David Webster Flanagan

Full Name: David Webster "Web" Flanagan
Date of birth: January 9, 1832
Date of death: May 5, 1924

Terms of Service
Biographical Notes
Committee Information

Terms of Service top

Chamber	District	Dates of Service	Legislatures	Party	City/County	Note	Counties in District
S	5	Jan 13, 1874 - Apr 18, 1876	14th ⁽¹⁾ ⁽²⁾ ⁽³⁾ ⁽⁴⁾ ⁽⁵⁾	Radical Republican	Henderson / Rusk		Harrison, Rusk
S	5	Feb 10, 1870 - Jan 13, 1874	12th ⁽⁹⁾ ⁽¹⁰⁾ ⁽¹¹⁾ ⁽¹²⁾ 13th ⁽⁶⁾ ⁽⁷⁾ ⁽⁸⁾	Radical Republican	Henderson / Rusk	Senate President Pro Tempore (12th)	Panola, Rusk

(1) Entire Senate went up for reelection due to Senatorial redistricting. Ordinance adopted by Constitutional Convention of the State of Texas, 1875. Remained in effect from its passage until first reapportionment after 1880 Census. University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History. Apportionment Laws of Texas, 1836-1950, 1950.
(2) Republican. Directory of the Members and Officers of the Fourteenth Legislature of the State of Texas . . ., 1874.
(3) "Aspect of Affairs at Austin," Wed., 1/14/1874, p. 1, opening day of 14th Leg., R.S.: "The appearance of Senators Flanagan and Randle...These Senators would not have taken the oath and their seats in the 14th Leg. had there been any doubt as to the de facto stability of that body." "News' telegrams, from Austin: organization of both houses...": "After the Senate had been in session some three hours, Webster Flanagan and E.T. Randle came in and were sworn in." Galveston Daily News.
(4) Roster of members elect lists party as Radical, p. [a], 14th Legislature, Part 1. Senate Journal.
(5) "Because of the adoption of the new constitution [of 1876], any member of the 14th Legislature who wished to continue to serve had to run for reelection," p. 220. The Texas Senate: Volume II, Civil War to the Eve of Reform, 1861-1889, 1999.
(6) Entire Senate went up for reelection due to Senatorial redistricting. Act passed Apr. 24, 1873 [presented to Governor May 1, 1873 and became law without his signature], 13th Legislature, R.S., ch. 35, Apportionment Laws of Texas, 1836-1950, 1950.
(7) Republican. Directory of the Members of the Thirteenth Legislature of the State of Texas, 1873.
(8) "Returning radicals [to the 13th Legislature] were Thomas H. Baker, Webster Flanagan, S.W. Ford, Albert J. Fountain, Matthew Gaines, Phidello W. Hall, Henry Rawson, George T. Ruby, William A. Saylor, and Robert P. Tendick," p. 145. The Texas Senate: Volume II, Civil War to the Eve of Reform, 1861-1889, 1999.
(9) 12th Legislature - Senate President Pro Tempore, elected 10/30/1871, Adjourned Session, due to the vacancy in the office of Lieutenant Governor and the absence of the President Pro Tem; and elected 11/13/1871, Adjourned Session, due to the vacancy in the office of Lieutenant Governor and the death of President Pro Tem Campbell. Senate Journal.
(10) "[James] Flanagan's successor, Donald Campbell, 'President of the Senate for the time being,' was elected October 27, 1870 [sic], died November 6, 1871 and was succeeded by Webster Flanagan, elected November 13, 1871." Members of the Texas Congress 1836-1845; Members of the Texas Legislature 1846-2004, 2005.
(11) 12th Legislature, 1st C.S. - Drawing for Terms of Office, 5/2/1870, pp. 51-52. Drew 4-year term. Senate Journal.
(12) Party affiliation, Radical. Roster of members, 12th Legislature, 1870. Texas Almanac for . . . and Emigrant's Guide to Texas.

Terms of Service top

Senate District 5
Jan 13, 1874 - Apr 18, 1876
Legislatures: 14th ⁽¹⁾ ⁽²⁾ ⁽³⁾ ⁽⁴⁾ ⁽⁵⁾
Party: Radical Republican
Home City/County: Henderson / Rusk
Counties in district: Harrison, Rusk

Senate District 5
Feb 10, 1870 - Jan 13, 1874
Legislatures: 12th ⁽⁹⁾ ⁽¹⁰⁾ ⁽¹¹⁾ ⁽¹²⁾ 13th ⁽⁶⁾ ⁽⁷⁾ ⁽⁸⁾
Senate President Pro Tempore (12th)
(12th)
Party: Radical Republican
Home City/County: Henderson / Rusk
Counties in district: Panola, Rusk

