A.J. Fountain

Albert Jennings Fountain

Full Name: Albert Jennings Fountain
Other surnames: Jennings
Date of birth: October 23, 1838
Date of death: February 1, 1896

Terms of Service top

Chamber District Dates of Service Legislatures Party City/County Note Counties in District
S 30 Feb 8, 1870 - Jan 13, 1874 12th (4) (5) (6)   13th (1) (2) (3)   Radical Republican El Paso / El Paso Senate President Pro Tempore (12th)   Atascosa, Cameron, Dimmit, Duval, El Paso, Frio, Hidalgo, Karnes, Kinney, La Salle, Live Oak, McMullen, Maverick, Medina, Nueces, Presidio, Starr, Uvalde, Webb, Zapata, Zavala, Encinal

(1) Entire Senate went up for reelection due to Senatorial redistricting. Act passed Apr. 24, 1873 [presented to Governor May 1, 1873 and became law without his signature], 13th Legislature, R.S., ch. 35, Apportionment Laws of Texas, 1836-1950, 1950.
(2) Republican. Directory of the Members of the Thirteenth Legislature of the State of Texas, 1873.
(3) "Returning radicals [to the 13th Legislature] were Thomas H. Baker, Webster Flanagan, S.W. Ford, Albert J. Fountain, Matthew Gaines, Phidello W. Hall, Henry Rawson, George T. Ruby, William A. Saylor, and Robert P. Tendick," p. 145. The Texas Senate: Volume II, Civil War to the Eve of Reform, 1861-1889, 1999.
(4) 12th Legislature - Senate President Pro Tempore, Adjourned Session (Webster Flanagan and Albert J. Fountain). Members of the Texas Congress 1836-1845; Members of the Texas Legislature 1846-2004, 2005.
(5) 12th Legislature, 1st C.S. - Drawing for Terms of Office, 5/2/1870, pp. 51-52. Drew 4-year term. Senate Journal.
(6) 12th Legislature, Regular Session - Senate President Pro Tempore, elected 3/30/1871, Regular Session, due to the vacancy in the office of Lieutenant Governor and the absence of the President Pro Tem. Senate Journal.

Terms of Service top

Senate District 30
Feb 8, 1870 - Jan 13, 1874
Legislatures: 12th (4) (5) (6)   13th (1) (2) (3)  
Senate President Pro Tempore (12th)
(12th)
Party: Radical Republican
Home City/County: El Paso / El Paso
Counties in district: Atascosa, Cameron, Dimmit, Duval, El Paso, Frio, Hidalgo, Karnes, Kinney, La Salle, Live Oak, McMullen, Maverick, Medina, Nueces, Presidio, Starr, Uvalde, Webb, Zapata, Zavala, Encinal

(1) Entire Senate went up for reelection due to Senatorial redistricting. Act passed Apr. 24, 1873 [presented to Governor May 1, 1873 and became law without his signature], 13th Legislature, R.S., ch. 35, Apportionment Laws of Texas, 1836-1950, 1950.
(2) Republican. Directory of the Members of the Thirteenth Legislature of the State of Texas, 1873.
(3) "Returning radicals [to the 13th Legislature] were Thomas H. Baker, Webster Flanagan, S.W. Ford, Albert J. Fountain, Matthew Gaines, Phidello W. Hall, Henry Rawson, George T. Ruby, William A. Saylor, and Robert P. Tendick," p. 145. The Texas Senate: Volume II, Civil War to the Eve of Reform, 1861-1889, 1999.
(4) 12th Legislature - Senate President Pro Tempore, Adjourned Session (Webster Flanagan and Albert J. Fountain). Members of the Texas Congress 1836-1845; Members of the Texas Legislature 1846-2004, 2005.
(5) 12th Legislature, 1st C.S. - Drawing for Terms of Office, 5/2/1870, pp. 51-52. Drew 4-year term. Senate Journal.
(6) 12th Legislature, Regular Session - Senate President Pro Tempore, elected 3/30/1871, Regular Session, due to the vacancy in the office of Lieutenant Governor and the absence of the President Pro Tem. Senate Journal.

Biographical Information top

Biographical Sketches

  • Photo and biographical sketch, "Lawyer of Billy the Kid." Billy the Kid: Outlaw Legend.
  • FOUNTAIN, ALBERT JENNINGS (1838-1896). "Fountain advocated 'militant Republicanism' during the Reconstruction of Texas." Handbook of Texas Online.
  • Biographical sketch, member of the legislature, pp. 98-99, became unpopular and accused of fraud, impact on El Paso, pp. 100-110. The Legal Heritage of El Paso, 1963.
  • Biography in LRL collection, 328.764 F825G 1965. The Life and Death of Colonel Albert Jennings Fountain, 1965.
  • Biographical sketch, pp. 100-102, includes an account of a former political ally's attempt to murder Fountain. Notes "he [Fountain] served as president pro tempore for a time during the spring of 1871 while acting president Campbell was ill." The Texas Senate: Volume II, Civil War to the Eve of Reform, 1861-1889, 1999.

Military Service Notes

  • Union, 2nd Lieutenant, 1st Regiment, California Infantry, Company G, E. Albert J. Fountain. Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System.
  • Lieutenant, Company G, 1st California Infantry. Military grave marker, Lieutenant A.J. Fountain, death date 2/1/1896, burial in the Masonic Cemetery, Las Cruces, New Mexico. Marker in memory of Albert J. Fountain, photos, biographical sketch, and resources. Find a Grave.

Other Resources

  • Account of the disappearance of A.J. Fountain and his son Henry, "Murders Most Foul" by Jay W. Sharp. A prominent attorney, Fountain became known for his defense of Billy the Kid. Desert USA, 1996.
  • Mentioned in HOWARD, CHARLES H. (1842-1877). In El Paso, Howard allied himself with Louis Cardis and Father Antonio Borrajo against the Radical Republicans and the "Anti-Salt Ring" led by Albert Jennings Fountain. Handbook of Texas Online.

Photographs

  • Photograph. A.J. Fountain, 13th Legislature, State Preservation Board
  • Photograph. A.J. Fountain, 13th Legislature, DeGolyer Library, SMU, Lawrence T. Jones III Texas Photographs

Composite Photographs on Display in the Capitol

Committee Information top

13th R.S. - 1873
Comptroller of Public Accounts and State Treasurer, Examine  
Constitutional Amendments  
Contingent Expenses, Select  
Counties and County Boundaries  
Financial Condition of the State  
Impeachment of John G. Scott, Judge of the Tenth Judicial District, Select  
Indian Affairs and Frontier Protection  
Judiciary No. 1  
Late Honorable Louis Frankee, Assassination  
Printing  
Public Lands  
Rules, Select (Chair) 
State Indebtness  
State Lunatic Asylum  
12th Adjourned - 1871
Indian Affairs and Frontier Protection (Chair) 
Nominations by the Governor  
Printing (Chair) 
Public Buildings  
Public Lands  
12th R.S. - 1871
Indian Affairs and Frontier Protection (Chair) 
Nominations by the Governor  
Printing (Chair) 
Public Buildings  
Public Lands  
12th 1st C.S. - 1870
Arrested Senators, Select  
Indian Affairs and Frontier Protection (Chair) 
Mileage Schedule  
Nominations by the Governor  
Printing (Chair) 
Public Buildings  
Public Lands  
Rules for Impeachment Proceeding, Select  
12th Provisional - 1870
Printing (Chair) 

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