David Browning Culberson (September 29, 1830 – May 7, 1900) was a

Confederate Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...

soldier, a Democratic

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

from

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

and Chairman of the

House Judiciary Committee The U.S. House Committee on the Judiciary, also called the House Judiciary Committee, is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. It is charged with overseeing the administration of justice within the federal courts, a ...

Early years

Culberson was born in

Troup County, Georgia Troup County (pronounced ) is a county located in the west central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 69,426.US Census Bureau, 2020 Report, Troup County, Georgia The county seat is LaGrange. Troup ...

, on September 29, 1830, the son of David B. and Lucy (Wilkerson) Culberson. After leaving Brownwood Institute in La Grange, Georgia, he

read law Reading law was the method used in common law countries, particularly the United States, for people to prepare for and enter the legal profession before the advent of law schools. It consisted of an extended internship or apprenticeship under the ...

Tuskegee, Alabama Tuskegee () is a city in Macon County, Alabama, United States. It was founded and laid out in 1833 by General Thomas Simpson Woodward, a Creek War veteran under Andrew Jackson, and made the county seat that year. It was incorporated in 1843. ...

, in the school of

William P. Chilton William Parish Chilton (August 10, 1810 – January 20, 1871) was an American politician and author who served as a Deputy from Alabama to the Provisional Congress of the Confederate States from 1861 to 1862. Early life Called Will Chilton, he ...

, Chief Justice of Alabama. He was admitted to the bar in 1850 and began practice in

Dadeville, Alabama Dadeville is a city in and the county seat of Tallapoosa County, Alabama, United States. At the 2010 census the population was 3,230, up from 3,212 in 2000. History Dadeville was named for Major Francis Langhorne Dade, who died in the Seminole ...

. In 1856, he moved to Texas and settled in Upshur County, where he practiced law in partnership with Gen. Hinche P. Mabry until 1861, when he moved to nearby

Jefferson, Texas Jefferson is a city in Marion County, Texas, Marion County, in the U.S. state of Texas's Northeast Texas, northeastern region. With a population of 1,875 at the 2020 United States census, it is the county seat of Marion. History Almost every comm ...

. Handbook of Texas Online
/ref> On December 8, 1852, he married Eugenia Kimball; they had two sons, one of whom, Charles A. Culberson, became

Governor of Texas The governor of Texas heads the state government of Texas. The governor is the leader of the executive and legislative branch of the state government and is the commander in chief of the Texas Military. The current governor is Greg Abbott, who ...

and later U.S. Senator. Culberson was a Mason and an Odd Fellow.

Political career and military service

Culberson was a member of the

Texas Legislature The Texas Legislature is the state legislature of the US state of Texas. It is a bicameral body composed of a 31-member Senate and a 150-member House of Representatives. The state legislature meets at the Capitol in Austin. It is a powerful ...

from Upshur County during the 1859-60 session. Because Culberson opposed

secession Secession is the withdrawal of a group from a larger entity, especially a political entity, but also from any organization, union or military alliance. Some of the most famous and significant secessions have been: the former Soviet republics le ...

and his district favored it, he resigned his legislative seat. Despite his views on secession, when Texas did secede, Culberson raised the 18th Texas Infantry, and he became its commander with the rank of

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

. The 18th Infantry saw combat at Vicksburg in 1862-63, but Culberson's health deteriorated and he was assigned to Austin as

Adjutant General of Texas The adjutant general of Texas (TAG) is the commander and chief executive officer of the Texas Military Department, the executive department of the Texas Military Forces. The adjutant general's position of authority over Texas Military Forces is sec ...

. In 1864, he was elected to the legislature from Cass, Titus, and Bowie counties and resigned his military position to rejoin the legislature. As a prominent Jefferson lawyer he was one of the defense attorneys in the Stockade Case of 1869, and he helped defend accused murderer Abe Rothschild in the

Diamond Bessie Diamond Bessie (1854 - January 21, 1877) was the popular name given to Bessie Moore, née Annie Stone (although other sources give her birth name as Annie Moore), a prostitute whose murder in the woods outside Jefferson, Texas, propelled her to t ...

murder trial. He worked to obtain the acquittal for

treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...

of the then 16-year-old

William Jesse McDonald William Jesse "Bill" McDonald (September 28, 1852 – January 15, 1918) was a captain of the Texas Rangers.Weiss, Jr.; Jaratt 2019. In later life, he served as a bodyguard to United States presidents Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson ...

, then of Rusk County, the later Texas Ranger. Culberson attended the Democratic state convention in 1868 and served as a

presidential elector The United States Electoral College is the group of presidential electors required by the Constitution to form every four years for the sole purpose of appointing the president and vice president. Each state and the District of Columbia appo ...

in the Presidential Election of 1872 pledged to

Horace Greeley Horace Greeley (February 3, 1811 – November 29, 1872) was an American newspaper editor and publisher who was the founder and newspaper editor, editor of the ''New-York Tribune''. Long active in politics, he served briefly as a congressm ...

(who died before Texas' electoral votes could be cast) but casting his ballot ultimately for

Benjamin Gratz Brown Benjamin Gratz Brown (May 28, 1826December 13, 1885) was an American politician. He was a U.S. Senator, the 20th Governor of Missouri, and the Liberal Republican and Democratic Party vice presidential candidate in the presidential election of ...

. Culberson was elected to the State Senate in 1873 representing Marion, Cass and Bowie Counties. In 1874, he ran for Congress from the 2nd District of Texas, and won. The New Texas Handbook
/ref> He resigned his Senate seat to go to Washington.

In Congress

Culberson served in the United States House of Representatives from 1875–1897, supporting

prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic ...

and opposing federal interference in state government. In 1876, he favored the repeal of the Specie Act, and in 1888 he introduced antitrust legislation in Congress. He represented both the 2nd and later the 4th district and served as Chairman of the Judiciary Committee. Though in many ways, a populist himself, Culberson campaigned against the Populist Party which was quite strong in Texas in the 1890s. Culberson viewed them as a divisive force in state politics.

Final years

He was appointed by President

William McKinley William McKinley (January 29, 1843September 14, 1901) was the 25th president of the United States, serving from 1897 until his assassination in 1901. As a politician he led a realignment that made his Republican Party largely dominant in ...

on June 21, 1897, as one of the commissioners to codify the laws of the United States and served in this capacity until his death in Jefferson, Texas on May 7, 1900. He was interred in Jefferson.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Culberson, David B. 1830 births 1900 deaths People of Texas in the American Civil War Democratic Party Texas state senators Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Texas 19th-century American politicians Confederate States Army officers American lawyers admitted to the practice of law by reading law People from Troup County, Georgia People from Dadeville, Alabama People from Upshur County, Texas People from Jefferson, Texas Deans of the United States House of Representatives Military personnel from Texas