Lubbock, Francis Richard, 1815-1905

Francis Richard Lubbock (1815-1905) was an influential Texas businessman and politician, who held many public offices during his life, including a term as governor of Texas (161-1863). Born in South Carolina on October 16, 1815, Lubbock moved to Texas in 1836. Beginning in 1837, he ran a general store in Houston, before beginning ranching operations in the 1840s. Lubbock was a staunch Democrat and became active in politics in 1832 during the nullification crisis in South Carolina. In Texas, he continued his political activities, holding a string of public offices such as, Comptroller of the Republic of Texas, clerk of the Harris County court (1847-1851), and lieutenant governor (1857-1859). Lubbock was the Texas delegate to the national Democratic Convention in 1861, where the southern delegates walked out in protest of the platform and candidate, Stephen A. Douglas. Furthermore, Lubbock chaired the southern Democratic Convention, which nominated John C. Breckinridge for president. Winning by only 124 votes, Lubbock was elected governor of Texas in 1861. However, when his term expired in 1863 he entered the Confederate Army as a lieutenant colonel, serving under Major General John Bankhead Magruder, General Nathaniel P. Banks, Brigadier General Thomas Green, and Major General John A. Wharton. While working as aide-de-camp to Jefferson Davis, Lubbock was captured by Union forces and imprisoned for eight months in Fort Delaware. Following his parole, Lubbock was a tax collector in Houston, as well as the state treasurer of Texas (1878-1890). Lubbock died in Austin in 1905.

Francis Richard Lubbock served as state treasurer of Texas from 1879 to 1891, near the end of his long career in Texas politics and government. Lubbock was born in South Carolina on October 16, 1815; he clerked in a hardware store and managed a cotton warehouse before he became a druggist in New Orleans in 1834. He followed his brother Tom to Texas in 1836, after the Battle of San Jacinto. He claimed to have sold the first barrel of flour and the first sack of coffee in the village of Houston. After clerking in the House of Representatives in the Second Congress of Texas, he was appointed comptroller of the Republic. He became the district clerk of Harris County in 1841, and bought a ranch near Harrisburg in 1846.

Lubbock was elected lieutenant governor in 1857, and governor in 1861. Among his actions were the mobilizing of a frontier regiment of cavalry against hostile Indians, the modest expansion of industrial resources, and the sale of U.S. bonds acquired in 1850 to help replenish an exhausted treasury. His interpretation of conscription laws made every able-bodied man between 16 and 60 years of age liable for military service. He did not run for re-election, preferring to join the Confederate Army as a lieutenant colonel in November 1863. In 1864 he joined Jefferson Davis' staff, and was captured with him in May 1865. Upon his release he returned to business in Houston and Galveston. He was tax collector in Galveston for three years, and state treasurer (1879-1891). As state treasurer, he was an active member of the Capitol Building Commission. He served under Governor James Hogg on the Board of Pardons before retiring at age 80. In addition to his government service, Lubbock was an officer in the Texas Veteran Association. Lubbock wrote his autobiography Six Decades in Texas in 1900. He died in Austin on June 22, 1905.

Francis Richard Lubbock (1815-1905) was an influential Texas businessman and politician, who held many public offices during his life, including a term as governor of Texas (161-1863).

Born in South Carolina on October 16, 1815, Lubbock moved to Texas in 1836. Lubbock was a staunch Democrat and became active in politics in 1832 during the nullification crisis in South Carolina. In Texas, he continued his political activities, holding a string of public offices such as, Comptroller of the Republic of Texas, clerk of the Harris County court (1847-1851), and lieutenant governor (1857-1859). Lubbock was the Texas delegate to the national Democratic Convention in 1861, where the southern delegates walked out in protest of the platform and candidate, Stephen A. Douglas. Winning by only 124 votes, Lubbock was elected governor of Texas in 1861. However, when his term expired in 1863 he entered the Confederate Army as a lieutenant colonel, serving under Major General John Bankhead Magruder, General Nathaniel P. Banks, Brigadier General Thomas Green, and Major General John A. Wharton. Lubbock was a tax collector in Houston, as well as the state treasurer of Texas (1878-1890). Lubbock died in Austin in 1905.