Chamber	District	Dates of Service	Legislatures	Party	City/County	Note	Counties in District
S	23	Jan 10, 1911 - Jan 1, 1915	33rd ⁽¹⁾ 32nd ⁽²⁾ 33rd ⁽¹⁾	Democrat	Corpus Christi / Nueces	Dean of the Senate. (33rd)	Cameron, Dimmit, Duval, Hidalgo, La Salle, McMullen, Nueces, San Patricio, Starr, Webb, Zapata
S	23	Jan 8, 1907 - Jan 10, 1911	30th ⁽⁵⁾ 31st ⁽³⁾ ⁽⁴⁾	Democrat	Corpus Christi / Nueces		Cameron, Dimmit, Duval, Hidalgo, La Salle, McMullen, Nueces, San Patricio, Starr, Webb, Zapata
S	23	Jan 13, 1903 - Jan 8, 1907	29th ⁽⁶⁾ ⁽⁷⁾ ⁽⁸⁾ ⁽⁹⁾ 28th ⁽¹⁰⁾ ⁽¹¹⁾ ⁽¹²⁾ ⁽¹³⁾ ⁽¹⁴⁾ 29th ⁽⁶⁾ ⁽⁷⁾ ⁽⁸⁾ ⁽⁹⁾	Democrat	Portland / San Patricio	Senate President Pro Tempore (29th) Senate President Pro Tempore (28th)	Cameron, Dimmit, Duval, Hidalgo, La Salle, McMullen, Nueces, San Patricio, Starr, Webb, Zapata
H	87	Jan 8, 1901 - Jan 13, 1903	27th ⁽¹⁵⁾ ⁽¹⁶⁾ ⁽¹⁷⁾ ⁽¹⁸⁾	Democrat	Portland / San Patricio		Aransas, Duval, Nueces, San Patricio
H	87	Jan 10, 1899 - Jan 8, 1901	26th ⁽¹⁹⁾ ⁽²⁰⁾	Democrat	Portland / San Patricio		Aransas, Duval, Nueces, San Patricio

(1) 33rd Legislature - Roll Call, holdover Senators elected on 11/8/1910 for a full period of four years, 1/14/1913, pp. 1-3. Senate Journal.
(2) 32nd Legislature - Roll Call of Senators-elect, oath of office administered, 1/10/1911, pp. 1-2. Senate Journal.
(3) Democrat; roster of members of the 31st Legislature with biographical and party information. "Year Book 1909," Number 13, May-June 1910, pp. 408-415. Bulletin (Texas Department of Agriculture), 1910.
(4) 31st Legislature - Roll Call of holdover Senators, 1/12/1909, pp. 1-2. Senate Journal.
(5) 30th Legislature - Roll of Senators-elect, oath of office administered, 1/8/1907, pp. 1-2. Senate Journal.
(6) 29th Legislature - Senate President Pro Tempore, elected in the absence of the President and President Pro Tem 1/23/1905, Regular Session; elected 4/15/1905, Regular Session; elected 4/15/1905 and 5/13/1905, 1st C.S. Senate Journal.
(7) 29th Legislature - Roll of holdover Senators, 1/10/1905, pp. 1-2. Senate Journal.
(8) 29th Regular, 1st and 2nd Called Sessions - John G. Willacy, of San Patricio County. Senate Journal.
(9) Portland, San Patricio County. Texas Legislative Manual.
(10) 28th Legislature - Senate President Pro Tempore, elected in the absence of the President and President Pro Tem 3/30/1903, Regular Session. Senate Journal.
(11) 28th Legislature - Drawing for Terms of Office, 1/28/1903, pp. 107-108. Drew 4-year term. Senate Journal.
(12) 28th Legislature - Roll of Senators-elect, oath of office administered, 1/13/1903, pp. 1-2. Senate Journal.
(13) 28th Legislature, Regular Session - John Willacy of San Patricio County; 28th Legislature, 1st Called Session - John Willacy of Nueces County. Senate Journal.
(14) Portland, San Patricio County. Texas Legislative Manual.
(15) District 17 comprised of Hunt and Kaufman counties; District 87 comprised of Duval, Nueces, San Patricio, and Aransas counties, pp. 27, 30, Acts of 1892, 22nd Legislature, 1st C.S., ch. 21, Apportionment Laws of Texas, 1836-1950, 1950.
(16) Portland is on a bluff overlooking Nueces Bay in southeastern San Patricio County. "In 1990 Portland had a population of 12,224 and had grown into Nueces County." Handbook of Texas Online.
(17) District 87 represented by John Willacy, Portland, Texas, p. 3. House Journal.
(18) District 17 represented by John Willacy, Portland, p. 63. Texas Legislative Manual.
(19) Nueces County. House Journal.
(20) City of Portland currently located in San Patricio and Nueces counties, with the majority of the city located in San Patricio. Texas Almanac and State Industrial Guide.

Biographical Notes and Resources top

Resolutions and Journal entries

33rd Legislature, 1st C.S., 8/19/1913. Simple Resolution by Senator McGregor expressing appreciation for Senator Willacy's Senate service and as chairman of the Finance Committee. Willacy's retirement to begin at the expiration of his term on 1/1/1915. Resolutions - Congratulatory and Honorary.

