William Blassingame (born January 13, 1836) was an American politician serving in the

Texas legislature The Texas Legislature is the state legislature of the US state of Texas. It is a bicameral body composed of a 31-member Senate and a 150-member House of Representatives. The state legislature meets at the Capitol in Austin. It is a powerful ...

and as a delegate to the Texas Constitutional Convention of 1875. He was born to William Blassingame and Mary Earl Prince. He is not to be confused with a William Blassingame in the 1830s who was a sheriff in

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

and

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

. At age 25, he enlisted as a private in 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 ...

in 1861 and was an assistant surgeon in General

Benjamin McCulloch Brigadier-General Benjamin McCulloch (November 11, 1811 – March 7, 1862) was a soldier in the Texas Revolution, a Texas Ranger, a major-general in the Texas militia and thereafter a major in the United States Army (United States Volunteers) ...

's Missouri campaign. After the war, he moved to Texas from

Versailles, Missouri Versailles is a city in Morgan County, Missouri, United States. The population was 2,482 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Morgan County. Locally, the town's name is pronounced “Ver-sails”, rather than “Ver-seye,” as in the Fr ...

and where he settled in

Whitesboro, Texas Whitesboro is a city in Grayson County, Texas, United States. The population was 3,793 at the 2010 census. Whitesboro is named for its founder, Ambrose B. White. It is part of the Sherman-Denison metropolitan area. History The area was once kn ...

with his wife, where he started his medical practice and occasionally farmed. In February 1876, he ran for Senate as a Democrat against the Republican Dr. Alexander Marshall, who had previously served a term in the Sixteenth Legislature, and Blassingame won by 1,000 votes more. In 1876, he also started as a member of the Fifteenth Legislature, covering Grayson County and Cooke County. He was also one of five medical doctors part of the Texas Senate when he was elected as a

senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

to the

Sixteenth Texas Legislature The 16th Texas Legislature met from January 14 to July 9, 1879 in its regular session and one called session. All members of the House of Representatives and about half of the members of the Senate were elected in 1878 General Election. Sessions ...

in 1879 as a Grange delegate and previously had served as a delegate to the Constitutional Convention of 1875 as well as being a signer of the resulting constitution. At both the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Legislature, he represented the 11th district both times. He is buried in the Blassingame family cemetery in Sandusky, Texas near Frisco.

References

External links

Journal of Dr William Blassingame, Grayson County, Texas
1836 births Year of death missing Politicians from Greenville, South Carolina Texas state senators People from Whitesboro, Texas {{Texas-politician-stub