Chamber	District	Dates of Service	Legislatures	Party	City/County	Counties in District
S	26	Jan 8, 1963 - Jan 10, 1967	58th ⁽¹⁾ 59th	Democrat	San Antonio / Bexar	Bexar
S	26	Dec 22, 1961 - Jan 8, 1963	57th ⁽²⁾	Democrat	San Antonio / Bexar	Bexar
H	68-2	Jan 10, 1961 - Dec 14, 1961	57th ⁽²⁾	Democrat	San Antonio / Bexar	Bexar
H	68-2	Jan 13, 1959 - Jan 10, 1961	56th	Democrat	San Antonio / Bexar	Bexar

(1) 58th Legislature - Drawing for Terms of Office, 1/9/1963, p. 16. Drew 4-year term. Senate Journal.
(2) In Senate, Franklin S. Spears, in special election 12/16/1961, sworn 12/22/1961, succeeded Henry B. Gonzalez, elected Congressman, 25th District, 11/4/1961, resigned Senate seat 11/5/1961. Spears' first session in the Senate was 57th 3rd Called Session. In House, Rudy Esquivel, in special election 12/16/1961, took office 12/22/1961, succeeded Franklin S. Spears, resigned 12/14/1961. Esquivel's first session was 57th 3rd Called Session. Members of the Texas Congress 1836-1845; Members of the Texas Legislature 1846-2004, 2005.

Biographical Notes and Resources top

Selected Newspaper articles

Resolutions and Journal entries

57th Legislature, R.S., HSR 67. Resolutions - Congratulatory and Honorary.
58th Legislature, R.S., HSR 37. Resolutions - Congratulatory and Honorary.

Biographical Sketches

Biographical sketch and portrait, Franklin Scott Spears, Associate Justice, Texas Supreme Court, 1979-1990. Relatives: J. Franklin Spears - father, Franklin Scott Spears - son. Justices of Texas, 1836-1986 (Tarlton Law Library, The University of Texas at Austin), 2004.
Memorial, September 1996, p. 819. Texas Bar Journal.
Photo and biographical sketch, Supreme Court of Texas, April 1985, pp. 432-434. Texas Bar Journal.

Military Service Notes

United States Army, Captain. "Upon graduation in 1954, he was commissioned a second lieutenant in the United States Army, and was designated a Distinguished Military Graduate. After serving served two years active duty in Germany and honorably discharged as a captain in 1956." Biographical sketch, Supreme Court of Texas, April 1985, p. 434. Texas Bar Journal.
United States Army. Photo and salute. With Honor and Gratitude: A Special Thank You to Our Texas Senate Members Who Served Our Country, 2017.

Photographs

Photograph. Franklin S. Spears, 59th Legislature, State Preservation Board
Photograph. Franklin S. Spears, 58th Legislature, State Preservation Board
Photograph. Franklin S. Spears, 57th Legislature, State Preservation Board
Photograph. Franklin Scott Spears, 56th Legislature, State Preservation Board
Photograph. Franklin S. Spears, 56th Legislature, Texas Yearbook, 56th Legislature

Composite Photographs on Display in the Capitol

57th session composite photo of Senate members (Ground floor corridor, south wall. GE.C1). State Preservation Board.
58th session composite photo of Senate members (Ground floor corridor, south wall. GE.C1). State Preservation Board.
59th session composite photo of Senate members (Ground floor corridor, south wall. GE.C1). State Preservation Board.
56th session composite photo of House members (Ground floor corridor, south wall. GW.C1). State Preservation Board.
57th session composite photo of House members (Ground floor corridor, south wall. GW.C1). State Preservation Board.

Committee Information top

59th R.S. - 1965 Banking Claims Constitutional Amendments Interstate Cooperation Jurisprudence Nominations Nursing Profession Rules (Vice Chair) State Affairs Transportation
58th R.S. - 1963 Banking Constitutional Amendments Counties, Cities and Towns Game and Fish Interstate-Cooperation (Vice Chair) Jurisprudence Public Health State Affairs Water and Conservation
57th R.S. - 1961 Banking Common Carriers (Vice Chair) Conservation and Reclamation (Vice Chair) Counties, Cities and Towns Escheat Laws (Chair) Interstate Cooperation (Chair) Judiciary Jurisprudence Privileges and Elections Public Health Revenue and Taxation
56th R.S. - 1959 Appropriations Appropriations Subcommittee on Judiciary Criminal Jurisprudence Judiciary Municipal and Private Corporations Privileges, Suffrage and Elections

This website is a work in progress. Information on this website is provided as a public service by the Legislative Reference Library. The Legislative Reference Library makes no representation as to its completeness or accuracy and makes no warranty in regard to its use. Users assume all risk of reliance on the information included on this site.

Have a question, comment or contribution? Email the Library or call 512-463-1252.

Many photos in Texas Legislators: Past and Present are used with permission of the Texas State Preservation Board. For permission to reproduce these photos, please contact the Texas State Preservation Board graphics coordinator at 512-475-3060.