Allen Wilder

Allen W. Wilder

Full Name: Allen W. Wilder
Date of birth: 1845
Date of death: Deceased, date unknown

Terms of Service top

Chamber District Dates of Service Legislatures Party City/County Note Counties in District
H 39 Apr 18, 1876 - May 13, 1876 15th (1) (2)   Republican Chappell Hill / Washington   Washington
H 16 Jan 14, 1873 - Jan 13, 1874 13th (3) (4) (5)   Republican Chappell Hill / Washington   Washington

(1) Committee on Privileges and Elections report on contested election, 5/13/1876, pp. 148-149, concluding that A.W. Wilder did not receive a majority of all the "legal votes cast" and that H.R. Von Bieberstein is entitled to the seat. House Journal.
(2) H.R. Von Bieberstein, in election contest 5/13/1876, sworn the same day, unseated Allen W. Wilder. Members of the Texas Congress 1836-1845; Members of the Texas Legislature 1846-2004, 2005.
(3) Republican. Directory of the Members of the Thirteenth Legislature of the State of Texas, 1873.
(4) "A. Wilder was elected but never seated," p. 61. (Thirteenth House Journal clearly shows Allen Wilder sworn and voting in the 13th.) Negro Legislators of Texas and Their Descendants: A History of the Negro in Texas Politics from Reconstruction to Disfranchisement, 1935. Journal of the Thirteenth Legislature
(5) A.W. Wilder listed in Republican State Convention of 1873, Committee on Platform and Resolutions, pp. 154-157. Platforms of Political Parties in Texas, 1916.

Terms of Service top

House District 39
Apr 18, 1876 - May 13, 1876
Legislatures: 15th (1) (2)  
Party: Republican
Home City/County: Chappell Hill / Washington
Counties in district: Washington
House District 16
Jan 14, 1873 - Jan 13, 1874
Legislatures: 13th (3) (4) (5)  
Party: Republican
Home City/County: Chappell Hill / Washington
Counties in district: Washington

(1) Committee on Privileges and Elections report on contested election, 5/13/1876, pp. 148-149, concluding that A.W. Wilder did not receive a majority of all the "legal votes cast" and that H.R. Von Bieberstein is entitled to the seat. House Journal.
(2) H.R. Von Bieberstein, in election contest 5/13/1876, sworn the same day, unseated Allen W. Wilder. Members of the Texas Congress 1836-1845; Members of the Texas Legislature 1846-2004, 2005.
(3) Republican. Directory of the Members of the Thirteenth Legislature of the State of Texas, 1873.
(4) "A. Wilder was elected but never seated," p. 61. (Thirteenth House Journal clearly shows Allen Wilder sworn and voting in the 13th.) Negro Legislators of Texas and Their Descendants: A History of the Negro in Texas Politics from Reconstruction to Disfranchisement, 1935. Journal of the Thirteenth Legislature
(5) A.W. Wilder listed in Republican State Convention of 1873, Committee on Platform and Resolutions, pp. 154-157. Platforms of Political Parties in Texas, 1916.

Biographical Information top

Resolutions and Journal entries

  • 79th Legislature, R.S., HR 589, paying tribute to African American legislators and constitutional convention delegates of 1868-1900. Resolutions - Congratulatory and Honorary.
  • 81st Legislature, R.S., HCR 81, paying tribute to African American legislators and constitutional convention delegates. Resolutions - Congratulatory and Honorary.
  • 85th Legislature, R.S., HR 452, celebrating Black History Month and honoring the leadership and vision of African American lawmakers. Resolutions - Congratulatory and Honorary.
  • 88th Legislature, R.S., SCR 13, Recognizing the Texas Black Reconstruction Legislators Recognition Act. SB 667, Texas Black Reconstruction Legislators Recognition Act. Resolutions - Congratulatory and Honorary. SB 667 SCR 13
  • 88th Legislature, R.S., SCR 13, Recognizing the Texas Black Reconstruction Legislators Recognition Act. SB 667, Texas Black Reconstruction Legislators Recognition Act. Resolutions - Legislative Policy. SB 667 SCR 13

Biographical Sketches

  • Portrait and biographical sketch, Allen W. Wilder. Born North Carolina, ca. 1845; died date, place unknown. Forever Free: Nineteenth Century African-American Legislators and Constitutional Convention Delegates of Texas, 2002.
  • Mentioned in footnote 5, p. 264, Gideon Lincecum, 1793-1874: a Biography, by Lois Wood Burkhalter. "During the Reconstruction, Negroes found their military and political services in demand by the Texas Republican Party." Google Books.
  • WILDER, ALLEN W. (ca. 1845-?). Handbook of Texas Online.
  • Biographical sketch, p. 41; severely wounded in shooting in Chapel Hill, Washington County, 1884, p. 162. Birth year 1843, Appendix D. Through Many Dangers, Toils, and Snares: Black Leadership in Texas, 1868-1898, 2016.

Other Resources

  • Mentioned in "A Texas Law Graduate’s Quest to Uncover the Story of the State’s First Black Attorney," by John G. Browning, March/April 2021. "Despite some historians erroneously listing Allen Wilder, one of Texas' first Black legislators, as its first Black attorney, the evidence I was uncovering pointed to an even earlier legal mind named William A. Price." The Alcalde.
  • Allen W. Wilder, Sr., born 1845 in Mississippi; death in Washington County, Texas; marriage to Annis Skinner (Annie Collins Skinner) on 12/28/1865 in Austin County, Texas; residence in Washington County, Texas in 1880. Kian Family Tree; Census of 1880; Texas, U.S., Select County Marriage Index & Records; Texas, U.S., County Marriage Records, 1817-1965. Ancestry.com.
  • Allen Wilder, marriage to Annis Skinner 12/28/1865 in Austin County, Texas. Census of 1880 - Allen Wilder, Washington County, age 35, born circa 1845 in Mississippi, lawyer, wife Annie Wilder. FamilySearch. Census of 1880 Texas, County Marriage Index, 1837-1977
  • Mentioned in Chapter VI, "Black Belt Politics." The Negro in Texas, 1874-1900, 1971.
  • Mentioned in Negro Legislators of Texas and Their Descendants, 1970.
  • Mentioned in "Searching for One of History's Mysteries," October 2016, pp. 71-72, relating to African-American lawyers in Texas. Texas Lawyer.

Photographs

  • Photograph. Allen Wilder, 13th Legislature, DeGolyer Library, SMU, Lawrence T. Jones III Texas Photographs
  • Photograph. Allen Wilder, 13th Legislature, State Preservation Board
  • Photograph. Allen W. Wilder, State Preservation Board

Composite Photographs on Display in the Capitol

Committee Information top

15th R.S. - 1876
Public Lands and Land Office  
13th R.S. - 1873
Apportionment  
Public Lands and Land Office  

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