceded by Avery Matlock	Texas State Senator from District 19 (then 26 unorganized counties in the Panhandle based in Mobeetie) Temple Lea Houston 1885–1889	Succeeded by John Hall Stephens

Authority control	WorldCat Identities VIAF: 25889942

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