James H. Washington (May 1850 – December 23, 1916) was a school principal and state legislator in Texas. Washington was born in

Fredericksburg, Virginia Fredericksburg is an independent city located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 27,982. The Bureau of Economic Analysis of the United States Department of Commerce combines the city of Fredericksburg wi ...

. He graduated from school at

Oberlin College Oberlin College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Oberlin, Ohio. It is the oldest Mixed-sex education, coeducational liberal arts college in the United S ...

Oberlin, Ohio Oberlin is a city in Lorain County, Ohio, United States, 31 miles southwest of Cleveland. Oberlin is the home of Oberlin College, a liberal arts college and music conservatory with approximately 3,000 students. The town is the birthplace of the ...

(

Oberlin Academy Oberlin Academy Preparatory School, originally Oberlin Institute and then Preparatory Department of Oberlin College, was a private preparatory school in Oberlin, Ohio which operated from 1833 until 1916. It opened as Oberlin Institute which beca ...

), and moved to Washington, D.C., with his family. He moved to Texas in the early 1870s, settling in

Navasota Navasota is a city in Grimes County, Texas, Grimes County, Texas, United States. The population was 7,643 at the 2020 census. In 2005, the Texas Legislature designated Navasota as the "Blues Capital of Texas" in honor of the late Mance Lipscomb, ...

where was the principal at a city school for African Americans. He represented

Grimes County Grimes County is a county located in southeastern Texas in the United States. As of the 2020 census, its population was 29,268. The seat of the county is Anderson. The county was formed from Montgomery County in 1846. It is named for Jesse Gr ...

in the Texas House of Representatives during the Thirteenth Texas Legislature. He served from 1873 to 1874, taking office after his contested election was resolved He was a Republican who attended state party conventions in 1872, 1873, 1884, 1888, and 1890. He was part of the Colored Men's Convention of 1873. Washington served in the Thirteenth Legislature in Texas as a representative of Grimes County, Texas. He married Mary F. Campbell in 1873 and they had one daughter. She was the daughter of Baptist missionary Israel S. Campbell. Washington moved to Galveston in 1874 and served on the city council, as an alderman from the Eighth Ward, and was an inspector of customs.

References

1850 births 1916 deaths Politicians from Fredericksburg, Virginia Oberlin College alumni People from Navasota, Texas African-American state legislators in Texas African-American politicians during the Reconstruction Era Politicians from Galveston, Texas Schoolteachers from Texas 19th-century American educators African-American schoolteachers American school principals Texas city council members 19th-century American legislators {{Texas-politician-stub

See also

References