Campbell, Thomas Mitchell, 1856-1923

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Thomas Mitchell Campbell (1856-1923), lawyer, general manager of the International-Great Northern Railroad, and governor of Texas, graduated from Trinity University and passed the Texas bar in 1878. He began his practice in Longview, Texas, in the same year. In 1889, Campbell became master chancery for the financially distressed International-Great Northern Railroad in Palestine, Texas. Campbell guided the railroad through its recovery, becoming its general manager in 1891. Distrusting big businesses, Campbell eventually clashed with the railroad’s owner Jay Gould and left the railroad to resume his law practice in 1897. Campbell, upon the encouragement of his friend, former governor James S. Hogg, ran for governor, winning the office in 1906 on an anti-trust platform.

Campbell served as governor for two terms (1907-1911) and affected reforms such as railroads regulations, anti-trust laws, lobbying restrictions, food and drug regulations, prison reform, and insurance laws. Furthermore, Campbell helped create many state agencies, such as the Department of Insurance and Banking, Bureau of Labor Statistics, State Board of Health, and the Texas State Library. In 1911, Campbell returned to his private practice, but remained active in politics, unsuccessfully running for the United States Senate in 1916. Campbell died in Galveston in 1923.

Source: Handbook of Texas Online, s.v. “Campbell, Thomas Mitchell,” http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/CC/fca37.html (accessed July 1, 2010).

From the guide to the Campbell, Thomas Mitchell, Papers 1948., 1898-1923, (Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin)

Archival Resources
Role Title Holding Repository
creatorOf Campbell, Thomas Mitchell, Papers 1948., 1898-1923 Dolph Briscoe Center for American History
referencedIn Records, 1906-1911 Texas State Archives
Role Title Holding Repository
Relation Name
associatedWith Campbell, Thomas Mitchell, 1856-1923 person
associatedWith Gould, Jay, 1836-1892 person
associatedWith International-Great northern railroad company. corporateBody
associatedWith Texas. Bureau of Labor Statistics corporateBody
associatedWith Texas. Governor (1907-1911: Campbell) corporateBody
associatedWith Texas State Board of Health corporateBody
associatedWith Texas State Library corporateBody
Place Name Admin Code Country
Longview (Tex.)
Palestine (Tex.)
Subject
Governors
Insurance
Occupation
Activity

Person

Birth 1856-04-22

Death 1923-04-01

Male

English

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