John Mitchell

John Mitchell

Full Name: John Mitchell
Date of birth: April 1837
Date of death: April 10, 1921

Terms of Service top

Chamber District Dates of Service Legislatures Party City/County Note Counties in District
H 16 Jan 13, 1874 - Apr 18, 1876 14th (1) (2) (3)   Republican Caldwell / Burleson   Burleson, Washington
H 17 May 9, 1870 - Jan 14, 1873 12th (5) (6) (7)   Radical Republican Caldwell / Burleson   Brazos, Burleson, Milam

(1) District 16 comprised of Washington and Burleson counties, shall elect one Senator and three Representatives; District 17 comprised of Falls, Milam, and Bell counties, shall elect one Senator and three Representatives, p. 45, Acts 1873, 13th Legislature, ch. 35, Apportionment Laws of Texas, 1836-1950, 1950.
(2) 16th District, Republican, p. 5. Directory of the Members and Officers of the Fourteenth Legislature of the State of Texas . . ., 1874.
(3) 17th District, list of members elect in typescript journal. House Journal.
(4) 12th Legislature, Provisional Session - No record of Mitchell voting or taking the oath of office. 12th Legislature, 1st C.S. - Mitchell sworn on 5/9/1870, p. 83. House Journal.
(5) Party affiliation, Radical. Texas Almanac for . . . and Emigrant's Guide to Texas.
(6) Party affiliation, Radical. Roster of members, 12th Legislature, 1870. Texas Almanac for . . . and Emigrant's Guide to Texas.
(7) Radical Republican Association, established 6/4/1870, p. 26. Through Many Dangers, Toils, and Snares: Black Leadership in Texas, 1868-1898, 2016.

Terms of Service top

House District 16
Jan 13, 1874 - Apr 18, 1876
Legislatures: 14th (1) (2) (3)  
Party: Republican
Home City/County: Caldwell / Burleson
Counties in district: Burleson, Washington
House District 17
May 9, 1870 - Jan 14, 1873
Legislatures: 12th (5) (6) (7)  
Party: Radical Republican
Home City/County: Caldwell / Burleson
Counties in district: Brazos, Burleson, Milam

(1) District 16 comprised of Washington and Burleson counties, shall elect one Senator and three Representatives; District 17 comprised of Falls, Milam, and Bell counties, shall elect one Senator and three Representatives, p. 45, Acts 1873, 13th Legislature, ch. 35, Apportionment Laws of Texas, 1836-1950, 1950.
(2) 16th District, Republican, p. 5. Directory of the Members and Officers of the Fourteenth Legislature of the State of Texas . . ., 1874.
(3) 17th District, list of members elect in typescript journal. House Journal.
(4) 12th Legislature, Provisional Session - No record of Mitchell voting or taking the oath of office. 12th Legislature, 1st C.S. - Mitchell sworn on 5/9/1870, p. 83. House Journal.
(5) Party affiliation, Radical. Texas Almanac for . . . and Emigrant's Guide to Texas.
(6) Party affiliation, Radical. Roster of members, 12th Legislature, 1870. Texas Almanac for . . . and Emigrant's Guide to Texas.
(7) Radical Republican Association, established 6/4/1870, p. 26. Through Many Dangers, Toils, and Snares: Black Leadership in Texas, 1868-1898, 2016.

Biographical Information top

Resolutions and Journal entries

  • 79th Legislature, R.S., HR 589, paying tribute to African American legislators and constitutional convention delegates of 1868-1900. Resolutions - Congratulatory and Honorary.
  • 81st Legislature, R.S., HCR 81, paying tribute to African American legislators and constitutional convention delegates. Resolutions - Congratulatory and Honorary.
  • 85th Legislature, R.S., HR 452, celebrating Black History Month and honoring the leadership and vision of African American lawmakers. Resolutions - Congratulatory and Honorary.
  • 88th Legislature, R.S., SCR 13, Recognizing the Texas Black Reconstruction Legislators Recognition Act. SB 667, Texas Black Reconstruction Legislators Recognition Act. Resolutions - Congratulatory and Honorary. SB 667 SCR 13
  • 88th Legislature, R.S., SCR 13, Recognizing the Texas Black Reconstruction Legislators Recognition Act. SB 667, Texas Black Reconstruction Legislators Recognition Act. Resolutions - Legislative Policy. SB 667 SCR 13

Biographical Sketches

  • Biographical information in Alwyn Barr, "Black Legislators of Reconstruction Texas," Volume 32, Number 4, December 1986, pp. 340-352. Civil War History.
  • Portrait and biographical sketch. Forever Free: Nineteenth Century African-American Legislators and Constitutional Convention Delegates of Texas, 2002.
  • Mentioned in footnote 5, p. 264, Gideon Lincecum, 1793-1874: a Biography, by Lois Wood Burkhalter. "During the Reconstruction, Negroes found their military and political services in demand by the Texas Republican Party." Google Books.
  • MITCHELL, JOHN (1837-1921). Born April 1837 in Tennessee, died 4/10/1921 at his Burleson County farm. "He joined the Radical Republican Association, organized to uphold Governor Edmund J. Davis's vetoes of railroad-development bills during the Twelfth Legislature." Handbook of Texas Online.
  • Biographical sketch, p. 21. One of six African-American delegates to the Constitutional Convention of 1875, pp. 51-52, Appendix A. Birth year 1837, Appendix D. Through Many Dangers, Toils, and Snares: Black Leadership in Texas, 1868-1898, 2016.

Other Resources

  • One of six African-American delegates to the Constitutional Convention of 1875, Volume II, p. 732. East Texas: Its History and Its Makers, 1940.
  • John Mitchell, born circa 1836-1837 in Tennessee, died 1921, burial in Mitchell Family Cemetery, Gus, Burleson County. Includes historical marker photo. Find a Grave.
  • Mentioned in Negro Legislators of Texas and Their Descendants, 1970.
  • 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.
  • Historical marker, John Mitchell, Caldwell, Burleson County Courthouse grounds, Burleson County. Texas Historic Sites Atlas (Texas Historical Commission).
  • Mentioned, p. 148. Time of Hope, Time of Despair: Black Texans During Reconstruction, 1981.

Photographs

  • Photograph. John Mitchell, 14th Legislature, State Preservation Board
  • Photograph. John Mitchell, State Preservation Board
  • Photograph. J. Mitchell, Constitutional Convention of 1875 Composite Photo. From the collection of the Texas State Library and Archives Commisison.

Composite Photographs on Display in the Capitol

Committee Information top

14th R.S. - 1874
Education  
12th Adjourned - 1871
House Employees, To Determine the Number of  
12th R.S. - 1871
Penitentiary  

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