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Oran Milo Roberts (July 9, 1815May 19, 1898), was the 17th Governor of Texas from January 21, 1879, to January 16, 1883. He was a member of the
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...
.
Roberts County, Texas Roberts County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 827, making it the seventh-least populous county in Texas. Its county seat is Miami, which is also the county's only incorporated community ...
, is named after him.


Early life

Roberts was born in Laurens District, South Carolina. He studied at the
University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and la ...
, graduated in 1836, and was admitted to the bar the following year. After serving a term in the Alabama legislature, he moved to
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 ...
, where he opened a successful law practice. In 1844, he was appointed a district attorney by Texas President
Sam Houston Samuel Houston (, ; March 2, 1793 – July 26, 1863) was an American general and statesman who played an important role in the Texas Revolution. He served as the first and third president of the Republic of Texas and was one of the first two i ...
. In 1846, after Texas had become a state, Roberts was appointed district judge by Governor
James Pinckney Henderson James Pinckney Henderson (March 31, 1808 – June 4, 1858) was an American and Republic of Texas lawyer, politician, and soldier, and the first governor of the State of Texas. Early years He was born in Lincolnton, North Carolina, on March 31, 1 ...
. He also served as president of the board and was a well-respected lecturer in law for the University of San Augustine. In 1856, Roberts ran for and won a position on the
Texas Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Texas (SCOTX) is the supreme court, court of last resort for civil matters (including juvenile delinquency cases, which are categorized as civil under the Texas Family Code) in the U.S. state of Texas. A different court, the ...
. He became a spokesman for states' rights, and when the secessionist crisis appeared in 1860, he was at the center of the pro-Confederate faction.


American Civil War

In January 1861 he was unanimously elected president of the Secession Convention in Austin, a meeting that he had been influential in calling. Along with his colleagues, Roberts led the passage of the ordinance removing Texas from the Union in 1861. In 1862 he resigned his seat on the bench and entered the
Confederate 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 ...
and was elected as colonel of the
11th Texas Infantry Regiment The 11th Texas Infantry Regiment was a unit of volunteers recruited in Texas that fought in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. The regiment organized in the winter of 1861–1862 and always served west of the Mississippi Ri ...
with which he served as part of the
Walker's Texas Division Walker's Greyhounds was the popular name for a division of the Confederate States Army under Major-General John George Walker, composed exclusively of units from Texas. It fought in the Western Theater and the Trans-Mississippi Department, gain ...
in the
Trans-Mississippi Department The Trans-Mississippi Department was a geographical subdivision of the Confederate States Army comprising Arkansas, Missouri, Texas, western Louisiana, Arizona Territory and the Indian Territory; i.e. all of the Confederacy west of the Mississ ...
during the greater part of the campaigns in Arkansas and Louisiana. In 1864, while he was with his command, Roberts was elected Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. He held the position until he was removed along with other state incumbents in 1865.


