Sam Houston Terrell (February 20, 1891 – August 17, 1967) was
Texas State Comptroller from 1925 until 1930.
Early life
Terrell was born outside
Waco, Texas
Waco ( ) is the county seat of McLennan County, Texas, United States. It is situated along the Brazos River and I-35, halfway between Dallas and Austin. The city had a 2020 population of 138,486, making it the 22nd-most populous city in the st ...
on February 20, 1891. He was the son of
Henry Berryman Terrell and Virginia Weaver. His father served as Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts from 1915 - 1919. The Terrells were a large and active political family whose patriarch, and great-grandfather of Sam Houston Terrell,
George W. Terrell had served in numerous roles in the
Republic of Texas, including as
Secretary of State of the Republic of Texas and a Justice of the
Texas Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of Texas (SCOTX) is the 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 Texas Court of ...
.
Career in public service
Terrell was elected as a
Democrat
Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to:
Politics
*A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people.
*A member of a Democratic Party:
**Democratic Party (United States) (D)
**Democratic ...
to the office of Comptroller of Public Accounts in 1924. He was re-elected in 1926 and 1928. In 1929, the 41st Legislature created the first "State Auditor and Efficiency Expert" position in Texas state government. In 1930, the State Auditor filed his first report with the legislature and made strong allegations of misconduct against a number of state officials. Terrell was singled out for the most allegations with 24 specific violations of law identified, including inadequate and improper accounting, refusal to secure approval for accounts before presenting them to the State Treasurer for payment, and misappropriation of public funds. As the investigation unfolded in the legislature, pressure mounted on Terrell to resign, which he did on February 25, 1930.
[Texas Legislature, House of Representatives, Committee of the Whole in the Investigation of Charges Made in the House of Representatives Against S.H. Terrell, Comptroller: An Inventory of Proceedings at the Texas State Archives, 1930]
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Sources
{{DEFAULTSORT:Terrell, Sam Houston
1891 births
1967 deaths
Texas Democrats
People from Waco, Texas
Comptrollers of Texas