Samuel WT Lanham

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Samuel WT Lanham

Samuel Willis Tucker Lanham (born July 4, 1846 in Woodruff , Spartanburg County , South Carolina , †  July 29, 1908 in Weatherford , Texas ) was an American politician and from 1903 to 1907 governor of the state of Texas. Between 1883 and 1903 he was a member of the US House of Representatives twice .

Early years and political advancement

Samuel Lanham attended elementary school in Glenn Springs , South Carolina. During the Civil War , despite his youth, he joined the Confederate Army . After the war ended, he moved to Red River County , Texas, in 1866 . Lanham first worked there as a teacher. A year later he moved to Weatherford, where he worked as a teacher and studied law on the side. After his admission as a lawyer in 1869, he practiced this profession in Weatherford. Between 1871 and 1876 he was a district attorney.

Lanham became a member of the Democratic Party . Between March 4, 1883 and March 3, 1893 he was a member of Congress . There he was temporarily chairman of the Committee on Claims , the committee that dealt with claims against the federal government. In 1894, Lanham ran unsuccessfully for governor of Texas. For this he was re-elected to the US Congress between March 1897 and January 1903. There he mainly represented the interests of the ranchers and the claims of the citizens affected by the Indian wars. He also dealt with national and international border problems.

Texas Governor

In 1902, Samuel Lanham was elected governor of his state. After a re-election in 1904, he was able to exercise this office between January 20, 1903 and January 15, 1907. During this time, Texas state electoral laws were reformed. Among other things, the pre-selection principle was introduced. It was then that the oil industry began to develop in Texas, which would soon become the most important economic factor in the state. The labor laws at the railroad were improved and a tax reform carried out. Lanham was the last Texas governor to fight in the Civil War.

After the end of his governorship, Lanham withdrew from politics. He died in 1908. He and his wife Sarah Meng had five children, including their son Fritz , who also sat for Texas in the US House of Representatives from 1919 to 1947.

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Lanham, Samuel WT
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Lanham, Samuel Willis Tucker (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American politician and governor of the state of Texas (1903–1907)
DATE OF BIRTH 4th July 1846
PLACE OF BIRTH near Woodruff , South Carolina
DATE OF DEATH July 29, 1908
Place of death Weatherford , Texas