Charles Gradison Keenan (1813–1870) was a politician and physician in early statehood Texas who served as
Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives during the
Third Texas Legislature.
Keenan was born 28 February 1813 in
Giles County, Tennessee, to Leanna (McCormick) and John Keenan. John Keenan was the first treasurer of
Walker County, Texas while Charles Keenan was the first physician in
Huntsville, Texas. Charles Keenan was a
United States Army surgeon in the
Indian campaigns
The American Indian Wars, also known as the American Frontier Wars, and the Indian Wars, were fought by European governments and colonists in North America, and later by the United States and Canadian governments and American and Canadian settle ...
before arriving in Texas.
Keenan served on the first board of trustees of the Andrews Female Academy. He was a founding member of the Forest Masonic Lodge in Huntsville. He also served as grand junior warden in the Grand Lodge in 1850, and for ten years was grand treasurer of the Texas Grand Chapter of York Rite Masons.
Keenan was elected to the
Texas House of Representatives of the
First,
Second
The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds ...
, and
Third Texas Legislatures. In the Third Legislature, Keenan was nominated for
Speaker of the House
The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, is its presiding officer, or the chair. The title was first used in 1377 in England.
Usage
The title was first recorded in 1377 to describe the role of Thomas de Hunger ...
and defeated
Edward H. Tarrant, 27 votes to 16.
Keenan unsuccessfully ran for
lieutenant governor
A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...
in 1851, and afterwards was a superintendent of the
State Asylum for the Insane.
Keenan died 15 June 1870 in Huntsville.
Notes
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Keenan, Charles G.
1811 births
1870 deaths
Speakers of the Texas House of Representatives
Physicians from Texas
19th-century American politicians
People from Huntsville, Texas