William Henry Sinclair

William Henry Sinclair

Full Name: William Henry Sinclair
Date of birth: October 31, 1838
Date of death: January 11, 1897

Terms of Service top

Chamber District Dates of Service Legislatures Party City/County Note Counties in District
H 12 Feb 8, 1870 - Jan 14, 1873 12th (2) (3) (4)   Radical Republican Galveston / Galveston Speaker 5/10/1871 - 1/14/1873.   Brazoria, Galveston, Matagorda

(1) 12th Legislature, Adjourned Session - Resolution offered declaring Sinclair's seat vacant due to his acceptance of the office of Galveston county treasurer, 9/19/1871, p. 43; 9/20/1871, pp. 53-54. Majority and minority reports of the Committee on Privileges and Elections, 9/22/1871, in journal of 9/27/1871, pp. 106-114. House Journal. September 19, 1871 September 20, 1871 September 27, 1871
(2) 12th Legislature, Provisional Session - Qualified and took the oath of office on 2/8/1870. House Journal.
(3) Evans was elected speaker in the 12th Legislature, Provisional Session, 2/10/1870, and elected speaker again in the 12th Legislature Regular Session, 1/10/1871. Evans continued in office until 5/10/1871, when a resolution declared the office vacant. Slaughter was appointed speaker pro tempore and Sinclair elected to succeed Evans the same day. Members of the Texas Congress 1836-1845; Members of the Texas Legislature 1846-2004, 2005.
(4) Party affiliation, Radical. Texas Almanac for . . . and Emigrant's Guide to Texas.

Terms of Service top

House District 12
Feb 8, 1870 - Jan 14, 1873
Legislatures: 12th (2) (3) (4)  
Speaker 5/10/1871 - 1/14/1873.
Party: Radical Republican
Home City/County: Galveston / Galveston
Counties in district: Brazoria, Galveston, Matagorda

(1) 12th Legislature, Adjourned Session - Resolution offered declaring Sinclair's seat vacant due to his acceptance of the office of Galveston county treasurer, 9/19/1871, p. 43; 9/20/1871, pp. 53-54. Majority and minority reports of the Committee on Privileges and Elections, 9/22/1871, in journal of 9/27/1871, pp. 106-114. House Journal. September 19, 1871 September 20, 1871 September 27, 1871
(2) 12th Legislature, Provisional Session - Qualified and took the oath of office on 2/8/1870. House Journal.
(3) Evans was elected speaker in the 12th Legislature, Provisional Session, 2/10/1870, and elected speaker again in the 12th Legislature Regular Session, 1/10/1871. Evans continued in office until 5/10/1871, when a resolution declared the office vacant. Slaughter was appointed speaker pro tempore and Sinclair elected to succeed Evans the same day. Members of the Texas Congress 1836-1845; Members of the Texas Legislature 1846-2004, 2005.
(4) Party affiliation, Radical. Texas Almanac for . . . and Emigrant's Guide to Texas.

Biographical Information top

Selected newspaper articles

Biographical Sketches

  • Biographical sketch; born in Ohio in 1832. American Legislative Leaders, 1850-1910, 1989.
  • SINCLAIR, WILLIAM HENRY (1838-1897). Handbook of Texas Online.
  • Family group sheet, letters, newspaper articles, biographical sketches, Internet web hosting site; publisher unknown.
  • Obituary, "Col. Sinclair Dead," and Associated Press Account, The News in Galveston, Sketch of His Life, The Galveston Daily News, 1/12/1897, p. 8, crediting Abilene Library Consortium. Born 10/31/1839 in Akron, Ohio; died 1/11/1897 in Rochester, New York; member of the 12th Legislature. Portal to Texas History (University of North Texas Libraries).
  • 21st Speaker of the House of Representatives: William Henry Sinclair. Photo and biographical sketch. Presiding Officers of the Texas Legislature, 1846-2016, 2016.
  • Photos, biographical sketch, newspaper article, and excerpt from "Who Was the Real Head of the Texas Freedmen's Bureau?: The Role of Brevet Colonel William H. Sinclair as Acting Assistant Inspector General." Birth date 5/30/1839. Robinson's Battery.

Military Service Notes

  • Union Army, Civil War. Second Lieutenant, Company C, 7th Michigan Infantry and Colonel, Army of the Cumberland. Handbook of Texas Online.

Other Resources

  • William H. Sinclair, birth date 10/31/1838, death date 1/11/1897, burial in Lakeview Cemetery, Galveston, Galveston County. Includes portraits and reprints of obituaries. Find a Grave.
  • Account of conditions in Clarksville during Reconstruction. Albert Latimer served as subassistant commissioner of the Freedmen's Bureau under Inspector General William H. Sinclair, pp. 198-200, Overreached on All Sides: the Freedmen's Bureau in Texas Administrators, 1865-1868, 1991.
  • Includes extensive discussion of Sinclair's involvement in the Freedmen's Bureau, Overreached on All Sides: the Freedmen's Bureau in Texas Administrators, 1865-1868, 1991.

Photographs

Committee Information top

12th R.S. - 1871
Commerce and Manufactures  
Finance (Chair) 
House Employees, Regulate Pay of (Chair) 
Militia  
12th 1st C.S. - 1870
Alleged Illegal Sale of Newspapers by Officers of the House, Select (Chair) 
Blind Asylum, Select  
Comptroller and Treasurer's Offices, Select  
Division of the State, Select  
Education (Chair) 
House Officer and Employee Compensation, Select (Chair) 
Militia  
Town and City Corporations  
12th Provisional - 1870
Fourteenth and Fifteenth U.S. Constitutional Amendments, Passage of  

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