Presidents of the Republic of Texas

Kenneth Lewis Anderson

Kenneth Lewis Anderson, the fifth vice president of the Republic of Texas, served from December 9, 1844 until his death July 3, 1845. Born September 11, 1805 in Hillsborough, North Carolina, as a young man he moved to Bedford County, Tennessee, where he married Patience Burditt and had his first taste of public office as sheriff. In 1837, the family moved to San Augustine, Texas, where Anderson served as a sheriff and studied law. In 1839, Mirabeau B. Lamar appointed him as a collector of customs for the area; in 1841, Anderson was elected to the Texas House of Representatives and chosen as speaker of the house. He only served one term, during which he led an unsuccessful effort to impeach Lamar, before returning to his law practice. In 1844 Anderson returned to politics and was elected vice president. He presided over the Senate when annexation was approved in June of 1845 and was considered one of the leading candidates for governor of the new state, but, while returning from Washington-on-the-Brazos, he fell ill and died of fever July 3, 1845.

Edward Burleson

Edward Burleson, the fourth vice president of the Republic of Texas was born December 15, 1798, in North Carolina. He began his military career early, serving in his father's regiment in the War of 1812. He came to Texas in May of 1830, and was active in the militia. On October 10, 1835, he was elected lieutenant colonel of the infantry in Stephen F. Austin's volunteer army and on November 24 he replaced Austin as general. Burleson fought in the Grass Fight and the siege of Bexar, and he commanded the 1st Infantry regiment at San Jacinto.

Under the Republic, Burleson served as the colonel of the frontier rangers and brigadier general of the militia. He was also active in the government, and, as a representative in the second congress between September 26, 1837 and May 1838, he served on the committee on post offices and post roads, the committee on military affairs and the committee of Indian affairs. In 1838 he laid out town of Waterloo, which later became Austin. He was elected to the Senate of the third congress, but resigned to command the Frontier Regiment. He fought and defeated the Comanches at Pecan Bayou on December 25, 1839 and at Plum Creek on August 12, 1840. In 1841 he was elected vice president of the republic, and in 1844 he made an unsuccessful bid for presidency.

After annexation, Burleson was elected senator and president pro tem of the First Legislature of the State of Texas. For the next ten years, he remained active in government and military affairs, taking part in the Mexican war and serving in the senate. He died of pneumonia December 26, 1851 in Austin, and was buried in the area that later became the Texas State Cemetery.

David Gouverneur Burnet

David Gouverneur Burnet was born April 14, 1788 in Newark, New Jersey, to a prominent family. He traveled as a young man, and eventually studied law. In 1826, Burnet received an empresario grant to settle 300 families around Nacogdoches, but he was unable to find the necessary colonists, and in 1830 he sold his rights. In December of 1830 he married Hannah Este, and the couple moved to Texas, arriving in Galveston in April of 1831. Burnet purchased land and for a time operated a sawmill. Although the mill was not a success, Burnet earned the respect of his neighbors, and he represented the Liberty neighborhood at the convention of San Felipe in 1833, where he helped draft the plea to divide Texas and Coahuila. In 1834 he was named the head of the Brazos district court. Burnet did not initially support the independence movement; he attended the March 10 session of Convention of 1836 on private business, to seek a pardon for a client who had been sentenced to death. Surprisingly, he was elected the ad interim president of the new Republic of Texas, and served from March 17 to October 22 of 1836. Conflicts with the cabinet, the army and Sam Houston marked his term. In 1838, he was elected vice president; during his term he also served as secretary of state and acting president. He was not popular, and lost his 1841 campaign for president to Sam Houston.

In 1846, Governor James P. Henderson appointed Burnet secretary of state, and in 1866 the legislature made him a United States senator; he was not seated, however, because Texas failed to meet Republican reconstruction requirements. His later years were darkened by financial hardship, and the death of his son in the Civil War grieved him deeply. Burnet died in Galveston on December 5, 1870 and was buried by friends.

Sam Houston

Sam Houston served as sixth governor of Texas from December 21, 1859 to March 16, 1861. Houston was born in Virginia in 1793, moved to Tennessee in his early teens, and lived most of three years with the Cherokee Indians in his late teens. He was wounded in the Battle of Horseshoe Bend (1814), gaining the admiration of Andrew Jackson. His legal and political career began in 1818: he was elected district attorney of Nashville, adjutant general, congressman, and finally governor of Tennessee. In 1829 marital difficulties probably moved Houston to resign the governorship and leave the state. He spent the next six years in diplomatic and business ventures in the Indian country. Although he represented Nacogdoches in the Convention of 1833, he was not a permanent resident of Texas until 1835. Houston was a delegate to the Consultation in 1835, and was elected major general of the Texas army by the General Council. As delegate from Refugio, he was a leading figure at the Convention of 1836, which then named him commander-in-chief of the Texas Army. After leading the victory at San Jacinto, he was elected second president of the Republic of Texas. He was representative from San Augustine County in the 4th and 5th Congresses before being elected president once again in 1841. After annexation, he served in the U.S. Senate (1846-1859), during which tenure he was defeated by Hardin Runnels in the gubernatorial election of 1857. Houston was elected governor of Texas in 1859. His term was dominated mainly by his anti- secessionist activities, in which he warned of the dangers of civil war and worked for a compromise. When he refused to take the oath of allegiance to the Confederate States of America in March of 1861 (arguing that now Texas was again an independent republic), Houston was replaced by his lieutenant governor, Edward Clark. He died at his farm near Huntsville on July 26, 1863.

