Bridges history column: Throckmorton worked to defend, rebuild Texas as nation torn apart
James Throckmorton was a pioneer, doctor, lawyer, congressman, and governor. In spite of an impressive career, he often found himself caught between the great forces of history that were tearing the nation apart.
Throckmorton was born in 1825 in Sparta in central Tennessee. His father was a physician and moved often. Eventually, the Throckmortons made their way to Texas, and the family became early settlers of Collin County, settling not far from what is now Melissa in 1841 near the modern US Highway 75.
Throckmorton’s father died in 1842, and he had to help care for his seven brothers and sisters. Later, he went to Kentucky to study medicine. He returned to Texas in 1847 when the Mexican War erupted and served as an army surgeon. After the war, he established a successful medical practice in Collin County and helped establish a private school in Mantua. However, he grew disenchanted with medicine and turned to law.
He served three terms in the Texas House of Representatives from 1851 to 1857. While in the legislature, he focused on education and railroad development, two causes that would mark his career. In 1857, Throckmorton rose to the state senate and allied with Sam Houston against the rising forces of secession in Texas. Throckmorton became a close advisor to Houston, now governor, as the Civil War loomed, but the election of Abraham Lincoln as president in 1860 prompted a wave of secession that engulfed Texas.
In 1861, he was a delegate to the secession convention and became one of only eight delegates to reject disunion. He remained close to Houston in the desperate weeks as Houston crossed the state pleading to save the Union. Because of their efforts, Collin, along with several counties along the Red River (including Fannin, Lamar, and Grayson), voted against secession in a February referendum. However, in the fevered atmosphere, most voted in favor of secession.
Throckmorton stepped forward and volunteered to defend Texas during the Civil War, rising from captain to general by 1864. In 1866, he chaired a convention of Unionists to draft a new constitution for the state, one that recognized the realities of the postwar South. The new constitution was ratified and Throckmorton was elected governor with 79% of the vote.
The war wrecked the state’s economy, and violence plagued both whites and freedmen alike. Texas contended with this chaos as Union troops attempted to re-establish order. Throckmorton attempted to rebuild the state, emphasizing new schools and railroads. While the slaves had been freed, the policy of the United States government was that giving the freedmen the vote and equality under the law was essential to preserving the freedoms of the former slaves. While Throckmorton accepted the end of slavery, giving African-Americans the vote was a step he could not take, and he clashed with federal officials. Barely a year after Throckmorton became governor, Gen. Philip Sheridan ordered him and other elected officials removed from their posts for opposing Reconstruction.
In 1872, his ban on holding office was lifted and he plotted his political comeback. He was elected to Congress in 1874 and re-elected in 1876. A respected figure, he was named Chairman on the Committee on Pacific Railroads in 1877, an important position as the railroads surged westward across the frontier. He soon moved for higher offices. In 1878, he ran for governor but lost the nomination. In 1881, he lost a bid for U. S. Senate. The next year, however, he ran for Congress and won easily.
In 1886, he announced his retirement and returned to Texas. He resumed his law practice in McKinney as his health declined. He died in 1894. Throckmorton remained widely respected in his community, with residents later naming a street after him and erecting a statue in his honor.
Ken Bridges is a writer, historian and native Texan. He holds a doctorate from the University of North Texas. Bridges can be reached by email at drkenbridges@gmail.com.
This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: Bridges column: James Throckmorton served as doctor, governor, more
