B.H. Epperson

Benjamin Holland Epperson

Full Name: Benjamin Holland "Ben" Epperson
Date of birth: November 3, 1824
Date of death: September 6, 1878

Terms of Service top

Chamber District Dates of Service Legislatures Party City/County Note Counties in District
H 7 Jan 13, 1874 - Apr 18, 1876 14th   Democrat Jefferson / Marion   Bowie, Cass, Marion
H 2 Nov 7, 1859 - Nov 4, 1861 8th (1) (2) (3)     Clarksville / Red River   Red River
H Red River Dec 13, 1847 - Nov 5, 1849 2nd (4)     Clarksville / Red River   Red River, Titus

(1) "In April 1860 two seemingly unrelated meetings of Unionists occurred . . . The newly created Constitutional Union party met in the Tyler courthouse to nominate delegates to that party's national convention. A.M. Gentry, . . . Anthony Bannon Norton, Benjamin Holland Epperson, and Lemuel D. Evans, completed a quartet made up of two Whigs, a Know-Nothing, and a Union Democrat. "Origins of Early Texas Republican Party Leadership," Vol. 40, No. 3, pp. 444. Journal of Southern History.
(2) Included in "Table II, Constitutional Unionists (Identified from newspapers) with Biographical Data," list of leaders of the Texas Constitutional Union Party in 1860. The party was formed in January of 1860. "The Constitutional Union Party in Texas," The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 82, Number 3, January 1979, pp. 238, 256-262, crediting Texas State Historical Association. Portal to Texas History (University of North Texas Libraries). Table II, Constitutional Unionists
(3) Mentioned as an "old-line Whig" in "The Constitutional Union Party in Texas," The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 82, Number 3, January 1979, p. 245, crediting Texas State Historical Association. Portal to Texas History (University of North Texas Libraries).
(4) 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 7
Jan 13, 1874 - Apr 18, 1876
Legislatures: 14th  
Party: Democrat
Home City/County: Jefferson / Marion
Counties in district: Bowie, Cass, Marion
House District 2
Nov 7, 1859 - Nov 4, 1861
Legislatures: 8th (1) (2) (3)  
Home City/County: Clarksville / Red River
Counties in district: Red River
House District Red River
Dec 13, 1847 - Nov 5, 1849
Legislatures: 2nd (4)  
Home City/County: Clarksville / Red River
Counties in district: Red River, Titus

(1) "In April 1860 two seemingly unrelated meetings of Unionists occurred . . . The newly created Constitutional Union party met in the Tyler courthouse to nominate delegates to that party's national convention. A.M. Gentry, . . . Anthony Bannon Norton, Benjamin Holland Epperson, and Lemuel D. Evans, completed a quartet made up of two Whigs, a Know-Nothing, and a Union Democrat. "Origins of Early Texas Republican Party Leadership," Vol. 40, No. 3, pp. 444. Journal of Southern History.
(2) Included in "Table II, Constitutional Unionists (Identified from newspapers) with Biographical Data," list of leaders of the Texas Constitutional Union Party in 1860. The party was formed in January of 1860. "The Constitutional Union Party in Texas," The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 82, Number 3, January 1979, pp. 238, 256-262, crediting Texas State Historical Association. Portal to Texas History (University of North Texas Libraries). Table II, Constitutional Unionists
(3) Mentioned as an "old-line Whig" in "The Constitutional Union Party in Texas," The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 82, Number 3, January 1979, p. 245, crediting Texas State Historical Association. Portal to Texas History (University of North Texas Libraries).
(4) 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).