Biographical Information top

Biographical Sketches

Biographical sketch from Men of 1914: An Accurate Biographical Record of Prominent Men in All Walks of Life Who Have Achieved Success in Their Chosen Vocations in the Various Civil, Industrial, and Commercial Lines of Activity, American Publishers' Association, 1915. GeneaSearch, 1999.
FLANAGAN, DAVID WEBSTER (1832-1924). Handbook of Texas Online.
FLANAGAN, JAMES WINWRIGHT (1805-1887). Relatives: James Winwright Flanagan - father; David Webster Flanagan - son. Handbook of Texas Online.
Biographical sketch of Donald Campbell, p. 91. "Campbell died in office on November 6, 1871, and was succeeded as president pro tempore on November 13 by none other than Webster Flanagan." The Texas Senate: Volume II, Civil War to the Eve of Reform, 1861-1889, 1999.
Biographical sketch of James Winwright Flanagan and Webster Flanagan, pp. 97-98, 100. Print edition includes portrait of Webster Flanagan, p. 99. The Texas Senate: Volume II, Civil War to the Eve of Reform, 1861-1889, 1999.
Mentioned in biographical sketch of his father, James Flanagan. The Texas Senator, 1978.

Other Resources

Portrait, p. 195. A Comprehensive History of Texas, 1685 to 1897.
Webster Flanagan, birth date 1/9/1832, death date 5/5/1924, burial in Flanagan Cemetery, Henderson, Rusk County, with wife Sallie P. Flanagan. Find a Grave.
"Webster Flanagan was elected president of the senate during the twelfth legislature. Some contended that he was the president of the thirteenth legislature. . .To promote harmony, Senator Flanagan resigned," Volume I, Chapter XXXV, Radical Rule and Overthrow, pp. 570-571. A History of Texas and Texans, 1916.
Included in "Table II, Constitutional Unionists (Identified from newspapers) with Biographical Data," list of leaders of the Texas Constitutional Union Party in 1860. The party was formed in January of 1860. "The Constitutional Union Party in Texas," The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 82, Number 3, January 1979, pp. 238, 256-262, crediting Texas State Historical Association. Portal to Texas History (University of North Texas Libraries). Table II, Constitutional Unionists
Harrison County "continued to support a Republican delegation to the state legislature" in 1873: Webster Flanagan to the State Senate, Shack Roberts ("black leader from Harrison County") and Ed Brown ("Negro from Rusk County, as a representative of the two county district") to the House, p. 310. A Southern Community in Crisis: Harrison County, Texas, 1850-1880, 1983.
Delegate to Constitutional Convention, 1868. Included in "List of Delegates to the Reconstruction Convention, As Announced in Special order No. 213, Dated Headquarters Fifth Military District, New Orleans, LA., April 13th, 1868." Journal of the Reconstruction Convention, Which Met at Austin, Texas, June 1, A.D., 1868 (1870), pp 533-534. Texas Constitutions Digitization Project (Tarlton Law Library, The University of Texas at Austin), 2009.
Delegate to Constitutional Convention, 1875. Included in Journal of the Constitutional Convention of the State of Texas: Begun and Held at the City of Austin Texas. Constitutional Convention (1875). Galveston : Printed for the Convention at the "News" Office, 1875, pp. 3-4. Texas Constitutions Digitization Project (Tarlton Law Library, The University of Texas at Austin), 2009.
Webster Flanagan often served as president pro tempore during Don Campbell's illness. On Campbell's death, he was elected president pro tem for the remainder of the Twelfth Legislature, serving ex officio in the office to which his father had been elected. The Texas Senate: Volume II, Civil War to the Eve of Reform, 1861-1889, 1999.

Photographs

Photograph. Web Flanagan, 14th Legislature, State Preservation Board
Photograph. Webster Flanagan, 13th Legislature, DeGolyer Library, SMU, Lawrence T. Jones III Texas Photographs
Photograph. Webster Flanagan, 13th Legislature, State Preservation Board
Photograph. Web. Flanagan, Constitutional Convention of 1875 Composite Photo. From the collection of the Texas State Library and Archives Commisison.

Composite Photographs on Display in the Capitol

13th session composite photo of Senate and House members (Ground floor elevator vestibule, east wall. GW.V3). State Preservation Board.
14th session composite photo of Senate and House members (Ground floor elevator vestibule, east wall. GW.V3). State Preservation Board.
Pictorial Monogram of the State Government of Texas 1873 (DeGolyer Library, SMU, Lawrence T. Jones III Collection). DeGolyer Library, SMU, Lawrence T. Jones III Texas Photographs.

Committee Information top

14th R.S. - 1874 Counties and County Boundaries (Chair) Finance Internal Improvements Judiciary Printing Public Buildings Public Lands
13th R.S. - 1873 Contingent Expenses Finance Internal Improvements (Chair) Judiciary No. 2 Militia
12th Adjourned - 1871 Federal Relations Internal Improvements (Chair) Judiciary Roads, Bridges and Ferries Stock and Stock Raising (Chair) Superintendent of Education
12th R.S. - 1871 Federal Relations Internal Improvements (Chair) Judiciary Roads, Bridges and Ferries Stock and Stock Raising (Chair)
12th 1st C.S. - 1870 Federal Relations Internal Improvements (Chair) Judiciary Public School Lands Roads, Bridges and Ferries Stock and Stock Raising (Chair)

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