Francis Lubbock

Francis Richard Lubbock (October 16, 1815 – June 22, 1905) was the ninth Governor of Texas and was in office during the American Civil War. He was the brother of Thomas Saltus Lubbock, for whom Lubbock County, Texas, and the eponymous county seat are named.[1]

Francis Lubbock
9th Governor of Texas
In office
November 7, 1861 – November 5, 1863
LieutenantJohn McClannahan Crockett
Preceded byEdward Clark
Succeeded byPendleton Murrah
6th Lieutenant Governor of Texas
In office
December 21, 1857 – December 21, 1859
GovernorHardin R. Runnels
Preceded byHardin R. Runnels
Succeeded byEdward Clark
Personal details
Born(1815-10-16)October 16, 1815
Beaufort, South Carolina
DiedJune 22, 1905(1905-06-22) (aged 89)
Austin, Texas
Political partyDemocratic
ProfessionPolitician
Francis and Adele Baron Lubbock (1819–1882)

Early life

Francis Lubbock was born on October 16, 1815, to Dr. Henry Thomas Willis and Susan Ann (Saltus) Lubbock in Beaufort, South Carolina. Although his family moved to Charleston shortly after he was born, Lubbock would return to Beaufort for his adolescent years while attending boarding school.[2]

Lubbock was a businessman in South Carolina before moving to Texas in 1836. During the Republic of Texas period, President Sam Houston appointed Lubbock to be comptroller.[3][4]

Career

In 1857, Lubbock was elected lieutenant governor of Texas as a Democrat, but failed in his re-election bid in 1859. Following the Confederate secession in 1861, Lubbock won the governorship of Texas. During his tenure, he supported Confederate conscription, working to draft all able-bodied men, including resident aliens, into the Confederate States Army. He was known to praise the Great Hanging at Gainesville, where in October 1862, some 42 suspected Unionists were murdered, convicted and killed by hanging through sentences by a "Citizens Court" organized by Texas state troops, but not recognized under state law, with some 14 lynched without benefit even of a show trial.[5] It was part of an outbreak of violence, often caused by Confederate or state troops, in North Texas in the early years of the war.[6]

When Lubbock's term ended in 1863, he joined the Confederate Army. He was commissioned as a lieutenant colonel, serving under Major General John B. Magruder. By 1864, Lubbock was promoted to aide-de-camp for Jefferson Davis. Following the Confederacy's military collapse, Lubbock fled from Richmond, Virginia, with Davis. They were soon caught by Union troops in Georgia. He was imprisoned at Fort Delaware with John Reagan and Jefferson Davis for eight months before being paroled.

On his return to Texas, Lubbock continued to pursue business interests in Houston and Galveston. From 1878 to 1891, he served as Texas State Treasurer.

Death and legacy

Lubbock died in Austin on June 22, 1905, at the age of 89, making him the last Confederate Governor to die. He is buried at Texas State Cemetery in Austin.

References
  1. John Everett-Heath (September 13, 2018). The Concise Dictionary of World Place-Names. Oxford University Press. p. 1075. ISBN 978-0-19-256243-2.
  2. Lubbock, Francis (1900). Six decades in Texas; or, Memoirs of Francis Richard Lubbock, governor of Texas in war time, 1861-63. A personal experience in business, war, and politics. Austin: Ben C. Jones & Co. Printers. pp. 1–4. Retrieved June 5, 2021.
  3. Sam Houston; Eugene Campbell Barker (1939). The Writings of Sam Houston, 1813-1863. The University of Texas press. p. 308.
  4. Paul G. Pierpaoli Jr. (March 24, 2015). Spencer C. Tucker; Paul G. Pierpaoli Jr. (eds.). American Civil War: A State-by-State Encyclopedia [2 volumes] A State-by-State Encyclopedia. Vol. 2. ABC-CLIO. p. 769. ISBN 978-1-59884-529-7.
  5. McCaslin, Richard B. "Great Hanging of Texas". Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved August 11, 2013.
  6. Andrew Himes (April 14, 2011). The Sword of the Lord: The Roots of Fundamentalism in an American Family. Chiara Press. p. 77. ISBN 978-1-4538-4375-8.
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