John Hancock (politician, 1824)

John Hancock

John Hancock (born October 24, 1824 in Bellefonte , Jackson County , Alabama , †  July 19, 1893 in Austin , Texas ) was an American politician . Between 1871 and 1885 he twice represented the state of Texas in the US House of Representatives .

Career

John Hancock attended public schools in his home country and then studied at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville . After a subsequent law degree and his admission as a lawyer in 1846, he began to work in Austin in this profession. Between 1851 and 1855 he was a judge in the Texas Second Judicial District. Then he practiced again as a private lawyer. He also became a planter and rancher. At the same time he embarked on a political career as a member of the Democratic Party . He was a member of the Texas House of Representatives in 1860 and 1861 .

Hancock was an opponent of secession and after the accession of the state of Texas to the confederation refused to take the oath of allegiance to this new state. He was then expelled from parliament. After that he worked as a lawyer. As he continued to refuse to serve the Confederation in any form, the pressure on him grew so strong that he had to leave Texas. He only returned there after the end of the civil war .

Politically, Hancock was a member of the Democratic Party . In 1866 he was a delegate to a meeting to revise the Texas Constitution. In the congressional election of 1870 he was elected to the US House of Representatives in Washington, DC in the fourth constituency of his state , where he succeeded Eduard Degener on March 4, 1871 . After two re-elections, he was able to complete three legislative terms in Congress by March 3, 1877 . Since 1875 he represented the fifth district of Texas. In 1876 he was no longer nominated for re-election by his party. In 1882, Hancock was re-elected to Congress in the newly established tenth district of his state, where he was able to complete another legislative term between March 4, 1883 and March 3, 1885. In 1884 he no longer ran.

After his time in the US House of Representatives, John Hancock practiced as a lawyer again. He died in Austin on July 19, 1893.

Web links

• John Hancock in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)
• John Hancock in the database of Find a Grave (English)