Texas governor and treasurer Francis Richard Lubbock was born on October 16, 1815, in Beaufort, South Carolina, to Dr. Henry Thomas Willis and Susan Ann (Saltus) Lubbock. Lubbock pursued business careers in South Carolina and New Orleans before moving to Texas in 1836 in search of his brother, Thomas. In 1837 Lubbock and his wife moved to the new town of Houston and he opened a hardware store there. He was narrowly defeated as the town's first mayor. During the 1840s he began his ranching operations and continued his political aspirations in Texas. He was elected lieutenant-governor in 1857 but lost his re-election bid in 1859. He chaired the Southern Democratic Convention of 1860, and in 1861 he was elected governor of Texas.
Lubbock was an ardent supporter of Jefferson Davis and the Confederacy, and worked hard to enhance Texas' military capabilities, including supporting Confederate conscriptions in the state for fighting in the East. He decided not to seek a second term in 1863, and instead immediately enlisted. He was appointed lieutenant colonel and was active in the Red River campaigns. In August 1864 Jefferson Davis summoned Lubbock to Richmond to serve as his aide-de-camp and expert on trans-Mississippi affairs. Lubbock accepted the position, and after Lee's surrender, he fled with Davis and his cabinet, headed toward Texas, but Federal troops captured them in Georgia.
After an eight-month imprisonment, Lubbock returned to Texas and ranching, then to Houston and business ventures. He served as tax collector in Galveston, and from 1878 to 1891, state treasurer. Lubbock died in Austin on June 22, 1905. He was married three times: Adele Baron, 1835; Sarah E. Black Porter, 1883; and Lou Scott, 1903.
Houston businessman Robert Lockart married Anna Bythewood Lubbock, sister of Francis R. Lubbock, in 1843. He went into the realty business in Houston with his son, Robert Lockart (ca. 1849-1920).
From the guide to the Lubbock family papers MC029. 47188792., 1838-1931, (Bulk: 1850-1884), (Albert and Ethel Herzstein Library, )
