Carlos Bee (July 8, 1867 – April 20, 1932) was an attorney and politician, serving as

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

from

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

. He was a son of

Hamilton P. Bee Hamilton Prioleau Bee (July 22, 1822 – October 3, 1897) was an American politician in early Texas; he was secretary of the Texas Senate in 1846. He served nearly 10 years as representative to the state house beginning in 1849, and for one term a ...

and a great-grandson of

Thomas Bee Thomas Bee (1739 – February 18, 1812) was a delegate to the Second Continental Congress, Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina and a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina. Educatio ...

, a politician and judge in South Carolina in the Revolutionary and Federal periods.

Early life and education

Carlos Bee was born in 1867 in

Saltillo Saltillo () is the capital and largest city of the northeastern Mexican state of Coahuila and is also the municipal seat of the municipality of the same name. Mexico City, Monterrey, and Saltillo are all connected by a major railroad and high ...

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

, where his parents Hamilton Prioleau Bee and Mildred Tarver Bee had moved from

San Antonio San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...

after the collapse of the Confederacy and the end of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

. His father had been a general in the Confederate Army. In 1874, when Bee was about seven years old, the family returned to San Antonio. He attended the public schools and the Agricultural and Mechanical College. He studied law while working as a railway mail clerk. After passing the bar, he started a law practice.

Career

After being admitted to the bar in 1893, Bee started a law practice in San Antonio. He joined the Democratic Party and was appointed as United States commissioner for the western district of Texas in 1893. On January 16, 1895, Bee married Mary Kyle Burleson (December 14, 1873—April 3, 1923), who was the daughter of Emma (née Kyle) and Edward Burleson. His wife was one of the founders of the Pan-American Round Tables. He was appointed as district attorney of the thirty-seventh judicial district, serving 1898–1905. He served as delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1904 and 1908, and was elected as chairman in 1904. In his first electoral office, Bee served as a member of the city school board of San Antonio 1906–1908. He was appointed as president of the county school board of

Bexar County, Texas Bexar County ( or ; ) is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Texas. It is in South Texas and its county seat is San Antonio. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 2,009,324, making it the st ...

from 1912 to 1914. In 1914, Bee was elected as a member of the

Texas State Senate The Texas Senate is the upper house of the Texas Legislature, with the Texas House of Representatives functioning as the lower house. Together, they form the state legislature of the state of Texas. The Senate is made up of 31 members, where eac ...

, serving 1915–1919. In 1918, he was elected as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

to the Sixty-sixth Congress (March 4, 1919 – March 3, 1921). In 1920, he ran unsuccessfully in the primary for re-election to the Sixty-seventh Congress.

Later years

After his defeat in the primary, Bee returned to the practice of law in San Antonio. He worked there until his death there on April 20, 1932. Within a month of his death, Bee's second wife, Mary Elizabeth "Bettie Mae" (née Oliver) died on 27 May 1932. He was interred in the Confederate Cemetery. His son, Carlos Bee, was mayor of

Hayward, California Hayward is a city located in Alameda County, California, United States, in the East Bay subregion of the San Francisco Bay Area. With a population of 162,954 as of 2020, Hayward is the sixth largest city in the Bay Area, and the third largest in ...

and served in the

California State Assembly The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature (the upper house being the California State Senate). The Assembly convenes, along with the State Senate, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento, Califor ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bee, Carlos 1867 births 1932 deaths Bee family County district attorneys in Texas People from Saltillo Politicians from San Antonio School board members in Texas Texas A&M University alumni Democratic Party Texas state senators Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Texas Lawyers from San Antonio Mexican emigrants to the United States 20th-century members of the Texas Legislature 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives