Giles Cotton

Full Name: Giles Cotton
Date of birth: 1814
Date of death: Deceased, date unknown

Terms of Service
Biographical Notes
Committee Information

Terms of Service top

Chamber	District	Dates of Service	Legislatures	Party	City/County	Note	Counties in District
H	18	Feb 10, 1870 - Jan 14, 1873	12th ⁽¹⁾ ⁽²⁾ ⁽³⁾ ⁽⁴⁾ ⁽⁵⁾ ⁽⁶⁾ ⁽⁷⁾ ⁽⁸⁾	Radical Republican	Calvert / Robertson		Freestone, Leon, Robertson

(1) Calvert is in west central Robertson County. In 1870, as part of the Reconstruction political maneuvering in Robertson County, Calvert replaced Owensville as county seat. Handbook of Texas Online.
(2) 12th Legislature, Provisional Session - Qualified and took the oath of office on 2/10/1870. House Journal.
(3) Calvert, Robertson County. Members of the Texas Congress 1836-1845; Members of the Texas Legislature 1846-2004, 2005.
(4) Silas J. Cotton. Members of the Texas Congress 1836-1845; Members of the Texas Legislature 1846-2004, 2005.
(5) Party affiliation, Radical. Texas Almanac for . . . and Emigrant's Guide to Texas.
(6) Leon County. Texas House of Representatives: A Pictorial Roster 1846-1992, 1992.
(7) Silas J. Cotton. Texas House of Representatives: A Pictorial Roster 1846-1992, 1992.
(8) Radical Republican Association, established 6/4/1870, p. 26. Through Many Dangers, Toils, and Snares: Black Leadership in Texas, 1868-1898, 2016.

Terms of Service top

House District 18
Feb 10, 1870 - Jan 14, 1873
Legislatures: 12th ⁽¹⁾ ⁽²⁾ ⁽³⁾ ⁽⁴⁾ ⁽⁵⁾ ⁽⁶⁾ ⁽⁷⁾ ⁽⁸⁾
Party: Radical Republican
Home City/County: Calvert / Robertson
Counties in district: Freestone, Leon, Robertson

Biographical Information top

Resolutions and Journal entries

S. Cotton. House Journal.
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

Biographical information in Alwyn Barr, "Black Legislators of Reconstruction Texas," Volume 32, Number 4, December 1986, pp. 340-352. Civil War History.
Portrait and biographical sketch. Forever Free: Nineteenth Century African-American Legislators and Constitutional Convention Delegates of Texas, 2002.
COTTON, GILES (ca. 1814-ca. 1883). Died in either 1883 or 1884. "Tax records as well as legislative records have often had Cotton’s first name misspelled as Jiles or Silas." Handbook of Texas Online.
Biographical sketch, pp. 21-22. Birth year 1814, death year 1880, Appendix D. Through Many Dangers, Toils, and Snares: Black Leadership in Texas, 1868-1898, 2016.

Other Resources

Mentioned in Negro Legislators of Texas and Their Descendants, 1970.

Photographs

Photograph. Giles Cotton, State Preservation Board

Committee Information top

12th Adjourned - 1871 Agriculture and Stock Raising Privileges and Elections
12th R.S. - 1871 Agriculture and Stock Raising
12th 1st C.S. - 1870 Agriculture and Stock Raising

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