Lawrence Sullivan Ross was governor of Texas from January 18, 1887 to January 20, 1891. Although born in Iowa on September 27, 1838, Sul Ross became a Texan before his first birthday, when his family settled in Milam County. The family moved to Austin in 1846 and Waco in 1849, where Ross' father was U.S. Indian agent on the Brazos Reservation. Ross attended Baylor University and graduated from Wesleyan University in Florence, Alabama. In 1860 the ranger company which he commanded recaptured Cynthia Ann Parker. During the Civil War, Ross fought in 135 battles or skirmishes, rising to command Ross' Brigade as brigadier general. He farmed near Waco until he was elected sheriff of McLennan County in 1873, achieving a reputation for effectiveness. Ross was a delegate to the Constitutional Convention of 1875 and a state senator in 1881-1882. He easily won the governor's chair in 1886. During his terms in office, progress was made in the sale and leasing of public lands, the regulation of railroads, and the establishment of eleemosynary institutions, and a state prohibition amendment was defeated. Ross' second inauguration took place in the new state capitol building. In 1891 he became president of Texas A&M College, ending an eight-year vacancy in that post. Ross died near Bryan, Texas on January 3, 1898.
From the guide to the Records, 1887-1888, (Texas State Archives)