Anson Jones

Anson Jones, the last president of the Republic of Texas and the "Architect of Annexation," was born in Seekonkville, Massachusetts on January 20, 1798. In 1820, he received a license to practice medicine. Over the next several years, he practiced in New York, Philadelphia and Venezuela. In 1827 he qualified for a MD at Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia. Although he was a respected member of the community, a Mason and the grand master of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows of Pennsylvania, financial success eluded him. In October of 1833, Jones came to Texas. Unimpressed, he had already booked passage back to New Orleans when friends persuaded him to stay; he soon established a successful practice in Brazoria. Jones signed the petition calling for Consultation in 1835 and, at Columbia in December of 1835, he presented resolutions in favor of calling a convention to declare independence. Jones declined a nomination as delegate to the convention, instead enlisting in Robert J. Calder's regiment. Although he eventually was judge advocate and surgeon of the Second Regiment, he also chose to remain a private in the infantry. After the war, Jones served for a brief time as apothecary general of the Texas army, before returning to his practice in Brazoria. He was elected as a representative to the second congress, where he opposed annexation, formulated legislation to regulate medical practice and advocated support for education.

In June 1838 Sam Houston appointed Jones as minister to the United States, and authorized him to withdraw Texas' annexation proposal and seek recognition and trade agreements from the European countries. Recalled by Mirabeau Lamar in May of 1839, Jones planned to retire, but found he had been elected to finish William H. Wharton's term in the senate. As a senator, Jones was highly critical of Lamar's administration.

On May 17, 1840 he married Mrs. Mary McCrory, and in 1841 returned to practice medicine in Brazoria. His retirement did not last long. In 1841, Sam Houston appointed him secretary of state, and relied on him to manage the young nation's foreign policy. Their goal was to obtain both an offer of annexation from the United States and an acknowledgment of Texas independence from Mexico; success would give the Republic of Texas the luxury of choosing the best path. In the United States, support for annexation was rising, and by the time Jones was elected president in September of 1844, James Polk, who had campaigned for annexing Texas, was president-elect, and President John Tyler had proposed annexation by joint resolution of Congress.

Jones delayed making any statement on annexation and refused to call a convention to consider the proposal until he had obtained a proposed treaty of recognition from Mexico. Meanwhile, the Texas Congress declared for annexation, and opposition to Jones grew. On June 4, 1845, Jones offered Texas a choice: peace and independence or annexation. The Texas congress rejected the treaty with Mexico, approved the joint resolution of annexation, and censured Jones. In July, a convention was held to approve annexation and write a constitution for the new state. On February 19, 1846 a ceremony was held, officially setting up the government of the State of Texas. Anson Jones lowered the flag, saying "The Republic of Texas is no more."

Jones retired to his plantation near Washington on the Brazos, where he became a prosperous planter. One of the founders of the first Masonic lodge in Texas, he continued to be active in the society. He was also a charter member of the Philosophical Society of Texas, and in 1853 he helped to found the Medical Association of Texas. Yet he was not quite satisfied with his position; Jones had hoped to be named a U.S. Senator following the annexation, and the legislature's selection of Houston and Thomas Rusk angered him. In 1857 Jones believed his chances were better, but once again he was not appointed. He committed suicide on January 9, 1858 and was buried in Glenwood cemetery in Houston. His book, Republic of Texas, was published in 1859.

