Hardin Richard Runnels

Full Name: Hardin Richard "Dick" Runnels
Date of birth: August 30, 1820
Date of death: December 25, 1873

Terms of Service
Biographical Notes
Committee Information

Terms of Service top

Chamber	District	Dates of Service	Legislatures	City/County	Note	Counties in District
H	1	Nov 7, 1853 - Nov 5, 1855	5th	Boston / Bowie	Speaker	Bowie
H	14	Nov 3, 1851 - Nov 7, 1853	4th	Unknown / Bowie		Bowie, Cass
H	2	Nov 5, 1849 - Nov 21, 1850	3rd ⁽¹⁾	Unknown / Bowie		Bowie, Red River
H	Bowie	Dec 13, 1847 - Nov 5, 1849	2nd ⁽²⁾	Unknown / Bowie		Bowie, Cass, Titus

(1) Runnels resigned 11/21/1850. Members of the Texas Congress 1836-1845; Members of the Texas Legislature 1846-2004, 2005.
(2) Roster of members of the 2nd Legislature, The Texas Democrat (Austin, Texas), 12/15/1847, p. 2, crediting Dolph Briscoe Center for American History. Portal to Texas History (University of North Texas Libraries).

Terms of Service top

House District 1
Nov 7, 1853 - Nov 5, 1855
Legislatures: 5th
Speaker
Home City/County: Boston / Bowie
Counties in district: Bowie

House District 14
Nov 3, 1851 - Nov 7, 1853
Legislatures: 4th
Home City/County: Unknown / Bowie
Counties in district: Bowie, Cass

House District 2
Nov 5, 1849 - Nov 21, 1850
Legislatures: 3rd ⁽¹⁾
Home City/County: Unknown / Bowie
Counties in district: Bowie, Red River

House District Bowie
Dec 13, 1847 - Nov 5, 1849
Legislatures: 2nd ⁽²⁾
Home City/County: Unknown / Bowie
Counties in district: Bowie, Cass, Titus

Biographical Information top

Resolutions and Journal entries

5th Legislature - Roll of Members, Hardin R. Runnels, age 33, native state Mississippi, emigrated from Mississippi in 1842, farmer, postoffice Boston, Bowie County. House Journal.

Biographical Sketches

Biographical sketch. American Legislative Leaders, 1850-1910, 1989.
Biographical sketch of Martha (Patsy) Burch Darden Runnels, pp. 241-242. Mentions son Hardin Richard Runnels, with portrait. Daughters of the Republic of Texas Patriot Ancestor Album, 1995.
Mentioned in Chapter IV, election of 1857, Hardin R. Runnels, p. 29. "As I remember him, he was a man of medium size, hair auburn if not bright red. He had been Speaker of the House and lived in Bowie County. He was a man of high character and fair ability." Governors Who Have Been, and Other Public Men of Texas, 1921.
RUNNELS, HARDIN RICHARD (1820-1873). Relatives: Hiram G. Runnels: uncle; Hardin R. Runnels and Howell Runnels: nephews. Handbook of Texas Online.
RUNNELS, HIRAM GEORGE (1796-1857). H.G. Runnels was the uncle of Texas governor Hardin R. Runnels. Volney E. Howard injured in duel with Hiram Runnels in 1840. Relatives: Hiram G. Runnels: uncle; Hardin R. Runnels and Howell Runnels: nephews. Handbook of Texas Online.
RUNNELS, HOWELL WASHINGTON (1823-1895). Hardin R. Runnels and Howell Runnels: brothers. Handbook of Texas Online.
Runnels, Hiram George. "His nephew, Hardin R. Runnels, was the fifth governor of Texas." Relatives: Hiram G. Runnels: uncle; Hardin R. Runnels and Howell Runnels: nephews. NCpedia.
Hardin R. Runnels, mentioned in "Governors of Texas," Volume 1, p. 204. The New Encyclopedia of Texas, 1926.
Portrait and brief biographical sketch, Hardin R. Runnels, p. 37. Personnel of the Texas State Government with Sketches of Representative Men of Texas, 22nd Legislature, 1892.
5th Lieutenant Governor, 10th Speaker of the House of Representatives. Hardin Richard Runnels. Portrait and biographical sketch. Presiding Officers of the Texas Legislature, 1846-2016, 2016.
Hardin Richard Runnels. Governor of Texas 1857-1859; Delegate to Secession Convention. Texas Burial Sites of Civil War Notables: A Biographical and Pictorial Field Guide, 2002.
Hardin Richard Runnels. Relatives: Hiram G. Runnels: uncle; Hardin R. Runnels and Howell Runnels: nephews. Texas State Cemetery.
Biographical sketch of Howell W. Runnels, Jr., Watlington Manuscript 1920. Mentions brother Hardin R. Runnels. Bowie County, TXGenWeb Project.

Other Resources

Governor of Texas 1857-1859. Legislative Reference Library, Governors of Texas, 1846-present.
Delegate to Constitutional Convention, 1866. Journal of the Texas State Convention: Assembled at Austin, Feb. 7, 1866. Adjourned April 2, 1866, pp. 3-5. Texas Constitutions Digitization Project (Tarlton Law Library, The University of Texas at Austin), 2009.
Delegate to Secession Convention of Texas, 1861. Journal of the Secession Convention of Texas 1861. Edited from the original in the department of state by Ernest William Winkler, State Librarian. Texas Library and Historical Commission, the State Library. Austin: Austin Print. Co., 1912, pp. 20-22. Originally published serially in newspapers. Texas Constitutions Digitization Project (Tarlton Law Library, The University of Texas at Austin), 2009.
Historical markers in Bowie County. Martha Adams Runnels, wife of Howell W., acted as first lady of Texas during the term of her brother-in-law, Hardin R. Runnels. Texas Historic Sites Atlas (Texas Historical Commission). Howell W. Runnels Home Martha Adams Runnels Site of the Home of Hardin R. Runnels
Texas Governors - Early Statehood: Hardin R. Runnels. Texas State Library and Archives Commission.

Photographs

Photograph. Hardin Richard Runnels, Presiding Officers of the Texas Legislature, 1846-2006

Committee Information top

4th R.S. - 1851 Apportionment (Chair) Finance Post Routes
3rd R.S. - 1849 Governor's Message, Select Judiciary Public Debt Purchase of Northwestern Territory, Governor's Message State Affairs
2nd R.S. - 1847 Apportionment of Representation, Select Comptroller of Public Accounts and Treasurer of the State Education Enrolled Bills Post Routes Public Debt and Outstanding Liabilities of the Late Republic of Texas

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