John Ireland (politician)

John Ireland

John Ireland (born January 21, 1827 in Millerstown , Hart County , Kentucky , † March 15, 1896 in Seguin , Texas ) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 19th governor of the state of Texas.

Ireland was born in Kentucky, first worked as a sheriff in his home county, and began law school in 1851. In 1852 he was admitted to the bar and in 1853 he moved to Seguin, where he established himself as a lawyer. In 1858 he became mayor of Seguin and in 1861 delegate of the Secession Convention , which advocated the separation of the southern states from the rest of the USA. In 1862 he joined as a volunteer in the army of the Confederate States and rose to lieutenant on. Towards the end of the Civil War , he was stationed on the Texas coast.

After the war he continued to be active in politics and in 1866 became a member of the transitional government. He also worked as a district judge in 1866/67. In the 13th Texas legislature he was elected to the House of Representatives and in the 14th to the State Senate . From 1875 to 1876 he was a judge on the Supreme Court of Texas . He lost the election to the US Senator in 1876 ​​to Richard Coke and in 1878 he lost the election to the US House of Representatives to Gustav Schleicher . In 1882 he was elected for the first time, as successor to Oran M. Roberts , governor of Texas and in 1884 for the second time, where he took office on January 16, 1883. During his tenure, the University of Texas was opened and the foundation stone for the new government building (Capitol) was laid. Lawrence Sullivan Ross was succeeded as governor on January 18, 1887. Ireland then withdrew from politics and continued to work as a lawyer in his firm until his death in 1896.

Ireland married Matilda Wicks Faircloth in 1854. After her death in 1856, he married Anna Maria Penn in 1857. With her he had three daughters. He later adopted one of his grandsons, Patrick Ireland Carpenter.

Web links

• John Ireland in the National Governors Association (English)
• John Ireland in the Handbook of Texas (English)
• John Ireland in the database of Find a Grave (English)