Mirabeau Buonaparte Lamar

Mirabeau Buonaparte Lamar served as both a president and vice president of the Republic of Texas. He was born near Louisville, Georgia on August 16, 1798. As a young man he dabbled in business and publishing, but when George M. Troup became governor of Georgia, Lamar became Troup's secretary. In 1826, he resigned his position to care for his new wife, Tabitha Jordan, who suffered from tuberculosis. Lamar retained his interest in politics, and in 1828 he moved his wife and young daughter, Rebecca Ann, to Columbus, Georgia, where he published the Columbus Enquirer and promoted Governor Troup's policies. Elected to the state senate 1829, Lamar was running for a second term in 1830 when his wife died. He withdrew from the race, and sought consolation in travel and poetry. Following unsuccessful campaigns for U.S. Congress, Lamar visited Texas to do historical research. Impressed, he decided to immigrate. Lamar supported independence without hesitation: before he returned to Georgia to prepare for a permanent move to Texas, he helped to build a fort at Velasco and contributed three poems to the Brazoria Texas Republican. News of the defeats at the Alamo and Goliad brought him back to Texas, and he joined revolutionary army as a private. The day before the battle of San Jacinto, he rescued two Texans who were surrounded by Mexican soldiers; his actions so impressed the Texans that Lamar was made a colonel, and placed in command of the Texas cavalry on the morning of the battle. After the war, he served as secretary of war in President Burnet's cabinet, and was briefly the commander in chief of the Texas army. Elected vice president of the Republic of Texas in September of 1836, he devoted his time to his scholarly interests and made a lengthy visit to Georgia.

Lamar's 1837 campaign for presidency was sponsored by opponents of Sam Houston. Both opposing candidates committed suicide before the election, so Lamar easily won the presidency. It was obvious at his inauguration that Lamar had great dreams for the new nation. He spoke of promoting wealth, talent, enterprise, and higher moral and mental culture. Lamar proposed a system of public education supported by land endowments, and on January 26, 1839, the Congress authorized setting aside land to support public schools and two public universities. Although the severe economic difficulties of the young Republic prevented any further action, Lamar is known as the "Father of Texas Education."

Opposed to annexation, he favored a policy of expansion for Texas. In October of 1839, Lamar oversaw the transfer of the capital to the frontier community of Waterloo, which was renamed Austin. He attempted to reach a peace treaty with Mexico; when the effort was unsuccessful, he made an alliance with the rebel government of the Yucatan. He also tried to establish Texan rule over the area of New Mexico near Santa Fe, claimed by Texas in the Boundary Act of December 19, 1836. Although the Congress did not approve of the effort, Lamar authorized sending an expedition of merchants, protected by a military force, to Santa Fe to establish a trade route and encourage the New Mexicans to join the Republic of Texas. The effort was unsuccessful; the men suffered from hunger and thirst along the route, and when the Governor of New Mexico, Manuel Armijo, sent a detachment to halt the expedition, and the Texans were persuaded to surrender without a fight. All were imprisoned in Mexico. Unlike Houston, Lamar adopted a militant policy towards the Indians. In 1839, the Cherokees were forced out of Texas to Arkansas, and in 1840 campaigns inflicted stinging defeats on the Comanches.

Economically, Texas' reality was very far from Lamar's vision. Lamar had favored establishing a national bank, but Congress instead approved the printing of a new issue of paper money, which quickly became worthless. Efforts to secure loans from the United States and France failed. The national debt mounted; by 1841, Texas was on the verge of bankruptcy and Lamar was wildly unpopular.

He retired to his home near Richmond to oversee his plantation and pursue his historical and literary interests. During the annexation debates, he altered his position and lobbied for union. Lamar joined Zachary Taylor's army in Matamoros during the Mexican War and fought at Monterrey. Later, he became a captain of the Texas Mounted Volunteers on the Rio Grande, organized the municipal government of Laredo and served in the second Texas legislature. In 1851, Lamar married Henrietta Maffitt; their daughter, Loretto Evalina was born in Macon, Georgia in 1852. In 1857, Lamar was appointed United States minister to Nicaragua and Costa Rica; he returned to the U.S. in September of 1859, and died of a heart attack December 19, 1859 at his Richmond plantation.

Manuel Lorenzo Justiniano de Zavala y Saenz

Manuel Lorenzo Justiniano de Zavala y Saenz, a journalist, political and statesman, served as the first vice president of the Republic of Texas from March 16, 1836 to October 17, 1836. Born near Merida, Mexico, on October 3, 1788, he began his political career as a member of the Merida city council, and was soon known as an advocate for democratic reforms. In 1814 he was imprisoned for his beliefs, but after his release in 1817 he enjoyed great political success, serving in the Constituent Congresses of 1822 and 1824, the Mexican Senate between 1824 and 1826, and as Governor of the state of Mexico. Between 1830 and 1832, an opponent's victory sent Zavala into exile in the United State and Europe, but upon his return he again served as a state governor, a deputy in the legislature and as minister plenipotentiary to France.

When President Santa Anna assumed dictatorial powers in 1834, Zavala resigned his post and moved to Texas, where he soon joined the independence movement. He was a member of the Permanent Council, represented Harrisburg in the Consultation, and was elected ad interim vice president of the Republic by the Convention of 1836. Plagued by poor health, he resigned on October 17, 1836. He died of pneumonia less than a month later, on November 15, 1836 and was buried at his home near Buffalo Bayou. Lorenzo de Zavala married twice, first to Teresa Correa y Correa, with whom he had three children; after her death in 1831, he married Emily West, with whom he had three children.