Edward A. "Ed" Patton (born 1859 – ?) was an American educator, farmer and politician. A Republican who resided in

Evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has Leaf, foliage that remains green and functional throughout the year. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which lose their foliage completely during the winter or dry season. Consisting of many diffe ...

, he represented San Jacinto and

Polk DNA polymerase kappa is a DNA polymerase that in humans is encoded by the ''POLK'' gene. It is involved in translesion synthesis DNA repair is a collection of processes by which a cell (biology), cell identifies and corrects damage to the ...

counties in the

Texas House of Representatives The Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Texas Legislature. It consists of 150 members who are elected from single-member districts for two-year terms. There are no Term limits in the United States, term limits. The ...

during the Twenty-second Texas Legislature. At the time of his election, he was the sole Black member of the legislature. He served on the Education Committee in the House and worked for appropriations for the Prairie View State Normal School. Among other stances, he supported the establishment of the

Railroad Commission of Texas The Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC; also sometimes called the Texas Railroad Commission, TRC) is the state agency that regulates the oil and gas industry, gas utilities, pipeline safety, safety in the liquefied petroleum gas industry, and su ...

, opposed the establishment of a

poll tax A poll tax, also known as head tax or capitation, is a tax levied as a fixed sum on every liable individual (typically every adult), without reference to income or resources. ''Poll'' is an archaic term for "head" or "top of the head". The sen ...

, and worked to relieve property taxes on landowners in his district whose lands suffered from flooding. However, he also supported a ban on interracial marriages and supported the Texas Confederate Home for Confederate veterans. After serving a term in the Texas House, Patton later moved to

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

by 1920, where he worked for the federal government. His granddaughter Arlyne Patten was the mother of

Barbara Jordan Barbara Charline Jordan (February 21, 1936 – January 17, 1996) was an American lawyer, educator, and politician. A member of the Democratic Party, she was the first African American elected to the Texas Senate since Reconstruction, the first ...

, who would become the first Black member of the

Texas 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 (United States), state legislature of the state of Texas. The Senate ...

since 1893 and then the first Black woman to represent a Southern state in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, 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 Artic ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Patton, Edward African-American state legislators in Texas Members of the Texas House of Representatives 1850s births People from San Jacinto County, Texas Politicians from Washington, D.C. Year of death missing 19th-century members of the Texas Legislature 19th-century African-American politicians

See also

References