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. Each district covers one U.S. state or a portion of a state. There is at least one feder ...

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 ...

Education and career

Born in Jackson County,

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

, Rector graduated from

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

in 1859 and

read law Reading law was the primary 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 un ...

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

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 ...

, 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. Although lesser ...

during 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 ...

, beginning 1861. He was a district attorney of

Travis County Travis County is located in 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 and most populous city is Austin, the state's capital. The county was established i ...

, 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 Austin refers to: Common meanings * Austin, Texas, United States, a city * Austin (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin (surname), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin Motor Company, a British car manufac ...

, Texas.

Run for Congress

Rector ran for election to the 49th Congress against Joseph D. Sayers in 1884 for the seat from

Texas's 10th congressional district Texas's 10th congressional district of the United States House of Representatives stretches from the northwestern portion of the Greater Houston region to the Greater Austin region. It includes Houston suburbs such as Katy, Cypress, Tomball, ...

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 Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

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

Governor of Texas The governor of Texas is the head of state of the U.S. state of Texas. The governor is the head of the executive branch of the government of Texas and is the commander-in-chief of the Texas Military Forces. Established in the Constit ...

, by 9,270 votes. Lewis E. Daniell wrote that he was "perhaps the most popular Republican 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 the 23rd president of the United States, serving from 1889 to 1893. He was a member of the Harrison family of Virginia—a grandson of the ninth president, William Henry Harrison, and a ...

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 Unit ...

. Rector was confirmed by the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate 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 a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

, 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