Dewitt Clinton Giddings (July 18, 1827 – August 19, 1903) served three non-consecutive terms in the

United States House of Representatives 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 house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

as a representative 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 ...

Early life

Dewitt Clinton Giddings was born July 18, 1827, in

Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania Susquehanna County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is part of Northeastern Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 38,434 Its county seat is Montrose. The county was created on February 21, 1810, from part ...

. He was the youngest of eight children of James and Lucy (Demming) Giddings. In addition to his brother, Jabez Demming Giddings, other of Giddings's brothers relocated from Pennsylvania to Texas. George Giddings and John James Giddings were successful operators of the

San Antonio, Texas ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...

Santa Fe, New Mexico Santa Fe ( ; , Spanish for 'Holy Faith'; tew, Oghá P'o'oge, Tewa for 'white shell water place'; tiw, Hulp'ó'ona, label=Tiwa language, Northern Tiwa; nv, Yootó, Navajo for 'bead + water place') is the capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico. ...

Mail Line. Giddings worked teaching school part-time to finance his education as a

civil engineer A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering – the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructure while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing ...

and later was employed as a

railroad engineer A train driver, engine driver, engineman or locomotive driver, commonly known as an engineer or railroad engineer in the United States and Canada, and also as a locomotive handler, locomotive operator, train operator, or motorman, is a pers ...

. He began his legal studies in Honesdale, Pennsylvania in 1850. When word reached home that Giddings's older brother, Giles, died of wounds received at the battle of San Jacinto, another brother, Jabez Demming Giddings, traveled to Texas to Claim Giles's land bounty. Giddings joined his brother in

Brenham, Texas Brenham ( ) is a city in east-central Texas in Washington County, United States, with a population of 17,369 according to the 2020 U.S. census. It is the county seat of Washington County. Washington County is known as the "Birthplace of Texas, ...

in 1852 and in 1853 was admitted to the Texas

bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...

. He was his brother's junior partner in a law practice in Brenham.

Military service

During the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

Giddings served as

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 ...

of the 21st Texas Cavalry Regiment in the

Confederate States Army The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighting ...

Public service

Giddings first served in the Forty-second Congress after a controversial election in which he defeated

William T. Clark William Thomas Clark (June 29, 1831 – October 12, 1905) was an American soldier and politician, serving as a general in the Union army during the American Civil War and as a postbellum U.S. Congressman. Birth and early years Clark was born ...

by 135 votes. Texas State Historical Association Suspected voting irregularities gave the House seat to Clark initially, but Giddings successfully contested the election and took his seat in Congress. Giddings was reelected to the Forty-third Congress (May 13, 1872 – March 4, 1875) and to the Forty-fifth Congress (March 4, 1877 – March 4, 1879).

Personal life

In 1860, he married Malinda C Lusk, daughter of Texas soldier and politician Samuel C. Lusk. Texas State Historical Association The couple had five children, three of which survived to adulthood, De Witt, May Belle and Lilian.

Death

On August 19, 1903, De Witt Clinton Giddings succumbed to heart disease and died in

. Texas State Historical Association He is buried along with his wife in Prairie Lea Cemetery in Brenham.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Giddings, Dewitt 1832 births 1892 deaths Texas lawyers Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Texas Northern-born Confederates 19th-century American politicians Confederate States Army officers People from Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania People of Texas in the American Civil War 19th-century American lawyers Military personnel from Pennsylvania