Oscar Branch Colquitt
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Oscar Branch Colquitt (December 16, 1861 – March 8, 1940) was an American politician who served as the 25th governor of Texas from January 17, 1911, to January 19, 1915. He was a member of the Democratic Party. Colquitt defended the actions of the Texas Rangers who allegedly crossed into Mexico in pursuit of the body of Clemente Vergara in March 1914.''The New York Times'', March 10, 1914, pp. 1 & 8.


Early years

Oscar Branch Colquitt was born December 16, 1861, in
Camilla, Georgia Camilla is a city in Mitchell County, Georgia, United States, and is its county seat. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 5,187, down from 5,360 in 2010. History The city was incorporated in 1858. The name "Camilla" was chose ...
, to Thomas Jefferson Colquitt and Ann Elizabeth (Burkhalter) Colquitt. Through his great-great-grandfather Anthony Colquitt he is related to Senator Walter T. Colquitt of Georgia and his son Senator
Alfred H. Colquitt Alfred Holt Colquitt (April 20, 1824March 26, 1894) was an American lawyer, preacher, soldier, and politician. Elected as the 49th Governor of Georgia (1877–1882), he was one of numerous Democrats elected to office as white conservatives too ...
, also the
governor of Georgia The governor of Georgia is the head of government of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and the commander-in-chief of the state's Georgia National Guard, National Guard, when not in federal service, and Georgia State Defense Force, State Defense Fo ...
. Thomas Jefferson Colquitt served in the
Confederate States Army The Confederate States Army (CSA), also called the Confederate army or the Southern army, was the Military forces of the Confederate States, military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) duri ...
as an officer, and after the
Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...
, attempted to farm using freed slaves as laborers. The weather destroyed the family's crops, and they lost everything.Hendrickson (1995), p. 153. Eager to start over, Colquitt's family moved to
Morris County, Texas Morris County is a county located near the eastern border of the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 11,973. Its county seat is Daingerfield. Morris County is probably named for William Wright Morris, an early j ...
, arriving in Daingerfield on January 8, 1878. For three years he worked as a tenant farmer, walking the to school after the crops were in. Colquitt then spent one term at the Daingerfield Academy, where he boarded with the family of state legislator John A. Peacock. After leaving school, Colquitt unsuccessfully attempted to get a job as a brakeman or fireman with the East Line and Red River Railroad. Instead, he worked briefly as a porter at the Daingerfield train station and then spent several months working at a turning lathe in a local furniture factory. In 1881, Colquitt became a
printer's devil A printer's devil was a young apprentice in a printing establishment who performed a number of tasks, such as mixing tubs of ink and fetching type. Notable writers including Benjamin Franklin, Walt Whitman, Ambrose Bierce, Bret Harte, and Mar ...
for the Morris County ''Banner''. Several months after beginning his job his employer opened a new paper at Greenville, and Colquitt worked there until he purchased his own paper in 1884, the
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''Gazette''. Within two years Colquitt had purchased two newspapers in Terrell and combined them into one newspaper, the ''Times-Star''. During this time, Colquitt married and began a family. Alice Fuller Murrell of
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, became his wife on December 9, 1885. The couple went on to have four sons and a daughter. His sons included Oscar Branch, Jr., Rawlins M., Sidney B. and Oscar B. III.


