8th Texas Legislature
The Eighth Texas Legislature met from 7 November 1859 to 9 April 1861 in its regular session, a first called session, and an adjourned session. All members of the House of Representatives and about half of the members of the Senate were elected in 1859.
Sessions
- 8th Regular session: 7 November 1859–13 February 1860
- 8th First called session: 21 January–9 February 1861
- 8th Adjourned session: 18 March–9 April 1861
Party summary
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Officers
Senate
- Lieutenant Governor
- Edward Clark, Democrat
- President pro tempore
- Jesse Grimes, Democrat, Regular session
House of Representatives
- Speaker of the House
- M. D. K. Taylor, Democrat
Members
Members of the Eighth Texas Legislature at the beginning of the regular session, 7 November 1859:
Senate
| District | Senator | Party | Took office |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | James W. Sims | Democrat | 1859 |
| 2 | Lewis G. Harmon | Democrat | 1859 |
| 3 | Martin D. Hart | Democrat | 1859 |
| 4 | James W. Throckmorton | Democrat | 1857 |
| 5 | Albert G. Walker | Democrat | 1857 (First time: 1849–1851) |
| 6 | Emory Rains | Democrat | 1859 |
| 7 | John G. Chambers | Democrat | 1859 |
| 8 | Louis T. Wigfall | Democrat | 1857 |
| 9 | Jesse H. Parsons | Democrat | 1859 |
| 10 | Elisha Everett Lott | Democrat | 1853 |
| 11 | Robert Henry Guinn | Democrat | 1853 |
| 12 | Alexis T. Rainey | Democrat | 1859 |
| 13 | John N. Fall | Democrat | 1857 |
| 14 | John R. Dickinson | Democrat | 1859 |
| 15 | Henry C. Wallace | Democrat | 1859 |
| 16 | Enoch S. Pitts | Democrat | 1859 |
| 17 | Mark M. Potter | Democrat | 1851 |
| 18 | Abram Morris Gentry | Democrat | 1859 |
| 19 | Jesse Grimes | Democrat | 1855 (First time: 1846–1853) |
| 20 | Chauncey Berkeley Shepard | Democrat | 1857 |
| 21 | David M. Whaley | Democrat | 1858 |
| 22 | Francis Marion Martin | Democrat | 1859 |
| 23 | George Bernard Erath | Democrat | 1857 |
| 24 | George E. Quinan | Democrat | 1857 |
| 25 | Eggleston D. Townes | Democrat | 1859 |
| 26 | Fletcher S. Stockdale | Democrat | 1857 |
| 27 | Thomas Hinds Duggan | Democrat | 1859 (First time: 1851–1853) |
| 28 | Edwin B. Scarborough | Democrat | 1853 |
| 29 | Forbes Britton | Democrat | 1857 |
| 30 | Isaiah Addison Paschal | Democrat | 1857 (First time: 1853–1855) |
| 31 | Gustav Schleicher | Democrat | 1859 |
| 32 | Claiborne C. Herbert | Democrat | 1857 |
| 33 | Archibald C. Hyde | Democrat | 1857 |
House of Representatives
 |
- Basilio Benavides
- Anthony Martin Branch
- Kindallis Bryan
- Constantine W. Buckley
- William Clark
- David B. Culberson
- Nicholas Henry Darnell
- Isaac N. Dennis
- David Catchings Dickson
- Edward Dougherty
- Foscue
- James Carlton Francis
- Benjamin Cromwell Franklin
- De Witt Clinton Fort
- Lindsay Hagler, San Patricio County
- James Marshall Harrison
- J. W. Henderson
- Alfred Marmaduke Hobby
- Richard Bennett Hubbard, Jr.
- Henry Lawrence Kinney
- Francis J. Lynch
- John Haywood Manley
- Samuel Maverick
- John N. McClarty
- George McKnight
- Roger Q. Mills
- William Wright Morris
- Titus H. Mundine
- José Ángel Navarro
- Allison Nelson
- Benjamin F. Parker
- Samuel Redgate
- Joel Walter Robison
- Shelton
- Daniel McDowell Short
- John Dennis Stell
- M. D. K. Taylor
- Robert H. Taylor
- Robert J. Townes
- Jacob Waelder
- Charles A. Warfield
- George Washington Whitmore
- William Amos Wortham
- Friedrich Wilhelm von Wrede, Jr.
Membership changes
Senate
| District | Outgoing Senator |
Reason for Vacancy | Successor | Date of Successor's Installation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| District 3 | Martin D. Hart | Hart resigned 26 February 1861. | Turner L. Greene | Unknown |
| District 8 | Louis T. Wigfall | Wigfall announced his resignation on 7 December 1859. | E. A. Blanch | 14 January 1860 |
| District 9 | Jesse H. Parsons | Parsons resigned after the adjourned session. | None | |
| District 12 | Alexis T. Rainey | Rainey resigned after the regular session. | Steward Alexander Miller | 21 January 1861 |
| District 14 | John R. Dickinson | Dickinson resigned after the regular session. | Henry P. C. Dulany | 26 January 1861 |
| District 15 | Henry C. Wallace | Wallace resigned 4 January 1861. | Franklin Barlow Sexton | None[1] |
| District 15 | Franklin Barlow Sexton | Sexton did not appear. | None[2] | |
| District 25 | Eggleston D. Townes | Townes resigned 13 March 1861. | Nathan George Shelley[3] | 4 November 1861 |
| District 29 | Forbes Britton | Britton died 14 Feb 1861. | Benjamin Franklin Neal | 19 March 1861 |
| District 30 | Isaiah Addison Paschal | Paschal resigned 29 March 1861. | Unknown | Unknown |
- ^ District 15: Sexton did not return from Confederate States Army service in time to meet with the legislature.
- ^ District 25: Shelley elected in special election held 25 March 1861 and sworn in with the Ninth Texas Legislature.
House of Representatives
| District | Outgoing Representative |
Reason for Vacancy | Successor | Date of Successor's Installation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| District 22 | John N. McClarty | McClarty resigned after the regular session. | William Wright Morris | 22 January 1861 |
| District 65 | Henry Lawrence Kinney | Kinney was opposed to secession and resigned 9 February 1861. | Alfred Marmaduke Hobby | 19 March 1861 |
External links
- Texas Legislature Online
- Texas Senate
- Texas House of Representatives
- Election Results from the Office of the Secretary of State
- Legislative Reference Library
