Texas. Governor (1876-1879 : Hubbard)

Richard Bennett Hubbard served as governor of Texas from December 1, 1876 to January 21, 1879. He was born in Georgia on November 1, 1832 and graduated from Mercer College (1851) and Harvard Law School (1853). Hubbard then moved to Texas and began practicing law in Tyler. While campaigning for James Buchanan in the presidential election of 1856, Hubbard's oratorical skill earned him the nickname of the Demosthenes of Texas. He was appointed U.S. district attorney for the Western District of Texas in 1858, and elected state representative in 1859. After serving as a colonel in the Confederate Army, Hubbard farmed until he could resume his law practice upon being pardoned. He was elected Richard Coke's lieutenant governor in 1873 and 1876. When Coke resigned in December 1876 to become U.S. Senator, Hubbard became governor and served out his term. No legislatures met during this period. Besides an enormous public debt, Hubbard had to contend with renewed feuding and outlawry in the state. Other issues included the penitentiary lease system, the rise of the Grange and the Greenback Party, and the first experiments with the party primary. Hubbard received a majority of votes for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination in July 1878, but did not receive a two-thirds majority. He was passed over in favor of the compromise candidate, Oran Roberts. President Grover Cleveland appointed Hubbard U.S. minister to Japan from 1885-1889. In 1899, Hubbard's book The United States and the Far East was published. He died in Tyler in 1901.

From the guide to the Records, 1870-1878, (bulk 1877-1878), (Texas State Archives)

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