Chamber	District	Dates of Service	Legislatures	City/County	Counties in District
S	23	Aug 6, 1866 - Oct 31, 1867	11th ⁽¹⁾ ⁽²⁾ ⁽³⁾ ⁽⁴⁾ ⁽⁵⁾	Hempstead / Austin	Austin, Washington
S	20	Nov 7, 1853 - Nov 2, 1857	5th ⁽⁹⁾ ⁽¹⁰⁾ ⁽¹¹⁾ 6th ⁽⁶⁾ ⁽⁷⁾ ⁽⁸⁾	Chappell Hill / Washington	Washington
H	38	Nov 3, 1851 - Nov 7, 1853	4th ⁽¹²⁾	Chappell Hill / Washington	Washington

(1) Hempstead became Waller county seat in May 1873. Handbook of Texas Online.
(2) James W. McDade, Hempstead, Austin County. Members of the Texas Congress 1836-1845; Members of the Texas Legislature 1846-2004, 2005.
(3) 11th Legislature - All 33 Senate districts listed in roll call presenting credentials, oath of office administered, 8/6/1866, pp. 2, 4-5. Senate Journal.
(4) Constitution of 1866, Article III, §§ 29, 30, retained the apportionment of 1860 for Senatorial districts. Texas Constitutions Digitization Project (Tarlton Law Library, The University of Texas at Austin), 2009.
(5) Entire Senate went up for reelection - Constitution of 1869, Article III, § 39. Texas Constitutions Digitization Project (Tarlton Law Library, The University of Texas at Austin), 2009.
(6) James W. McDade, counties comprising district: Washington. Members of the Texas Congress 1836-1845; Members of the Texas Legislature 1846-2004, 2005.
(7) 6th Legislature, Regular Session - Roll of Senators (holdover Senator), 11/5/1855, p. 4. Senate Journal.
(8) 6th Legislature - Listed in the "19 members of the Senate [who] retained their seats from the 5th Legislature," p. 258. The Texas Senate: Volume I, Republic to Civil War, 1836-1861, 1990.
(9) James W. McDade, Chappell Hill, Washington County. Members of the Texas Congress 1836-1845; Members of the Texas Legislature 1846-2004, 2005.
(10) Roster of members elect of the 5th Legislature, state elections, 1853. Texas State Gazette (Austin, Texas), 8/20/1853, p. 3, crediting Dolph Briscoe Center for American History. Portal to Texas History (University of North Texas Libraries).
(11) 5th Legislature - Roll of Senators elected since the last adjournment presented their credentials, and being qualified, took their seats, 11/7/1853, p. 2. Senate Journal.
(12) James W. McDade, counties comprising district: Washington. Members of the Texas Congress 1836-1845; Members of the Texas Legislature 1846-2004, 2005.

Biographical Notes and Resources top

Resolutions and Journal entries

5th Legislature - Roll of Members, James W. McDade, age 33, native state Alabama, emigrated from Alabama in 1839, farmer, postoffice Chappell Hill, Washington County. House Journal.
Jas. M. McDade, Austin and Washington Counties, opening day roll call, 8/6/1866, p. 4; J.W. McDade, Austin, Hempstead County, born in Alabama, farmer, age 46 in Senate roster, p. 645. Senate Journal. 11th R.S. August 6, 1866 11th R.S. Roster

Biographical Sketches

Biographical sketch, James Wilkins McDade, Representative in the Texas Legislature, 1851, Member of Texas Senate, 1853-1855, died in yellow fever epidemic of 1867. Sept McDade Clan Davidson, McDade Surnames, 2003.
Biographical sketch, p. 244. The Texas Senate: Volume I, Republic to Civil War, 1836-1861, 1990.

Military Service Notes

Information on McDade's Confederate service in Kirby's Battalion, "McDade's Company and the Defense of Galveston," p. 46, from Bellville: The Founders and Their Legacy, by Isabel Frizzell, 1992. Austin County Historical Commission.
Confederate States Army, Captain, Company A, 3rd Battalion, Texas Volunteers (Kirby's). Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System.
Confederate States Army, Captain, Company A, Kirby's Battalion. Austin County Veterans who served during the American Civil War, 1861-65 (citation to Frizzell, p. 46). Austin County, TXGenWeb Project.

