Stephen Powers

Full Name: Stephen Powers
Date of birth: June 1, 1814
Date of death: February 5, 1882

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	29	Jan 11, 1881 - Feb 5, 1882	17th ⁽¹⁾ ⁽²⁾ ⁽³⁾	Democrat	Brownsville / Cameron		Cameron, Dimmit, Duval, Frio, Hidalgo, Kinney, La Salle, Live Oak, McMullen, Maverick, Medina, Nueces, San Patricio, Starr, Uvalde, Webb, Zapata, Zavala, Encinal
H	30	Jan 14, 1873 - Jan 13, 1874	13th	Democrat	Brownsville / Cameron		Atascosa, Cameron, Dimmit, Duval, El Paso, Frio, Hidalgo, Karnes, Kinney, La Salle, Live Oak, McMullen, Maverick, Medina, Nueces, Presidio, Starr, Uvalde, Webb, Zapata, Zavala, Encinal

(1) Democrat, 11/17/1880, p. 2. Galveston Daily News.
(2) Charles A. McLane, sworn 4/6/1882, succeeded Stephen Powers, died after Regular Session. Members of the Texas Congress 1836-1845; Members of the Texas Legislature 1846-2004, 2005.
(3) Democrat. Pocket Directory of the Seventeenth Legislature of Texas, 1881.

Terms of Service top

Senate District 29
Jan 11, 1881 - Feb 5, 1882
Legislatures: 17th ⁽¹⁾ ⁽²⁾ ⁽³⁾
Party: Democrat
Home City/County: Brownsville / Cameron
Counties in district: Cameron, Dimmit, Duval, Frio, Hidalgo, Kinney, La Salle, Live Oak, McMullen, Maverick, Medina, Nueces, San Patricio, Starr, Uvalde, Webb, Zapata, Zavala, Encinal

House District 30
Jan 14, 1873 - Jan 13, 1874
Legislatures: 13th
Party: Democrat
Home City/County: Brownsville / Cameron
Counties in district: Atascosa, Cameron, Dimmit, Duval, El Paso, Frio, Hidalgo, Karnes, Kinney, La Salle, Live Oak, McMullen, Maverick, Medina, Nueces, Presidio, Starr, Uvalde, Webb, Zapata, Zavala, Encinal

Biographical Information top

Resolutions and Journal entries

17th Legislature, 1st C.S. - Memorial resolutions for the Hon. Stephen Powers, Senator from the 29th District; the Hon. J.M. Martin, Senator from the 11th District; and the Hon. John T. Buchanan, Senator from the 16th District, 4/22/1882. Resolutions - Memorial.

Biographical Sketches

POWERS, STEPHEN (1814-1882). Handbook of Texas Online.
Biographical information with account of Powers' arrival in Brownsville, p. 100. "Stephen Powers controlled the [Valley] Blue party until his death in 1882, when the leadership passed to his law partner, James Babbage Wells, who in turn directed the party until his death in 1923," p. 353. I Would Rather Sleep in Texas: a History of the Lower Rio Grande Valley and the People of the Santa Anita Land Grant, 2003.
Description of Nestor Maxan's law practice with Stephen Powers, p. 124. "Stephen Powers and Nestor Maxan partnered to create one of the most influential law firms on the frontier. Powers was the first attorney in Cameron County . . . ," p. 304. I Would Rather Sleep in Texas: a History of the Lower Rio Grande Valley and the People of the Santa Anita Land Grant, 2003.

Other Resources

Account of efforts of Valley landowners to create an independent territory between the Nueces and Rio Grande rivers, pp. 115-117. I Would Rather Sleep in Texas: a History of the Lower Rio Grande Valley and the People of the Santa Anita Land Grant, 2003.

Photographs

Photograph. S. Powers, 17th Legislature, State Preservation Board
Photograph. Stephen Powers, 13th Legislature, DeGolyer Library, SMU, Lawrence T. Jones III Texas Photographs
Photograph. Stephen Powers, 13th Legislature, DeGolyer Library, SMU, Lawrence T. Jones III Texas Photographs
Photograph. Stephen Powers, 13th Legislature, State Preservation Board

Composite Photographs on Display in the Capitol

13th session composite photo of Senate and House members (Ground floor elevator vestibule, east wall. GW.V3). State Preservation Board.
17th session composite photo of Senate members (Senate chamber vestibule, west wall. 2E.V1). State Preservation Board.
13th session composite photo of Senate and House members (Ground floor elevator vestibule, east wall. GW.V3). State Preservation Board.
17th session composite photo of Senate members (Texas State Library and Archives Commission). Texas State Library and Archives Commission.
Pictorial Monogram of the State Government of Texas 1873 (DeGolyer Library, SMU, Lawrence T. Jones III Collection). DeGolyer Library, SMU, Lawrence T. Jones III Texas Photographs.

Committee Information top

17th R.S. - 1881 Commerce and Manufactures Counties and County Boundaries Federal Relations Frontier Protection Internal Improvements Judiciary No. 1 Public Claims and Accounts (Chair) Public Lands Statistics of Industries, Public Health, and History of Texas Stock and Stock Raising
13th R.S. - 1873 Commerce and Manufactures Communication from the Governor (Chair) Internal Improvements Judiciary No. 1 Public Lands and Land Office (Chair) Redistricting State Indebtedness to the International and Texas Pacific Railroad Companies Superintendent of Public Schools

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