James Wilson Henderson (August 15, 1817 – August 30, 1880) was the fourth Governor of Texas from November 23, 1853, to December 21, 1853.

Biography

Born on August 15, 1817, in Sumner County,

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

, Henderson moved to

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

when he was 19 to join the struggle for independence, but he arrived too late to participate. He settled in Harris County and became the county surveyor, also studying law. In 1842, he enlisted in the Somervelle Expedition. In 1843, he was elected to the

Texas House of Representatives The Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Texas Legislature. It consists of 150 members who are elected from single-member districts for two-year terms. As of the 2010 United States census, each member represents abo ...

, and in 1847, became

Speaker of the House The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, is its presiding officer, or the chair. The title was first used in 1377 in England. Usage The title was first recorded in 1377 to describe the role of Thomas de Hungerf ...

. He was elected Lieutenant Governor on August 4, 1851, and was inaugurated on December 21. He became the fourth Governor of Texas on November 23, 1853, upon the resignation of his predecessor,

Peter Hansborough Bell Peter Hansborough Bell (May 11, 1810Various sources give multiple dates in May 1810 and May 1812 for Bell's birth. Bell's gravestone uses a May 1812 date.March 8, 1898) was an American military officer and politician who served as the third Gove ...

. Henderson served the last 28 days of Bell's term of office when Bell resigned to take the vacant seat in the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...

from the Western District of Texas. During the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

, he joined the Confederate Army as a captain. James W. Henderson died on August 30, 1880, at the age of 63 in

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...

and was buried in Glenwood Cemetery.

External links

* *
"Portraits of Texas Governors". Texas State Library and Archives Commission

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Henderson, James W. 1817 births 1880 deaths Burials at Glenwood Cemetery (Houston, Texas) Lieutenant Governors of Texas Democratic Party governors of Texas Speakers of the Texas House of Representatives Democratic Party members of the Texas House of Representatives 19th-century American politicians