Allen W. Wilder

Full Name: Allen W. Wilder
Date of birth: 1843
Date of death: Deceased, date unknown

Terms of Service
Biographical Notes
Committee Information

Terms of Service top

Chamber	District	Dates of Service	Legislatures	Party	City/County	Note	Counties in District
H	39	Apr 18, 1876 - May 13, 1876	15th ⁽¹⁾ ⁽²⁾	Republican	Chappell Hill / Washington		Washington
H	16	Jan 14, 1873 - Jan 13, 1874	13th ⁽³⁾ ⁽⁴⁾ ⁽⁵⁾	Republican	Chappell Hill / Washington		Washington

(1) Committee on Privileges and Elections report on contested election, 5/13/1876, pp. 148-149, concluding that A.W. Wilder did not receive a majority of all the "legal votes cast" and that H.R. Von Bieberstein is entitled to the seat. House Journal.
(2) H.R. Von Bieberstein, in election contest 5/13/1876, sworn the same day, unseated Allen W. Wilder. Members of the Texas Congress 1836-1845; Members of the Texas Legislature 1846-2004, 2005.
(3) Republican. Directory of the Members of the Thirteenth Legislature of the State of Texas, 1873.
(4) "A. Wilder was elected but never seated," p. 61. (Thirteenth House Journal clearly shows Allen Wilder sworn and voting in the 13th.) Negro Legislators of Texas and Their Descendants: A History of the Negro in Texas Politics from Reconstruction to Disfranchisement, 1935. Journal of the Thirteenth Legislature
(5) A.W. Wilder listed in Republican State Convention of 1873, Committee on Platform and Resolutions, pp. 154-157. Platforms of Political Parties in Texas, 1916.

Terms of Service top

House District 39
Apr 18, 1876 - May 13, 1876
Legislatures: 15th ⁽¹⁾ ⁽²⁾
Party: Republican
Home City/County: Chappell Hill / Washington
Counties in district: Washington

House District 16
Jan 14, 1873 - Jan 13, 1874
Legislatures: 13th ⁽³⁾ ⁽⁴⁾ ⁽⁵⁾
Party: Republican
Home City/County: Chappell Hill / Washington
Counties in district: Washington

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

Portrait and biographical sketch, Allen W. Wilder. Born North Carolina, ca. 1845; died date, place unknown. 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.
WILDER, ALLEN W. (ca. 1845-?). Handbook of Texas Online.
Biographical sketch, p. 41; severely wounded in shooting in Chapel Hill, Washington County, 1884, p. 162. Birth year 1843, Appendix D. Through Many Dangers, Toils, and Snares: Black Leadership in Texas, 1868-1898, 2016.

Other Resources

Mentioned in "A Texas Law Graduate’s Quest to Uncover the Story of the State’s First Black Attorney," by John G. Browning, March/April 2021. "Despite some historians erroneously listing Allen Wilder, one of Texas' first Black legislators, as its first Black attorney, the evidence I was uncovering pointed to an even earlier legal mind named William A. Price." The Alcalde.
Mentioned in Chapter VI, "Black Belt Politics." The Negro in Texas, 1874-1900, 1971.
Mentioned in Negro Legislators of Texas and Their Descendants, 1970.
Mentioned in "Searching for One of History's Mysteries," October 2016, pp. 71-72, relating to African-American lawyers in Texas. Texas Lawyer.

Photographs

Photograph. Allen Wilder, 13th Legislature, DeGolyer Library, SMU, Lawrence T. Jones III Texas Photographs
Photograph. Allen Wilder, 13th Legislature, State Preservation Board
Photograph. Allen W. Wilder, State Preservation Board

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.
13th session composite photo of Senate and House members (Ground floor elevator vestibule, east wall. GW.V3). State Preservation Board.
15th session composite photo of 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

15th R.S. - 1876 Public Lands and Land Office
13th R.S. - 1873 Apportionment Public Lands and Land Office

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