William Dixon Lair

Full Name: William Dixon Lair
Date of birth: May 12, 1814
Date of death: June 3, 1887

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	12	Jan 14, 1879 - Jan 9, 1883	16th ⁽³⁾ ⁽⁴⁾ ⁽⁵⁾ 17th ⁽¹⁾ ⁽²⁾	Democrat	Melissa / Collin		Collin, Denton
S	15	Feb 2, 1863 - Nov 2, 1863	9th ⁽⁶⁾ ⁽⁷⁾ ⁽⁸⁾		Melissa / Collin		Collin, Grayson

(1) Democrat, 11/17/1880, p. 2. Galveston Daily News.
(2) Democrat. Pocket Directory of the Seventeenth Legislature of Texas, 1881.
(3) 16th Legislature, Regular Session - Roll call of newly elected Senators, oath of office administered, 1/14/1879, p. 3. Senate Journal.
(4) Democrat. Texas Legislative Manual, 1879-80, 1879.
(5) Democrat - "After his election as a Democrat in 1878 . . . ," p. 255. The Texas Senate: Volume II, Civil War to the Eve of Reform, 1861-1889, 1999.
(6) William Lair, sworn 2/2/1863, succeeded J.J. Dickson, resigned. Members of the Texas Congress 1836-1845; Members of the Texas Legislature 1846-2004, 2005.
(7) 9th Legislature, 1st Called Session - Roll of Senators-elect to fill vacancies, oath of office administered, 2/2/1863, p. 1. Senate Journal.
(8) 9th Legislature, Regular Session - Classification of Senators (drawing for terms of office) - predecessor J.J. Dickson drew "the short term" (two years), 11/12/1861, p. 42. Senate Journal.

Terms of Service top

Senate District 12
Jan 14, 1879 - Jan 9, 1883
Legislatures: 16th ⁽³⁾ ⁽⁴⁾ ⁽⁵⁾ 17th ⁽¹⁾ ⁽²⁾
Party: Democrat
Home City/County: Melissa / Collin
Counties in district: Collin, Denton

Senate District 15
Feb 2, 1863 - Nov 2, 1863
Legislatures: 9th ⁽⁶⁾ ⁽⁷⁾ ⁽⁸⁾
Home City/County: Melissa / Collin
Counties in district: Collin, Grayson

Biographical Information top

Resolutions and Journal entries

Member roster, 9th Legislature, 1st Called Session: name, district, resident county, post office, state of nativity, occupation, and age. Senate Journal.

Biographical Sketches

Dr. William Dixon Lair, burial in Lair Cemetery, Anna, Collin County. Grave marker illegible. Includes reprint of biographical sketch from The Daily Courier Gazette, May 1929. Find a Grave.
William Dixon Lair, "Dr. W.D. Lair Pioneer Collin Physician and Senator," photo, 5/9/1929, p. 2. Born 5/12/1814 in Russell County, Kentucky; died 6/3/1887. Served in Texas Senate and Kentucky Legislature.
Mentioned in "The Lair Family," by Mrs. Ethel Bridgefarmer, 8/21/1936, p. 3. McKinney Weekly Democrat-Gazette.
Biographical sketch, pp. 242-243. Texas Legislative Manual, 1879-80, 1879.
Biographical sketch, pp. 12, 255; service in 16th-17th Senate, pp. 254-255, 279. Served four years in Kentucky legislature before moving to Texas in 1859. The Texas Senate: Volume II, Civil War to the Eve of Reform, 1861-1889, 1999.

Photographs

Photograph. W.D. Lair, 17th Legislature, State Preservation Board

Composite Photographs on Display in the Capitol

17th session composite photo of Senate members (Senate chamber vestibule, west wall. 2E.V1). State Preservation Board.
17th session composite photo of Senate members (Texas State Library and Archives Commission). Texas State Library and Archives Commission.

Committee Information top

17th R.S. - 1881 Agricultural Affairs Contingent Expenses Finance Institute for the Blind (Co-Chair) Penitentiaries Penitentiaries, Subcommittee on Private Land Claims Public Roads, Bridges and Ferries Retrenchment and Reform Senatorial and Representative Districts State Asylums Statistics of Industries, Public Health, and History of Texas (Chair)
16th R.S. - 1879 Agricultural Affairs Contingent Expenses Counties and County Boundaries Educational Affairs Enrolled Bills Indian Affairs and Frontier Protection Penitentiary Private Land Claims State Asylums Statistics of Industry, Public Health and History of Texas
9th R.S. - 1861 Enrolled Bills General Land Office Printing and Contingent Expenses Public Lands

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