Other Resources

James Wilkins McDade, born 1819 in Madison, Alabama, died 10/31/1867, marriage to Caroline Tennessee Cooper. Young Family Tree. Ancestry.com.
Mentioned, p. 42, first sheriff of Washington County in 1846, early state representative and senator in the early to mid 1850s. The Confederates of Chappell Hill, Texas: Prosperity, Civil War and Decline, 2005.
Census of 1850 - Chas. W. McDads [Jas. M. McDade], Washington County, age 30, born circa 1820 in Alabama, farmer, living in household with C.F. McDads and children William M., J.M., Elizabeth, and Robert.
Census of 1860 - James W. Mc Dude [McDade], Hempstead, Austin County, age 40, born circa 1820 in Alabama, planter, living in household with Tennessee, and children Wm. A., James A., Eliza A., R.R., John A., Anna, Thomas F., and Tennessee. FamilySearch. 1850 1860
Death notice, 11/7/1867, p. 4, from the Brenham Banner. "The Hon. James W. McDade, Senator . . . the State Legislature from this Senatorial District, is among the victims of the epidemic at Hempstead . . . To Jim McDade and Terrell Jackson our people are largely indebted for the origin and completion of the Washington County Railroad." Galveston Daily News.
Co-founder of Hempstead, Texas; Hempstead became Waller county seat in May 1873. McDade, Texas named after James W. McDade, who lived in Brenham. Handbook of Texas Online. HEMPSTEAD, TX MCDADE, TX
Index shows James W. McDade in 4th, 5th, 6th, and 11th Legislatures as one person. Members of the Texas Congress 1836-1845; Members of the Texas Legislature 1846-2004, 2005.
Austin County, by J.M. McDade, Senator. The Galveston News. The Texas Almanac for 1867 with Statistics, Descriptive and Biographical Sketches, etc., Relating to Texas, pp. 75-76, crediting Texas State Historical Association. Portal to Texas History (University of North Texas Libraries).
James W. McDade, one of the organizers of the Hempstead Town Company with Richard Rogers (R.R.) Peebles, and President of Washington County Railroad. "The History of Hempstead and the Formation of Waller County, Texas," The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 63, Number 3, January 1960, pp. 404-427, crediting Texas State Historical Association. Portal to Texas History (University of North Texas Libraries).
State Senate candidate announcement of J.W. McDade for the district embracing Austin and Washington counties (11th Legislature), The Texas Countryman (Bellville, Texas), 6/8/1866, p. 3.
J.W. McDade, State Senate, in Official Vote of Austin County - 1866. The Texas Countryman (Bellville, Texas), 7/6/1866, p. 2. Portal to Texas History (University of North Texas Libraries). July 6, 1866 June 8, 1866
James Wilkins McDade, born about 1819 in Madison County, Alabama, married Caroline Tennessee F. Cooper in Washington County, Texas, 3/27/1840, and buried in Old McDade Cemetery in Hempstead, Texas. McDade Historical Marker. RootsWeb.com Internet genealogical service.
James M. McDade, p. 58. The Texas Senate: Volume II, Civil War to the Eve of Reform, 1861-1889, 1999.

Photographs

Photograph. J.W. McDade, 11th Legislature, By the Austin Photograph Co., Prints and Photographs Collection, [identifier number: di_03923, di_03924], The Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin

Committee Information top

11th R.S. - 1866 Agricultural Affairs Burning of Brenham, Governor's Message and Accompanying Documents, Select (Chair) Freedmen Internal Improvements Judicial Districts, Select Land Office (Chair) Penitentiary Roads, Bridges and Ferries
6th R.S. - 1855 Internal Improvements Judicial Districts, Select Militia Privileges and Elections Public Debt Roads, Bridges and Ferries
5th R.S. - 1853 Counties and County Boundaries (Chair) Internal Improvements Public Debt Public Lands
4th R.S. - 1851 Apportionment County Boundaries

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