Politics

In 1890, Colquitt campaigned in favor of the creation 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 ...
and vigorously supported the election of
Jim Hogg James Stephen Hogg (March 24, 1851March 3, 1906) was an American lawyer and statesman who served as the List of Governors of Texas, 20th governor of Texas from 1891 to 1895. He was born near Rusk, Texas. Hogg was a follower of the conservativi ...
as governor. He was elected to the Texas Senate in 1895 and served for four years, authoring several delinquent-tax laws. He served as the state revenue agent for the last eight months of 1898 and wrote a report for the special tax commission that was submitted to the legislature in 1900. For the 1899 and 1901 legislative sessions, Colquitt worked as a paid lobbyist. He was admitted to the bar in 1900, and practiced law when the legislature was not in session. He was elected to the railroad commission in 1902, and again in 1908, succeeding
John H. Reagan John Henninger Reagan (October 8, 1818March 6, 1905) was an American politician from Texas. A Democrat, Reagan resigned from the U.S. House of Representatives when Texas declared secession from the United States and joined the Confederate St ...
. During his two terms on the commission, he "was instrumental in promoting the construction of the Galveston Causeway." In 1906, Colquitt ran for governor, but, in part due to his opposition to
Prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic b ...
, he failed to win the Democratic nomination.Hendrickson (1995), p. 155. He ran again in 1910, still opposing Prohibition, with the slogan "Political Peace and Legislative Rest." Although his opponents referred to him as "Little Oscar" for his diminutive stature, Colquitt won both the primary and the general election. He was not present for the Democratic convention which nominated him for the position, as his youngest son, Oscar B. III age 4, died 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 ...
at roughly the same time. After taking office, Colquitt resigned his position on the railroad commission and was able to appoint his own successor to the post. Prohibitionist Democrats had been elected to a majority in each house of the legislature, and following the election, the public was allowed to vote on whether to enact a statewide prohibition on alcohol sales; this was defeated by 6,000 votes.Hendrickson (1995), p. 156. Colquitt had an uneasy relationship with the legislature during his time as governor, and their disagreements often bled into issues that had nothing to do with prohibition. In the first legislative session over which he presided, Colquitt vetoed half of the bills that were sent to him. Twice during his term in office Colquitt sent the Texas Rangers to the border with Mexico to maintain order. The Rangers had some success, but were accused of mistreating peaceful Mexican-American citizens. Federal troops eventually arrived to replace the Rangers. During his term, the legislature passed laws reforming the penal system and enacted several laws benefitting labor. One law limited the number of hours women could work, while another provided regulations for child workers and a third dealt with factory working conditions. The legislature also passed a worker's compensation act. Colquitt attempted to block some of these bills, but did sign all of them into law. In 1912, he called a meeting of Southern governors to work out a plan to stabilize the cotton market. The conference recommended the creation of state warehouses and acreage reduction. The Farmers' Union in Texas promoted those ideas, and over 2 million fewer acres of cotton was planted in 1912. This caused cotton prices to increase, and Colquitt took the credit. Despite a campaign promise to never obstruct the support of education, he vetoed some public school appropriations. With labor support, he won reelection in late 1912 by almost 40,000 votes in the Democratic primary (in the early 20th century, victory in the primary was tantamount to winning the election in deep-blue Texas) giving him a second term as governor.Hendrickson (1995), p. 157.


Later years

After leaving office, Colquitt became sympathetic to the
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cause. He tried to purchase the ''
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'', which he intended to use to disseminate German propaganda, but was not successful. He later ran for the
U.S. Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...
in 1916. During his campaign, Colquitt cited his efforts at stabilizing the cotton market to demonstrate his interest in the farmers, and the labor legislation of his administration to show that he was a friend of labor. Despite his efforts, Colquitt was defeated in the Democratic primary runoff election by incumbent Sen.
Charles Allen Culberson Charles Allen Culberson (June 10, 1855 – March 19, 1925) was an American political figure and Democrat who served as the 21st governor of Texas from 1895 to 1899, and as a United States senator from Texas from 1899 to 1923. According to one ...
. Following his defeat, Colquitt became president of an oil company in Dallas. From 1928 until 1929 he served on the U.S. Board of Mediation. In 1935, he became a field representative for the
Reconstruction Finance Corporation The Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC) was an Independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the United States federal government that served as a lender of last resort to US banks and businesses. Established in ...
. Colquitt suffered a slight stroke in the late 1930s but remained active in his work. After a ten-day battle with
influenza Influenza, commonly known as the flu, is an infectious disease caused by influenza viruses. Symptoms range from mild to severe and often include fever, runny nose, sore throat, muscle pain, headache, coughing, and fatigue. These sympto ...
, Colquitt died on March 8, 1940, at
Dallas, Texas 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 ...
. He is buried in the Oakwood Cemetery in
Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...
.


Notes


References

*


External links

*
Message of Governor O. B. Colquitt to the thirty-second legislature of Texas.
hosted by the Portal to Texas History {{DEFAULTSORT:Colquitt, Oscar Branch 1861 births 1940 deaths People from Camilla, Georgia People from Daingerfield, Texas American newspaper people Democratic Party Texas state senators Texas lawyers Democratic Party governors of Texas Burials at Oakwood Cemetery (Austin, Texas) Journalists from Texas Members of the Railroad Commission of Texas 19th-century members of the Texas Legislature