Eldred James Simkins

Full Name: Eldred James Simkins
Other surnames: Sempkins
Date of birth: October 13, 1839
Date of death: June 25, 1903

Terms of Service
Biographical Notes
Committee Information

Terms of Service top

Chamber	District	Dates of Service	Legislatures	Party	City/County	Note	Counties in District
S	15	Jan 13, 1891 - Apr 30, 1892	22nd ⁽¹⁾ ⁽²⁾ ⁽³⁾ ⁽⁴⁾	Democrat	Corsicana / Navarro		Freestone, Limestone, Navarro
S	15	Jan 11, 1887 - Jan 13, 1891	20th ⁽⁷⁾ ⁽⁸⁾ 21st ⁽⁵⁾ ⁽⁶⁾	Democrat	Corsicana / Navarro		Freestone, Limestone, Navarro

(1) 2-year term; entire Senate went up for reelection in 1892 due to redistricting. Act approved Apr. 19, 1892, 22nd Legislature, 1st C.S., ch. 20. Apportionment Laws of Texas, 1836-1950, 1950.
(2) Democrat. Biennial Report of the Secretary of State of the State of Texas: List of Senators and Representatives.
(3) Simkins resigned 4/30/1892. Members of the Texas Congress 1836-1845; Members of the Texas Legislature 1846-2004, 2005.
(4) 22nd Legislature - 1/13/1891, p. 1, listed as new member in roll call: "The credentials of the new members were presented, and the following senators had the oath of office administered them by the president pro tem of the senate." Senate Journal.
(5) Democrat. Biennial Report of the Secretary of State of the State of Texas: List of Senators and Representatives.
(6) E.J. Sempkins, Senate District 15. List of Senators of the 21st Legislature, "The State Senate: Members-Elect in the Different Districts - Austin Local Notes," Galveston Daily News, 11/20/1888, p. 6, crediting Abilene Library Consortium. "There are two independents in the list. The rest are democratic nominees." Portal to Texas History (University of North Texas Libraries).
(7) Roster of senators and representatives of the 20th Legislature with their postoffice address, Austin Weekly Statesman, "Governmental," 12/30/1886, p. 6. Portal to Texas History (University of North Texas Libraries).
(8) 20th Legislature - Roll call of new members, oath of office administered, 1/11/1887, p. 1. Senate Journal.

Terms of Service top

Senate District 15
Jan 13, 1891 - Apr 30, 1892
Legislatures: 22nd ⁽¹⁾ ⁽²⁾ ⁽³⁾ ⁽⁴⁾
Party: Democrat
Home City/County: Corsicana / Navarro
Counties in district: Freestone, Limestone, Navarro

Senate District 15
Jan 11, 1887 - Jan 13, 1891
Legislatures: 20th ⁽⁷⁾ ⁽⁸⁾ 21st ⁽⁵⁾ ⁽⁶⁾
Party: Democrat
Home City/County: Corsicana / Navarro
Counties in district: Freestone, Limestone, Navarro

Biographical Information top

Selected newspaper articles

Biographical Sketches

SIMKINS, ELDRED JAMES (1839-1903). Handbook of Texas Online.
Biographical sketch and portrait, Eldred James Simkins, Judge, Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, 1892-1894. Born 10/13/1838. Justices of Texas, 1836-1986 (Tarlton Law Library, The University of Texas at Austin), 2004.
Biographical sketch, Eldred James Simkins, pp. 84-85. Personnel of the Texas State Government with Sketches of Distinguished Texans, 20th Legislature, 1887.
Biographical sketch, Eldred James Simkins, pp. 183-185. Personnel of the Texas State Government with Sketches of Distinguished Texans, 21st Legislature, 1889.
Biographical sketch, Eldred J. Simkins, pp. 213-215. Born 10/13/1839 in Edgefield District, South Carolina. Personnel of the Texas State Government with Sketches of Representative Men of Texas, 22nd Legislature, 1892.
Biographical sketch. Lewis Publishing Company. Memorial and Biographical History of Navarro, Henderson, Anderson, Limestone, Freestone and Leon Counties, Texas, 1893, pp. 491-492, crediting Palestine Public Library. Portal to Texas History (University of North Texas Libraries).
Biographical sketch, pp. 367-368. The Texas Senate: Volume II, Civil War to the Eve of Reform, 1861-1889, 1999.
The History of the Judge E.J. Simkins Homestead by Herchel Stephens and Mrs. Allen Edens, Jr., Navarro County Scroll, Vol XX, 1975, used with permission of the Navarro County Texas Historical Society. Includes historical marker and biographical sketch of Judge Eldred James Simkins (1839-1903). Navarro County, TXGenWeb Project.

Military Service Notes

Confederate States Army, Hampton Legion, then First Regular Confederate artillery regiment. Personnel of the Texas State Government with Sketches of Distinguished Texans, 21st Legislature, 1889.

Other Resources

Mentioned in introduction to "Why the Ku Klux," by brother William Stewart Simkins, The University of Texas at Austin School of Law, June 1916. Reprinted in collection of documents for American Legal History course of Thomas D. Russell, University of Denver, Sturm College of Law. The Alcalde.
Mentioned in "After 55 years, naming of dorm for Klansman to be reconsidered," 5/20/2010. Austin American-Statesman.
Discussed in article about brother William Stewart Simkins, "‘Keep the Negroes Out of Most Classes Where There Are a Large Number of Girls’: The Unseen Power of the Ku Klux Klan and Standardized Testing at The University of Texas, 1899-1999," Thomas D. Russell, University of Denver, Sturm College of Law, March 22, 2010. Social Science Research Network, 2010.

Photographs

Photograph. E.J. Simkins, 22nd Legislature, State Preservation Board
Photograph. E.J. Simkins, 21st Legislature, State Preservation Board
Photograph. E.J. Simkins, 20th Legislature, State Preservation Board
Photograph. E.J. Simkins, Texas Jurists Collection

Composite Photographs on Display in the Capitol

20th session composite photo of Senate members (Senate chamber vestibule, west wall. 2E.V1). State Preservation Board.
21st session composite photo of Senate members (Senate chamber gallery, west wall. 3E.5). State Preservation Board.
22nd session composite photo of Senate members (Senate chamber gallery, west wall. 3E.5). State Preservation Board.

Committee Information top

22nd R.S. - 1891 Constitutional Amendment to Judiciary Article Constitutional Amendments (Chair) Education Engrossed Bills Internal Improvements Jefferson Davis Judiciary No. 1 Mining and Irrigation Printing of Daily Senate and House Journals Private Land Claims Public Printing Towns, Cities and Corporations
21st R.S. - 1889 Education Engrossed Bills (Chair) Judicial Department (Chair) Judiciary No. 1 Penitentiaries Public Lands Public Printing Rules Sheriff's Fees and Attached Witness Fees (Chair)
20th R.S. - 1887 Capitol Dedication Arrangements Education Engrossed Bills Federal Relations (Chair) Internal Improvements Judiciary No. 1 North Texas Insane Asylum at Terrell Penitentiaries Public Debt Public Printing Retrenchment and Reform

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