Constantine W. Buckley (January 22, 1815 – December 19, 1865) was an American politician in Texas who served two non-consecutive terms as Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives between 1861 and 1863.
Constantine W. Buckley | |
|---|---|
| Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives | |
| In office February 2, 1863 – November 2, 1863 | |
| Preceded by | Nicholas Henry Darnell |
| Succeeded by | M. D. K. Taylor |
| Member of the Texas House of Representatives from the 47th district | |
| In office November 4, 1861 - December 19, 1865 | |
| Preceded by | Elijah James Chance |
| Succeeded by | Titus Howard Mundine |
| Member of the Texas House of Representatives from the 51st district | |
| In office November 2, 1857 - November 4, 1861 | |
| Preceded by | James S. Sullivan |
| Succeeded by | Albert H. Rippetoe |
| Personal details | |
| Born | January 22, 1815 Surry County, North Carolina |
| Died | December 19, 1865 (aged 50) Columbia, Texas |
| Children | 3 |
Buckley was born January 22, 1815, in Surry County, North Carolina, but had moved to Georgia by 1828 where he began working as a store clerk. In 1834 in Columbus, Buckley opened a store of his own, which closed after the Panic of 1837. After losing everything, he moved to Houston in the Republic of Texas, where he was a clerk in the State Department. While Buckley worked there, he was tutored in law by Attorney General John Birdsall, which enabled Buckley's admission to the bar in November 1839.
Gov. James Pinckney Henderson appointed him a District Judge in 1847, but Buckley resigned in 1854 in order to resume private practice. Buckley was first elected to the Texas House of Representatives from Richmond in 1857. He represented Austin and Fort Bend counties in the Seventh, Eighth, and Ninth Legislatures. On November 4, 1861, at the beginning of the Regular Session of the Ninth Legislature, Buckley was elected Speaker and served until he apparently resigned on December 7, 1861.[1] After Buckley's successor, Nicholas Henry Darnell resigned sometime in 1862,[2] Buckley was elected to the vacant office of Speaker for the First Called Session that convened on February 2, 1863, defeating Reps. Robert Turner Flewellen and John Smith, 54 votes to 5 and 1, respectively.[3]
Buckley was married twice, the first time in 1840. He had three children with his first wife who had apparently died by 1852 when Buckley then married Mrs. Ann R. Nibbs. Buckley drowned in the Brazos River near Columbia, Texas, on December 19, 1865.
Notes
edit- ^ Texas. Legislature. House of Representatives (1964). James M. Day (ed.). House journal of the Ninth Legislature, Regular session of the State of Texas, November 4, 1861-January 14, 1862 (PDF). Austin, Texas: Texas State Library. OCLC 06776052. Retrieved 2007-01-22.
- ^ Darnell resigned to fight in the Civil War. Texas Legislature records during the Civil War were spotty at best, and were not even published until the mid-1960s.
- ^ Texas. Legislature. House of Representatives (1963). James M. Day (ed.). House journal of the Ninth Legislature, first called session of the State of Texas, February 2, 1863-March 7, 1863 (PDF). Austin, Texas: Texas State Library. OCLC 03831721. Retrieved 2007-01-22.
References
edit- Constantine W. Buckley from the Handbook of Texas Online
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