Fletcher Summerfield Stockdale (c. 1823 – 4 February 1890) was an American politician, lawyer, and railroad official who served as Acting

Governor of Texas The governor of Texas heads the state government of Texas. The governor is the leader of the executive and legislative branch of the state government and is the commander in chief of the Texas Military. The current governor is Greg Abbott, who ...

and

Lieutenant Governor of Texas The lieutenant governor of Texas is the second-highest executive office in the government of Texas, a state in the U.S. It is the second most powerful post in Texas government because its occupant controls the work of the Texas Senate and control ...

Early life

Stockdale was born in either 1823 or 1825 in

Russellville, Kentucky Russellville is a home rule-class city in Logan County, Kentucky, in the United States. It is the seat of its county. The population was 6,960 at the time of the 2010 census. History Local historian Alex C. Finley has claimed the area was firs ...

as one of eight children of Thomas W. and Laurinda Stockdale.

Political career

He studied law and was admitted to the

Bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

. Stockdale moved to Texas in 1846 and settled in

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 ...

. By 1856, Stockdale had moved to

Calhoun County Calhoun County is the name of several counties in the United States of America named after U.S. Vice President John C. Calhoun: * Calhoun County, Alabama * Calhoun County, Arkansas * Calhoun County, Florida * Calhoun County, Georgia * Calhoun Count ...

, which he represented in the

Texas Senate The Texas Senate ( es, Senado de Texas) is the upper house of the Texas State Legislature. There are 31 members of the Senate, representing single-member districts across the U.S. state of Texas, with populations of approximately 806,000 per cons ...

from 1857 to 1861. Stockdale was an executive member of the 1861 Secession Convention that was held in

Austin Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

. During 1862 and 1863 he held the position of aide to Governor Francis R. Lubbock.

Political executive

He was elected

Lieutenant Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

in 1863, and served in that post until late May 1865 when he became the

acting Acting is an activity in which a story is told by means of its enactment by an actor or actress who adopts a character—in theatre, television, film, radio, or any other medium that makes use of the mimetic mode. Acting involves a broad r ...

after then-

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Pendleton Murrah Pendleton Murrah (1824/1826August 4, 1865) was the tenth Governor of Texas. His term in office coincided with the American Civil War. Career Murrah's birth date and birth location vary from source to source. Some have him born in 1824; others ...

fled to

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. Stockdale filled the vacant post of Governor for three months until provisional governor

Andrew J. Hamilton Andrew Jackson Hamilton (January 28, 1815 – April 11, 1875) was an American politician during the third quarter of the 19th century. He was a lawyer, state representative, military governor of Texas, as well as the 11th Governor of Texas during ...

assumed office in August 1865."STOCKDALE, FLETCHER SUMMERFIELD," Handbook of Texas Onlin

accessed January 27, 2013. Published by the Texas State Historical Association. Stockdale had served Texas during very troubling times. Lawlessness, Native Americans in the United States, Indian attacks, and severe deterioration of the government 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 th ...

had plagued his 18-month tenure as a political executive in Texas. Stockdale was again a member of the

Texas State Senate The Texas Senate ( es, Senado de Texas) is the upper house of the Texas State Legislature. There are 31 members of the Senate, representing single-member districts across the U.S. state of Texas, with populations of approximately 806,000 per cons ...

in 1868. In 1875, during the Texas Constitutional Convention, he served on the committees of judiciary & land grants and participated in various debates to establish a free public school system in Texas. He served as a delegate to the national Democratic conventions of 1872, 1876, and 1880. Stockdale was selected as one of the Texas Democratic convention's vice presidents of 1873. In 1876, 1882 and 1888, Stockdale was a member of the committee on resolutions and platforms at the Texas Democratic convention, where he chaired the committee in 1876.

Railroad official

In the late 1860s, Stockdale served as president of the

Indianola Railroad Indianola may refer to: Places in the United States * Indianola, California (disambiguation) ** Indianola (Eureka), California * Indianola, Florida * Indianola, Georgia * Indianola, Illinois * Indianola, Iowa * Indianola, Kansas, a former settleme ...

and promoted the development of refrigerated cars for carrying

beef Beef is the culinary name for meat from cattle (''Bos taurus''). In prehistoric times, humankind hunted aurochs and later domesticated them. Since that time, numerous breeds of cattle have been bred specifically for the quality or quantity ...

to markets.

Later life and family

Stockdale's first wife, Elizabeth Pryor Bankhead Lytle, died on April 17, 1865. Stockdale married his second wife, Elizabeth Schleicher, the daughter of Texas politician

Gustav Schleicher Gustav Schleicher (sometimes spelled Gustave) (November 19, 1823 – January 10, 1879) was a German-born Democratic United States Representative from Texas. He was an engineer who served briefly in the Texas legislature, and was a veteran ...

, on July 11, 1877 in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

They had three children. They resided in

Cuero, Texas Cuero ( ) is a city in and the county seat of DeWitt County, Texas, DeWitt County, Texas, United States. Its population was 8,128 at the 2020 census. History The city of Cuero had its start in the mid-19th century as a stopping point on the Chisho ...

, until his death on February 4, 1890.Texas Legislative Reference Library
/ref>

Legacy

Stockdale, Texas Stockdale is a city in Wilson County, Texas, United States. The population was 1,413 at the 2020 census. It is part of the San Antonio Metropolitan Statistical Area. History Previously an area named High Prairie, Free Timber and Bunker's Store, S ...

, in

Wilson County Wilson County is the name of four counties in the United States: *Wilson County, Kansas *Wilson County, North Carolina *Wilson County, Tennessee *Wilson County, Texas Wilson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 202 ...

was named in his honor.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Stockdale, Fletcher 1823 births 1890 deaths 19th-century American politicians 19th-century American railroad executives Democratic Party governors of Texas Lieutenant Governors of Texas People from Grimes County, Texas People from Calhoun County, Texas People from Cuero, Texas Democratic Party Texas state senators People from Victoria, Texas People from Russellville, Kentucky