Biographical Information top

Biographical Sketches

  • Biographical sketch, "A Guide to the Benjamin Holland Epperson Papers, 1834-1876." Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin, 2006.
  • EPPERSON, BENJAMIN HOLLAND (1826-1878). Born 1826 in Amite County, Mississippi, "Epperson was a leader of the Whig party in Texas during the early 1850s. He ran unsuccessfully for governor on the Whig ticket in 1851 and joined the new American (Know-Nothing) party in the mid-1850s." Handbook of Texas Online.
  • "Benjamin H. Epperson and His House of the Seasons," by Barbara Edwards. Texas State Historical Association. The Texas Historian, Volume 44, Number 2, November 1983, pp. 1-6, crediting Texas State Historical Association. Born 11/3/1826 in Amite County, Mississippi. Portal to Texas History (University of North Texas Libraries).
  • Death notice, "B.H. Epperson," The Galveston Daily News, 9/7/1878, p. 1, crediting Abilene Library Consortium. Death date 9/6/1878.
    Death notice, role in development of industrial resources and railroads in North Texas, "Death of Hon. B.H. Epperson," Fort Worth Daily Democrat, 9/10/1878, p. 1, crediting Fort Worth Public Library.
    Obituary, "Death of Col. B.H. Epperson," The Panola Watchman (Carthage, Texas), 9/18/1878, p. 2, crediting Sammy Brown Library; reprint of Marshall Herald. Born 11/3/1824 in Mississippi.
    Obituary, "Texas Loses a Patriot," Weekly Democratic Statesman (Austin, Texas), 9/19/1878, p. 1. "Had he lived until the third of November he would have been 54 years of age" (birth date 11/3/1824). Portal to Texas History (University of North Texas Libraries). September 10, 1878 September 18, 1878 September 19, 1878 September 7, 1878
  • Biographical sketch, p. 60. Born 11/3/1826 in Amite County, Mississippi. Representing Texas: A Comprehensive History of U.S. and Confederate Senators and Representatives from Texas, 2008.
  • Biographical sketch and portrait. Born 11/3/1824 in Mississippi. Texas Album of the Eighth Legislature, 1860.
  • Biographical sketch, pp. 55, 149. Texas in the War, 1861-1865, 1965.

Military Service Notes

  • Benjamin Holland Epperson. Born 1826, died 9/6/1878. Texas Burial Sites of Civil War Notables: A Biographical and Pictorial Field Guide, 2002.

Other Resources

  • Photo, mentioned p. 34. Austin Lawyers: A Legacy of Leadership and Service, 2005.
  • B.H. Epperson, birth date 11/3/1824, death date 9/6/1878, burial in Oakwood Cemetery, Jefferson, Marion County. Find a Grave.
  • Description of Benjamin Epperson's home, House of the Seasons, in Jefferson, TX. House of the Seasons.
  • ". . . one of four delegates representing Texas at the National Constitutional Union Conventions commencing May 9 at Baltimore." Baggett, James Alex, "Origins of Early Texas Republican Party Leadership," The Journal of Southern History, Vol.40(3), August 1974, p. 444. Journal of Southern History.
  • Included on list of "Texas Know Nothing Leaders with a Summary of Biographical Data Taken from the . . . United States Eighth Census, 1860." The party was active at the state level in Texas in 1855 and 1856. "By 1857 the party had virtually disappeared in Texas." "An Analysis of the Texas Know Nothings," The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 70, Number 3, January 1967, pp. 414-423, crediting Texas State Historical Association. Portal to Texas History (University of North Texas Libraries).
  • Included on list of "Texas Whigs Named in Newspapers and Identified From the Census of 1850," in "The Whig Party of Texas in the Elections of 1848 and 1852," The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 73, Number 1, pp. 30-33, crediting Texas State Historical Association. Portal to Texas History (University of North Texas Libraries).

Photographs

  • Photograph. B.H. Epperson, 14th Legislature, State Preservation Board
  • Photograph. B.H. Epperson, 9th Legislature, Texas Album of the Eighth Legislature

Composite Photographs on Display in the Capitol

Committee Information top

14th R.S. - 1874
Commerce and Manufactures  
Constitutional Amendments  
Finance  
Financial Condition of the State  
Floating Debt of the State  
Impeachment Managers, Judge William Chambers, 1st Judicial District  
Impeachment of Judge William Chambers, 1st Judicial District  
Internal Improvements (Chair) 
Judges M. Walker and Wesley Ogden, Supreme Court  
Judicial Districts (Co-Chair) 
Judiciary No. 2 (Chair) 
Removal of Judge Martin Wheeler, 5th Judicial District  
Rules  
Texas Central Railroad  
8th R.S. - 1859
Internal Improvement  
Judiciary  
2nd R.S. - 1847
Apportionment of Representation, Select (Chair) 
Judiciary  
Penitentiary  
Printing  

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