A doctor's son, James W. Throckmorton was born in Tennessee. He migrated with his parents to the Texas frontier in 1841 and settled near this site. At age 17, he became hunter and scout for his pioneer neighbors. He served in the Mexican War (1846-48). In 1848 he married Annie Rattan (1828-1895) and built a home near McKinney. Trained as a physician, Throckmorton disliked medicine and in 1851 entered law and politics. He served 1851-57 in the Texas Legislature, where he promoted railroad building. Later he became attorney for Texas and Pacific Railroad. He was state senator, 1857-61 and 1863-65. Although he upheld the right of secession, he was one of seven men who voted against Texas leaving the union at the Feb. 1861 Secession Convention. During the Civil War (1861-65), he fought in the Confederate Army. Elected governor in the summer of 1866, he grappled with postwar problems of frontier defense and federal military occupation. In July 1867 Gen. Philip H. Sheridan, commander of the 5th military district to which Texas was assigned, removed Throckmorton from office as an impediment to Reconstruction and named E.M. Pease provisional governor. Throckmorton continued his political career in the U.S. Congress, serving his North Texas district in 1875-79 and 1883-87. (1977)
This page last updated: 7/15/2008 |
Image Gallery
Governor James Webb Throckmorton (February 1, 1825-April 21, 1894) Historical Marker Location Map, McKinney, Texas
|
|
Related Themes: Texas C.S.A., Texas Confederate States of America, Confederacy
Explore other
Texas Confederate Historical Markers.
|
