John B. Rector (November 24, 1837 – April 9, 1898) was a

United States district judge The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district, which each cover one U.S. state or, in some cases, a portion of a state. Each district cou ...

of the

United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas The United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas (in case citations, N.D. Tex.) is a United States district court. Its first judge, Andrew Phelps McCormick, was appointed to the court on April 10, 1879. The court convenes in D ...

Education and career

Born in Jackson County,

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = " Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County , LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham , area_total_km2 = 135,7 ...

, Rector graduated from

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

in 1859 and

read law Reading law was the method used in common law countries, particularly the United States, for people to prepare for and enter the legal profession before the advent of law schools. It consisted of an extended internship or apprenticeship under th ...

to enter the bar in 1860. He entered private practice in Bastrop,

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

, interrupted by his service as a soldier in

Terry's Texas Rangers The 8th Texas Cavalry Regiment, (1861–1865), popularly known as Terry's Texas Rangers, was a light cavalry regiment of Texas volunteers for the Confederate States Army assembled by Colonel Benjamin Franklin Terry in August 1861. Though lesser k ...

during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by state ...

, beginning 1861. He was a district attorney of

Travis County Travis County is located in south central Texas. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,290,188. It is the fifth-most populous county in Texas. Its county seat is Austin, the capital of Texas. The county was established in 1840 and is n ...

, Texas from 1866 to 1867, thereafter returning to private practice in Bastrop until 1871. He was a Judge of the 31st Judicial District of Texas from 1871 to 1876, when he again returned to private practice, in Austin, Texas.

Run for Congress

Rector ran for election to the

49th Congress The 49th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1885, ...

against

Joseph D. Sayers Joseph Draper Sayers (September 23, 1841 – May 15, 1929) was the 22nd Governor of Texas from 1899 to 1903. During Sayers's term, the Galveston Hurricane of 1900 demolished that city. Early years Joseph Sayers was born September 23, 1841 ...

in 1884 for the seat from Texas's 10th congressional district as an

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independe ...

. He received 12,253 votes, however, he lost to Sayers, the future

Governor of Texas The governor of Texas heads the state government of Texas. The governor is the leader of the executive and legislative branch of the state government and is the commander in chief of the Texas Military. The current governor is Greg Abbott, wh ...

, by 9,270 votes. Lewis E. Daniell wrote that he was "perhaps the most popular

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or again ...

in the district".

Federal judicial service

On March 24, 1892, Rector was nominated by President

Benjamin Harrison Benjamin Harrison (August 20, 1833March 13, 1901) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 23rd president of the United States from 1889 to 1893. He was a member of the Harrison family of Virginia–a grandson of the ninth pr ...

to a seat on the

vacated by Judge

Andrew Phelps McCormick Andrew Phelps McCormick (December 18, 1832 – November 2, 1916) was a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and of the United States Circuit Courts for the Fifth Circuit and previously was a Un ...

. Rector was confirmed by the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and ...

on March 28, 1892, and received his commission the same day. Rector served in that capacity until his death on April 9, 1898, in

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

, Texas.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rector, John B. 1837 births 1898 deaths Judges of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas United States federal judges appointed by Benjamin Harrison 19th-century American politicians United States federal judges admitted to the practice of law by reading law People from Jackson County, Alabama People from Bastrop, Texas People from Travis County, Texas