Texas Legislators: Past & Present

James William Kinnear

Full Name: James William Kinnear
Birth date: April 6, 1872
Death date: November 19, 1959

Terms of Service

House, 41st Legislature
1/8/1929 - 1/13/1931
Democrat
House, 40th Legislature
1/11/1927 - 1/8/1929
Democrat
House, 39th Legislature
1/13/1925 - 1/11/1927
Democrat

Biographical Notes and Resources

Photographs

Photograph. J.W. Kinnear, State Preservation Board
Photograph. J.W. Kinnear, State Preservation Board
Photograph. J.W. Kinnear, State Preservation Board

Other Resources

"A young school teacher at the time, J.W. Kinnear" quoted in "Old-Timers Say 'Never Been Anything Like Spindletop," 1/20/1951, p. 9, with artist Milton Turner's drawings of the oil derricks and tank battery at the Spindletop oil field. Abilene Reporter-News .
Quoted in "Fabulous Prices on Leases Came with Spindletop," 12/24/1944, p. 13, about the history of the Spindletop oil gusher. "He is J.W. Kinnear, tax assessor-collector for the South Park School District, a position he has held for 29 years. 'Within 30 minutes after the [sic] blew in, I was there,' Kinnear relates. 'It was a mighty sight and its great roar made many fearful that the earth would cave in.' He was almost the owner of a tract on Spindletop when the well came in." Big Spring Daily Herald .
Oral History of the Texas Oil Industry Records, James W. Kinnear interview and transcript [part 1 of 2], Reel 107a, "Kinnear discusses teaching school and oil-field work in Beaumont area; life in Spindletop, Sour Lake, Batson, and Saratoga; and tax assessing at Spindletop." James William Kinnear, birth date 4/6/1872. Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin 2006.
Census of 1930 - James W. Kinnear, Jefferson County, age 58, born circa 1872 in Illinois, tax collector, spouse Mary I., sons Clarence W., Leland P., William M., Doyle F., and Robert C. FamilySearch .
James William Kinnear, birth date 4/6/1872 in Hamilton County, Illinois; death date 11/19/1959 in Beaumont; retired tax collector, South Park Ind. School Dist. FamilySearch Texas Deaths, 1890-1976 .
James William Kinnear, birth date 4/6/1872, death date 11/19/1959, burial in Forest Lawn Memorial Park and Funeral Home, Beaumont, Jefferson County, spouse Mary Ione Crouch Kinnear. Find a Grave .
Biographical sketch, "Who's Who and What's What in the Texas Legislature," by Ed Kilman, 1/22/1929, p. 7. Houston Post-Dispatch .
J.W. Kinnear mentioned in interview with grandson Robert C. 'Bob' Kinnear, Jr. "Lasting Legacies: Generations Build for the Future," Cardinal Cadence, Summer 2004. "The elder Kinnear’s career continued from school teacher to tax assessor to Texas state representative (16th Legislative District, 1925-29) where he worked to pass legislation to facilitate state funding for junior colleges. That legislation paved the way for the creation of South Park Junior College – the predecessor to Lamar University – in 1923." Lamar University .
39th Legislature (1925) - James W. Kinnear, postoffice Beaumont, nativity Illinois, age 52, school district tax assessor and collector.
40th Legislature (1927) - J.W. Kinnear, postoffice Beaumont, nativity Illinois, age 54, oil business.
41st Legislature (1929) - J.W. Kinnear, postoffice Beaumont, Box 766, nativity Illinois, age 58, accountant. Texas Legislative Manual . 39th 40th