Biographical Sketches

WILLACY, JOHN G. (ca. 1859-1943). Handbook of Texas Online.
Brief biographical sketch, John Willacy, p. 210. The Twenty-Seventh Legislature and State Administration of Texas, 1901.

Other Resources

History of Portland with portrait of John G. Willacy. City of Portland, Texas.
Mentioned in PORTLAND, TEXAS. Handbook of Texas Online.
WILLACY COUNTY named for John G. Willacy. Handbook of Texas Online.
Obituary, 1943, "John G. Willacy, 84, Former Senator, Dies in San Antonio" - newspaper unknown. Legislative Reference Library Card File.
History of Portland, Texas. Merchants Association of Portland, 2006.
Text of Willacy County historical marker, John G. Willacy, birth date 11/10/1859. Texas Historic Sites Atlas (Texas Historical Commission).

Photographs

Photograph. John G. Willacy, 33rd Legislature, State Preservation Board
Photograph. John G. Willacy, 32nd Legislature, State Preservation Board
Photograph. John G. Willacy, 31st Legislature, State Preservation Board
Photograph. J.G. Willacy, 30th Legislature, State Preservation Board
Photograph. John G. Willacy, 29th Legislature, State Preservation Board
Photograph. John G. Willacy, 28th Legislature, State Preservation Board
Photograph. John Willacy, 27th Legislature, State Preservation Board
Photograph. John Willacy, 26th Legislature, State Preservation Board

Composite Photographs on Display in the Capitol

28th session composite photo of Senate members (Senate chamber gallery, east wall. 3E.5). State Preservation Board.
29th session composite photo of Senate members (Senate chamber gallery, east wall. 3E.5). State Preservation Board.
30th session composite photo of Senate members (Senate chamber gallery, east wall. 3E.5). State Preservation Board.
31st session composite photo of Senate members (Senate chamber gallery, east wall. 3E.5). State Preservation Board.
32nd session composite photo of Senate members (Senate chamber gallery, east wall. 3E.5). State Preservation Board.
33rd session composite photo of Senate members (Senate chamber gallery, east wall. 3E.5). State Preservation Board.
26th session composite photo of House members (House chamber gallery, east wall. 3W.2). State Preservation Board.
27th session composite photo of House members (House chamber gallery, east wall. 3W.2). State Preservation Board.

Committee Information top

33rd R.S. - 1913 Constitutional Amendments Counties and County Boundaries Finance (Chair) Meningitis Outbreak, Investigate Mining and Irrigation Penitentiary System, Special Privileges and Elections Public Health Senatorial Districts State Penitentiaries
32nd R.S. - 1911 Agricultural Affairs Commerce and Manufactures Congressional Districts Counties and County Boundaries Federal Relations Finance (Chair) Insurance, Statistics and History Judiciary No. 2 Mining and Irrigation Public Health Public Lands and Land Office Reagan Papers, Investigate Rules State Penitentiaries Stock and Stock Raising
31st R.S. - 1909 Agricultural Affairs Counties and County Boundaries Educational Affairs Finance (Chair) Insurance, Statistics and History Judicial Districts Military Affairs Mining and Irrigation Public Debt, Claims and Accounts Public Health Public Lands and Land Office Rules Senate Journal Printing Costs Stock and Stock Raising Tobin's Book Store Account Towns and City Corporations
30th R.S. - 1907 Capitol Heating System, Investigate Counties and County Boundaries David Crockett Painting Federal Relations Finance (Chair) Internal Improvements Judicial Districts Mining and Irrigation Public Buildings and Grounds Public Debts, Claims and Accounts Public Health Public Land and Land Office Rules Stock and Stock Raising Towns and City Corporations
29th R.S. - 1905 Commerce and Manufactures Federal Relations Finance (Chair) Insurance, Statistics and History Internal Improvements Mining and Irrigation Pan American College of Commerce (Vice Chair) Pan-American Trade Relations and Projected Trades College, Special Public Land and Land Office State Asylums Stock and Stock Raising
28th R.S. - 1903 Contingent Expenses (Chair) Educational Affairs Finance Internal Improvements Judicial Districts Mining and Irrigation Public Debts, Claims and Accounts Stock and Stock Raising Treasurer's and Comptroller's Departments
27th R.S. - 1901 Agricultural Affairs Finance Internal Improvements (Chair) Irrigation Judicial Districts Senatorial Districts Stock and Stock Raising
26th R.S. - 1899 Agricultural Affairs (Chair) Public Buildings and Grounds Stock and Stock Raising

This website is a work in progress. Information on this website is provided as a public service by the Legislative Reference Library. The Legislative Reference Library makes no representation as to its completeness or accuracy and makes no warranty in regard to its use. Users assume all risk of reliance on the information included on this site.

Have a question, comment or contribution? Email the Library or call 512-463-1252.

Many photos in Texas Legislators: Past and Present are used with permission of the Texas State Preservation Board. For permission to reproduce these photos, please contact the Texas State Preservation Board graphics coordinator at 512-475-3060.