Benjamin Holland Epperson

Full Name: Benjamin Holland "Ben" Epperson
Date of birth: November 3, 1824
Date of death: September 6, 1878

Terms of Service
Biographical Notes
Committee Information

Terms of Service top

Chamber	District	Dates of Service	Legislatures	Party	City/County	Counties in District
H	7	Jan 13, 1874 - Apr 18, 1876	14th	Democrat	Jefferson / Marion	Bowie, Cass, Marion
H	2	Nov 7, 1859 - Nov 4, 1861	8th ⁽¹⁾ ⁽²⁾ ⁽³⁾		Clarksville / Red River	Red River
H	Red River	Dec 13, 1847 - Nov 5, 1849	2nd ⁽⁴⁾		Clarksville / Red River	Red River, Titus

(1) "In April 1860 two seemingly unrelated meetings of Unionists occurred . . . The newly created Constitutional Union party met in the Tyler courthouse to nominate delegates to that party's national convention. A.M. Gentry, . . . Anthony Bannon Norton, Benjamin Holland Epperson, and Lemuel D. Evans, completed a quartet made up of two Whigs, a Know-Nothing, and a Union Democrat. "Origins of Early Texas Republican Party Leadership," Vol. 40, No. 3, pp. 444. Journal of Southern History.
(2) Included in "Table II, Constitutional Unionists (Identified from newspapers) with Biographical Data," list of leaders of the Texas Constitutional Union Party in 1860. The party was formed in January of 1860. "The Constitutional Union Party in Texas," The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 82, Number 3, January 1979, pp. 238, 256-262, crediting Texas State Historical Association. Portal to Texas History (University of North Texas Libraries). Table II, Constitutional Unionists
(3) Mentioned as an "old-line Whig" in "The Constitutional Union Party in Texas," The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 82, Number 3, January 1979, p. 245, crediting Texas State Historical Association. Portal to Texas History (University of North Texas Libraries).
(4) Roster of members of the 2nd Legislature, The Texas Democrat (Austin, Texas), 12/15/1847, p. 2, crediting Dolph Briscoe Center for American History. Portal to Texas History (University of North Texas Libraries).

Terms of Service top

House District 7
Jan 13, 1874 - Apr 18, 1876
Legislatures: 14th
Party: Democrat
Home City/County: Jefferson / Marion
Counties in district: Bowie, Cass, Marion

House District 2
Nov 7, 1859 - Nov 4, 1861
Legislatures: 8th ⁽¹⁾ ⁽²⁾ ⁽³⁾
Home City/County: Clarksville / Red River
Counties in district: Red River

House District Red River
Dec 13, 1847 - Nov 5, 1849
Legislatures: 2nd ⁽⁴⁾
Home City/County: Clarksville / Red River
Counties in district: Red River, Titus

Biographical Information top

Biographical Sketches

Biographical sketch, "A Guide to the Benjamin Holland Epperson Papers, 1834-1876." Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin, 2006.
EPPERSON, BENJAMIN HOLLAND (1826-1878). Born 1826 in Amite County, Mississippi, "Epperson was a leader of the Whig party in Texas during the early 1850s. He ran unsuccessfully for governor on the Whig ticket in 1851 and joined the new American (Know-Nothing) party in the mid-1850s." Handbook of Texas Online.
"Benjamin H. Epperson and His House of the Seasons," by Barbara Edwards. Texas State Historical Association. The Texas Historian, Volume 44, Number 2, November 1983, pp. 1-6, crediting Texas State Historical Association. Born 11/3/1826 in Amite County, Mississippi. Portal to Texas History (University of North Texas Libraries).
Death notice, "B.H. Epperson," The Galveston Daily News, 9/7/1878, p. 1, crediting Abilene Library Consortium. Death date 9/6/1878.
Death notice, role in development of industrial resources and railroads in North Texas, "Death of Hon. B.H. Epperson," Fort Worth Daily Democrat, 9/10/1878, p. 1, crediting Fort Worth Public Library.
Obituary, "Death of Col. B.H. Epperson," The Panola Watchman (Carthage, Texas), 9/18/1878, p. 2, crediting Sammy Brown Library; reprint of Marshall Herald. Born 11/3/1824 in Mississippi.
Obituary, "Texas Loses a Patriot," Weekly Democratic Statesman (Austin, Texas), 9/19/1878, p. 1. "Had he lived until the third of November he would have been 54 years of age" (birth date 11/3/1824). Portal to Texas History (University of North Texas Libraries). September 10, 1878 September 18, 1878 September 19, 1878 September 7, 1878
Biographical sketch, p. 60. Born 11/3/1826 in Amite County, Mississippi. Representing Texas: A Comprehensive History of U.S. and Confederate Senators and Representatives from Texas, 2008.
Biographical sketch and portrait. Born 11/3/1824 in Mississippi. Texas Album of the Eighth Legislature, 1860.
Biographical sketch, pp. 55, 149. Texas in the War, 1861-1865, 1965.

Military Service Notes

Benjamin Holland Epperson. Born 1826, died 9/6/1878. Texas Burial Sites of Civil War Notables: A Biographical and Pictorial Field Guide, 2002.

Other Resources

Photo, mentioned p. 34. Austin Lawyers: A Legacy of Leadership and Service, 2005.
B.H. Epperson, birth date 11/3/1824, death date 9/6/1878, burial in Oakwood Cemetery, Jefferson, Marion County. Find a Grave.
Description of Benjamin Epperson's home, House of the Seasons, in Jefferson, TX. House of the Seasons.
". . . one of four delegates representing Texas at the National Constitutional Union Conventions commencing May 9 at Baltimore." Baggett, James Alex, "Origins of Early Texas Republican Party Leadership," The Journal of Southern History, Vol.40(3), August 1974, p. 444. Journal of Southern History.
Included on list of "Texas Know Nothing Leaders with a Summary of Biographical Data Taken from the . . . United States Eighth Census, 1860." The party was active at the state level in Texas in 1855 and 1856. "By 1857 the party had virtually disappeared in Texas." "An Analysis of the Texas Know Nothings," The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 70, Number 3, January 1967, pp. 414-423, crediting Texas State Historical Association. Portal to Texas History (University of North Texas Libraries).
Included on list of "Texas Whigs Named in Newspapers and Identified From the Census of 1850," in "The Whig Party of Texas in the Elections of 1848 and 1852," The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 73, Number 1, pp. 30-33, crediting Texas State Historical Association. Portal to Texas History (University of North Texas Libraries).

Photographs

Photograph. B.H. Epperson, 14th Legislature, State Preservation Board
Photograph. B.H. Epperson, 9th Legislature, Texas Album of the Eighth Legislature

Composite Photographs on Display in the Capitol

14th session composite photo of Senate and House members (Ground floor elevator vestibule, east wall. GW.V3). State Preservation Board.

Committee Information top

14th R.S. - 1874 Commerce and Manufactures Constitutional Amendments Finance Financial Condition of the State Floating Debt of the State Impeachment Managers, Judge William Chambers, 1st Judicial District Impeachment of Judge William Chambers, 1st Judicial District Internal Improvements (Chair) Judges M. Walker and Wesley Ogden, Supreme Court Judicial Districts (Co-Chair) Judiciary No. 2 (Chair) Removal of Judge Martin Wheeler, 5th Judicial District Rules Texas Central Railroad
8th R.S. - 1859 Internal Improvement Judiciary
2nd R.S. - 1847 Apportionment of Representation, Select (Chair) Judiciary Penitentiary Printing

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