Joseph D. Sayers

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is about the U.S. Representative from Texas. For the male model, see Joseph Sayers.

Joseph Draper Sayers

22nd Governor of Texas
In office 1899–1903
Preceded by	Charles A. Culberson
Succeeded by	S. W. T. Lanham
Personal details
Born	September 23, 1841 Grenada, Mississippi
Died	May 15, 1929 (aged 87) Texas
Political party	Democratic
Profession	politician, lawyer

Joseph Draper Sayers (September 23, 1841 – May 15, 1929) was the 22nd Governor of Texas from 1899 to 1903. During Sayers's term, the Galveston Hurricane of 1900 demolished that city.

Early years

Joseph Sayers was born September 23, 1841 in Grenada, Mississippi to Dr. David Sayer and his wife Mary Thomas {Peete}. His mother died in 1851, and soon after he moved to Texas with his father and younger brother, William.^[1] The family settled in Bastrop, where Sayers and his brother attended the Bastrop Military Institute.^[2]

When the Civil War broke out, Sayers joined the Confederate States Army's 5th Texas Regiment, a cavalry unit led by General Tom Green. He participated in the Battle of Valverde in New Mexico in February 1862, and was recommended for promotion for his bravery in capturing an artillery battery. Later that year he returned to Texas with his regiment before being sent to Louisiana, where he was wounded in the battle of Camp Bisland in April 1863. His actions during that conflict led to his promotion to major, and he became Green's chief–of–staff. Sayers was wounded again in April 1864 at the Battle of Mansfield. After Green died at the Battle of Blair's Landing, Sayers became the assistant adjutant to General Richard Taylor.^[2]

After the war ended, Sayers returned to Texas. He opened a school and simultaneously studied law. He was admitted to the bar and then formed a partnership with G. "Wash" Jones.^[2]

Public service

Sayers entered political service in 1873, when he became a state senator in the 13th Texas Legislature. In his term, he helped reverse most of the legislation that had been passed under the Radical Republicans.^[2] After his term ended in 1875, Sayers spent three years as chairman of the Texas State Democratic Executive Committee. He presided over the state Democratic convention in both 1876 and 1878.^[2] At the 1878 convention he was nominated to be lieutenant governor under Oran M. Roberts and later won the election. Sayers and Roberts differed on one key point; Sayers believed that public lands should be saved for homesteaders and schools, not sold cheaply to speculators, as Roberts advocated.^[2]

In 1884, Sayers was elected to U.S. Congress, where he served until 1898. That year, he ran for governor, winning the election and taking office in early 1899. During his term in office, labor unions were exempted from antitrust laws, and blacklists were outlawed. His term saw increased spending on education, prisons, and social service institutions and outlawed railroad rebates.^[2] He also spearheaded legislation that authorized the creation of school districts.^[3]

Sayers's term was notable for the number of disasters that the state faced. The Brazos River flooded in 1899, and the following year the Galveston Hurricane of 1900 caused great devastation. Other parts of the state suffered from a severe drought, and boll weevils caused widespread cotton destruction. Millions of dollars in assistance came to the state, and Sayers administered the distribution of the funds "honestly and fairly."^[3]

Later years

After leaving office in 1903, Sayers focused mainly on his law practice. He also took the time, however, to serve on the Board of Regents for the University of Texas System as well as on the Industrial Accident Board, the State Board of Legal Advisors, and the pardon board.^[3]

Sayers died May 15, 1929 and is buried in Bastrop.^[3]

Notes

↑ Hendrickson (1995), p. 137.
↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 Hendrickson (1995), p. 138.
↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Hendrickson (1995), p. 140.

References

Hendrickson, Kenneth E., Jr. (1995), The Chief of Executives of Texas: From Stephen F. Austin to John B. Connally, Jr., College Station, Texas: Texas A&M University Press, ISBN 0-89096-641-9, OCLC 31243061

External links

Joseph Draper Sayers from the Handbook of Texas Online

Texas Senate
Preceded by Reinhard Hillebrand	Texas Senate, District 26 1873–1874	Succeeded by William Hamilton Ledbetter
Political offices
Preceded by Richard Bennett Hubbard, Jr.	Lieutenant Governor of Texas 1879–1881	Succeeded by Leonidas Jefferson Storey
Preceded by Charles A. Culberson	Governor of Texas 1899–1903	Succeeded by S. W. T. Lanham
United States House of Representatives
Preceded by John Hancock	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Texas's 10th congressional district 1885–1893	Succeeded by Walter Gresham
Preceded by Edwin Le Roy Antony	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Texas's 9th congressional district 1893–1899	Succeeded by Albert S. Burleson

v t e Governors and Lieutenant Governors of Texas

Governors	J. P. Henderson Wood Bell J. W. Henderson Pease Runnels Houston Clark Lubbock Murrah Hamilton Throckmorton Pease Davis Coke Hubbard Roberts Ireland Ross Hogg Culberson Sayers Lanham Campbell Colquitt J. Ferguson Hobby Neff M. Ferguson Moody Sterling M. Ferguson Allred O'Daniel Stevenson Jester Shivers Daniel Connally Smith Briscoe Clements White Clements Richards Bush Perry

Lieutenant Governors	Horton Greer Henderson Dickson Runnels Lubbock Clark Crockett Stockdale Jones J. W. Flanagan Campbell D. W. Flanagan Fountain Pickett Hubbard Sayers Storey Martin Gibbs Wheeler Pendleton Crane Jester Browning Neal A. B. Davidson Mayes Hobby, Sr. Johnson L. Davidson T. W. Davidson Miller Witt Woodul Stevenson J. L. Smith Shivers Ramsey P. Smith Barnes Hobby, Jr. Bullock Perry Ratliff Dewhurst

v t e Chairmen of the United States House Committee on Appropriations

Stevens Washburne Dawes Garfield Randall Holman Atkins Hiscock Randall J. Cannon Holman Sayers J. Cannon Hemenway Tawney Fitzgerald Sherley Good Madden Anthony Wood Byrns Buchanan Taylor C. Cannon Taber C. Cannon Taber C. Cannon Mahon Whitten Natcher Obey Livingston Young Lewis Obey Rogers

Authority control	VIAF: 121255287

Persondata
Name	Sayers, Joseph D.
Alternative names
Short description	American politician
Date of birth	September 23, 1841
Place of birth	Grenada, Mississippi
Date of death	May 15, 1929
Place of death	Texas

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike; additional terms may apply for the media files.