Franklin Barlow Sexton (April 29, 1828 – May 15, 1900) was a politician from

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

who served in the

Confederate Congress The Confederate States Congress was both the provisional and permanent legislative assembly of the Confederate States of America that existed from 1861 to 1865. Its actions were for the most part concerned with measures to establish a new na ...

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 ...

. Sexton was born in

New Harmony, Indiana New Harmony is a historic town on the Wabash River in Harmony Township, Posey County, Indiana. It lies north of Mount Vernon, the county seat, and is part of the Evansville metropolitan area. The town's population was 789 at the 2010 census. ...

, in rural

Posey County Posey may refer to: Places * Posey, California * Posey, Illinois * Posey, Texas * Posey, West Virginia * Posey County, Indiana * Posey Township, Indiana (disambiguation) People * Posey (Paiute) (1860s–1923), Paiute chief * Posey (surnam ...

, the only child of Dr. and Mrs. Samuel Sexton. In 1838, the family moved from Indiana and resettled in

San Augustine, Texas San Augustine is the county seat city of San Augustine County, Texas, in East Texas, United States. The population was at the 2020 census. History The first European settlement in the area began in 1717 with the establishment of Mission Nuestra ...

. There, his father died when Franklin was 13 years old. Sexton briefly served as an apprentice to a local printer, and then enrolled in the local Methodist academy (Wesleyan College) and studied law. He was granted his license to practice law in 1848 by special legislative action. He established a legal practice in San Augustine and became active in local political circles. In 1852, he married Eliza Richardson, daughter of a prominent Sabine County landowner. The couple had 12 children. Sexton became a member of the Freemason movement, serving in 1856 as Grand Master. In April 1860, Sexton was elected as president of the Texas State Democratic Convention. He presided over the convention, which passed resolutions regarding

states rights In American political discourse, states' rights are political powers held for the state governments rather than the federal government according to the United States Constitution, reflecting especially the enumerated powers of Congress and the ...

and reaffirming the institution of

slavery Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

. The following year, with the outbreak of the Civil War and Texas's

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 ...

, Sexton briefly joined 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 ...

, but resigned after being elected to fill a vacancy in the State Senate. In 1862, he was elected to the

First Confederate Congress The 1st Confederate States Congress, consisting of the Confederate States Senate and the Confederate States House of Representatives, met from February 18, 1862, to February 17, 1864, during the first two years of Jefferson Davis's presidency, a ...

as a representative from Texas's 4th District and left home in July to travel to Richmond, Virginia, to assume his duties, arriving in mid-August. He worked with the War Department to improve the conditions of the average soldier in the field. Sexton was reelected to a second term in 1863, serving until the fall of the Confederacy in the spring of 1865 and the dissolution of the Congress. He was one of only two Texans to be elected to both terms. Returning to San Augustine after the war, Sexton resumed his legal practice and involvement with the Masons. In 1870, served as Grand Commander of the Knights Templar of Texas. He moved his family to

Marshall, Texas Marshall is a city in the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat of Harrison County and a cultural and educational center of the Ark-La-Tex region. At the 2020 U.S. census, the population of Marshall was 23,392; The population of the Greater ...

, in 1872 and established a profitable practice there representing the railroad. When the state authorized construction of a new Capitol building in Austin, Sexton was selected to deliver an address at the ceremony for the laying of the cornerstone. He was a delegate to the 1876 Democratic National Convention in

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

, where he made an impassioned speech supporting Samuel J. Tilden. After his wife died, Sexton moved in with one of his daughters at

El Paso El Paso (; "the pass") is a city in and the seat of El Paso County in the western corner of the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 population of the city from the U.S. Census Bureau was 678,815, making it the 23rd-largest city in the U.S., the s ...

. He was appointed a judge on the state Supreme Court and later served as a United States commissioner. Sexton died in El Paso and was buried in

. In 1923, Sexton's diary recording his first two years in the

was discovered, providing a rare glimpse into the inner workings of that body.

References

Mary S. Estill, F. B. Sexton, "Diary of a Confederate Congressman, 1862-1863", Volume 38, Number 4, Southwestern Historical Quarterly Online, Handbook of Texas Online

Biography at Handbook of Texas Online
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sexton, Franklin 1828 births 1900 deaths Texas state senators Members of the Confederate House of Representatives from Texas 19th-century American legislators People from New Harmony, Indiana People from San Augustine, Texas People from Marshall, Texas