Postbellum

During
Reconstruction Reconstruction may refer to: Politics, history, and sociology *Reconstruction (law), the transfer of a company's (or several companies') business to a new company *'' Perestroika'' (Russian for "reconstruction"), a late 20th century Soviet Unio ...
, he was a delegate to the Constitutional Convention of 1866. Along with
David G. Burnet David Gouverneur Burnet (April 14, 1788 – December 5, 1870) was an early politician within the Republic of Texas, serving as interim President of Texas (1836 and again in 1841), Vice President of the Republic of Texas (1839–1841), and Se ...
, he was elected by the state legislature to the
US Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...
. However, as the
Reconstruction Act The Reconstruction Acts, or the Military Reconstruction Acts, (March 2, 1867, 14 Stat. 428-430, c.153; March 23, 1867, 15 Stat. 2-5, c.6; July 19, 1867, 15 Stat. 14-16, c.30; and March 11, 1868, 15 Stat. 41, c.25) were four statutes passed duri ...
has become law, the states were subject to military rule, and none of the delegations of the southern states was seated. Roberts eventually returned to
Gilmer, Texas Gilmer is a city in, and the county seat of, Upshur County, Texas. It is best known for being the home of the East Texas Yamboree and the birthplace of popular music singers Don Henley of the Eagles band and Johnny Mathis, as well as blues music ...
, where he opened a law school in 1868. Among his students were a future Texas Supreme Court justice, Sawnie Robertson, and a Dallas district judge, George N. Aldredge. Upon the ascension of the Democrats to power in Austin in 1874, Roberts was appointed by Governor
Richard Coke Richard Coke (March 18, 1829May 14, 1897) was an American lawyer and statesman from Waco, Texas. He was the 15th governor of Texas from 1874 to 1876 and was a US Senator from 1877 to 1895. His governorship is notable for reestablishing local ...
to his former position of Chief Justice of the Texas Supreme Court. Two years later, under the new Texas Constitution, he was elected to the same position. He served as chief justice for four years and was involved in rewriting much of Texas civil law. He resigned as Chief Justice after receiving a unanimous nomination from the Democratic Convention to run for governor. In 1878 he was elected governor of Texas and served two terms. He was elected governor of Texas on a platform of post-Reconstruction fiscal reform. His two gubernatorial terms were marked by a reduction in state expenditures. His plan for countering the high taxes and state debt of the Reconstruction years became known as "pay as you go." A major part of the plan involved the sale of public lands to finance the debt and to fund public schools. Though ultimately successful in both reducing the debt and increasing the public school fund, the decreased government appropriations under Roberts halted public school growth for a time. The present Capitol in Austin was contracted during Roberts's terms, and the cornerstone for the University of Texas was laid in 1882. Railroad mileage increased across West Texas, and the frontier became more secure. In 1883, just before Roberts's second term as governor was to end,
The University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...
opened in Austin. After his term, he was appointed professor of
law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...
, a position that he held for the next ten years. He was immensely influential in the state's legal profession. His impact on a generation of young attorneys was symbolized by the affectionate title "Old Alcalde" bestowed upon him by his students. In continuance of that legacy, the University of Texas named its alumni magazine "Alcalde" in his honor and, in 1963, built and named a residence hall after him. During his tenure at the university, Roberts wrote several professional works, among them a text, The Elements of Texas Pleading (1890), which was used for decades after his retirement from teaching. In 1893, he left the university and moved to Marble Falls, where he turned his attention to more general historical writings. Among his works were his essay ''The Political, Legislative, and Judicial History of Texas for its Fifty Years of Statehood, 1845–1895'', which was published in an early general history of the state, ''Comprehensive History of Texas, 1685 to 1897'' (1898), edited by Dudley G. Wooten; and chapters on Texas in volume eleven of C. A. Evans's ''Confederate Military History'' (1899). He participated in forming the
Texas State Historical Association The Texas State Historical Association (TSHA) is a non-profit educational organization, dedicated to documenting the history of Texas. It was founded in Austin, Texas, on March 2, 1897. , TSHA moved their offices from Austin to the University of N ...
and served as its first president.


Family

Roberts was married to Frances W. Edwards of
Ashville, Alabama Ashville is a city in and one of the county seats of St. Clair County, Alabama, United States, other seat being Pell City. Its population was 2,212 at the 2010 census, down from 2,260, at which time it was a town. It incorporated in 1822. Hist ...
, from 1837 until her death in 1883. They were the parents of seven children. In 1887 Roberts married Mrs. Catherine E. Border. He is buried at the Oakwood Cemetery in
Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...
.


Further reading

*
Texas, the Dark Corner of the Confederacy: Contemporary Accounts of the Lone Star State in the Civil War
'. U of Nebraska Press; 1994 [Retrieved 6 August 2017]. . pp. 235–237


External links

*
''Message of Gov. O. M. Roberts on appropriations and expenditures under the control of the governor to the seventeenth legislature of the state of Texas, convened at the city of Austin, in regular session, January 11, 1881.''
hosted by th
Portal to Texas History

Entry about Oran Milo Roberts
from th
''Biographical Encyclopedia of Texas''
published 1880, hosted by th
Portal to Texas History
* Sketch of
O. M. Roberts
fro
''A pictorial history of Texas, from the earliest visits of European adventurers, to A.D. 1879''
hosted by th
Portal to Texas History

Roberts Hall Dormitory
at the University of Texas. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Roberts, Oran Milo 1815 births 1898 deaths Democratic Party governors of Texas Justices of the Texas Supreme Court University of Texas at Austin faculty Burials at Oakwood Cemetery (Austin, Texas) University of Alabama alumni Democratic Party members of the Alabama House of Representatives Confederate States Army officers 19th-century American politicians 19th-century American judges Texas State Historical Association presidents Texas State Historical Association charter members