Chamber	District	Dates of Service	Legislatures	Party	City/County	Note	Counties in District
H	26	Jan 8, 1889 - Jan 13, 1891	21st ⁽¹⁾ ⁽²⁾ ⁽³⁾	Democrat	Canton / Van Zandt		Van Zandt
H	22	Apr 18, 1876 - Jan 14, 1879	15th ⁽⁴⁾ ⁽⁵⁾ ⁽⁶⁾ ⁽⁷⁾	Democrat	Canton / Van Zandt		Kaufman, Rains, Van Zandt, Wood

(1) Democrat. Biennial Report of the Secretary of State of the State of Texas: List of Senators and Representatives.
(2) Democrat. Personnel of the Texas State Government with Sketches of Distinguished Texans, 21st Legislature, 1889.
(3) T.H. Towles, Center. Roster of Representatives of the 21st Legislature, "Twenty-First Legislature: Members of the House, Address, Occupation and Politics," Galveston Daily News, 1/5/1889, p. 2, crediting Abilene Library Consortium. Portal to Texas History (University of North Texas Libraries).
(4) Representative apportionment - Ordinance adopted by Constitutional Convention of the State of Texas, 1875. "Twenty-second District - The counties of Kaufman, Raines, Wood and Van Zandt shall elect two representatives; Kaufman to be the returning county." University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History. Apportionment Laws of Texas, 1836-1950, 1950.
(5) T.J. Towles, Kaufman County [sic]. House Journal.
(6) Thomas J. Towles, Canton, Van Zandt County. Members of the Texas Congress 1836-1845; Members of the Texas Legislature 1846-2004, 2005.
(7) Thomas J. Towles, Van Zandt County. Texas House of Representatives: A Pictorial Roster 1846-1992, 1992.

Biographical Notes and Resources top

Resolutions and Journal entries

31st Legislature, R.S., 2/3/1909, p. 278. Resolutions - Memorial.

Biographical Sketches

TOWLES, THOMAS JEFFERSON (1843-1909). Handbook of Texas Online.
Biographical sketch, Thomas Jefferson Towles, birth date 12/29/1842. Personnel of the Texas State Government with Sketches of Distinguished Texans, 21st Legislature, 1889.
Biographical sketch, pp. 82-83, 32 years old in 1876, "resides in Canton, in Van Zandt county." Sketches of Legislators and State Officers, Fifteenth Legislature, 1876-1878, 1876.
Biographical sketch, Capt. Thomas Jefferson Towles, pp. 136-137. Birth date 12/29/1849. Some History of Van Zandt County, 1919.

Military Service Notes

Confederate States Army, Captain, Company G, 3rd Regiment, Texas Cavalry. Military grave marker, Thomas J. Towles, burial in Hillcrest Cemetery, Canton, Van Zandt County. Historical marker, Thomas Jefferson Towles, birth date 12/29/1843 in Jones County, Georgia; death date 1/21/1909 in Canton, Van Zandt County, Texas. Includes reprint of obituary in the Wills Point Chronicle, 1/28/1909. Find a Grave.
Biographical sketch and portrait, pp. 111-112. Texans Who Wore the Gray, 1907.

Other Resources

Census of 1870 - Thos. J. Towles, Canton, Van Zandt County, age 27, born circa 1843 in Georgia, "Sheriff of [V.Z.?] County," living in household with Nancy A. Towles (age 26).
Census of 1880 - Thomas J. Towles, Canton, Van Zandt County, age 37, born circa 1843 in Georgia, retail grocer, wife Anna (age 36), daughters Minnie and Emera, and son Bonner. FamilySearch. 1870 1880
Listed in "History of Legislative Representatives From This County [Henderson] Compiled," from Athens Weekly Review, 11/10/1938. Henderson County, TXGenWeb Project.

Photographs

Photograph. T.J. Towles, 21st Legislature, State Preservation Board
Photograph. T.J. Towles, 15th Legislature, State Preservation Board

Composite Photographs on Display in the Capitol

15th session composite photo of House members (Ground floor elevator vestibule, east wall. GW.V3). State Preservation Board.
21st session composite photo of House members (House chamber vestibule, west wall. 2W.V1). State Preservation Board.

Committee Information top

21st R.S. - 1889 Departments of State Government, Investigate Finance Judiciary No. 2 Public Buildings and Grounds Public Printing
15th R.S. - 1876 Capitol Grounds, Accounts of Superintendent F. Voigt Commerce and Manufactures Education Engrossed Bills Federal Relations

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