Sam Houston Terrell (February 20, 1891 – August 17, 1967) was

Texas State Comptroller The Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts is an executive branch position created by the Texas Constitution. The comptroller is popularly elected every four years, and is primarily tasked with collecting all state tax revenue and estimating the a ...

from 1925 until 1930.

Early life

Terrell was born outside Waco, Texas on February 20, 1891. He was the son of

Henry Berryman Terrell Henry may refer to: People *Henry (given name) *Henry (surname) * Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry Royalty * Portuguese royalty ** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal ** Henry, Count of Portugal ...

and Virginia Weaver. His father served as Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts from 1915 - 1919. The Terrells were a large and active political family whose patriarch, and great-grandfather of Sam Houston Terrell,

George W. Terrell George Whitfield Terrell (1803 – 1846) was an attorney general, judge, and diplomat in the Republic of Texas. He was born in Kentucky in 1803. His father was James Terrell. His family moved to Tennessee when he was a child. He studied law ...

had served in numerous roles in the

Republic of Texas The Republic of Texas ( es, República de Tejas) was a sovereign state in North America that existed from March 2, 1836, to February 19, 1846, that bordered Mexico, the Republic of the Rio Grande in 1840 (another breakaway republic from Mex ...

, including as

Secretary of State of the Republic of Texas A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a ...

and a Justice of the Texas Supreme Court.

Career in public service

Terrell was elected as a Democrat to the office of Comptroller of Public Accounts in 1924. He was re-elected in 1926 and 1928. In 1929, the 41st Legislature created the first "State Auditor and Efficiency Expert" position in Texas state government. In 1930, the State Auditor filed his first report with the legislature and made strong allegations of misconduct against a number of state officials. Terrell was singled out for the most allegations with 24 specific violations of law identified, including inadequate and improper accounting, refusal to secure approval for accounts before presenting them to the State Treasurer for payment, and misappropriation of public funds. As the investigation unfolded in the legislature, pressure mounted on Terrell to resign, which he did on February 25, 1930.Texas Legislature, House of Representatives, Committee of the Whole in the Investigation of Charges Made in the House of Representatives Against S.H. Terrell, Comptroller: An Inventory of Proceedings at the Texas State Archives, 1930

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Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Terrell, Sam Houston 1891 births 1967 deaths Texas Democrats People from Waco, Texas Comptrollers of Texas