Legislative Reference Library

Texas Legislators: Past & Present

William Harrison Bledsoe

W.H. Bledsoe
Full Name: William Harrison Bledsoe
Birth date: December 23, 1869
Death date: March 30, 1936

Terms of Service

  • Senate, 40th (9) & 39th (4) (8) Legislatures
    1/13/1925 - 1/8/1929
    Democrat
    Senate President Pro Tempore, Ad Interim R.S., elected 3/19/1925.
  • Senate, 38th (1) (7) Legislature
    1/9/1923 - 1/13/1925
    Democrat
  • Senate, 37th (6) & 36th (2) (5) Legislatures
    7/17/1919 - 1/9/1923
    Democrat
  • House, 36th (2) (5) Legislature
    1/14/1919 - 7/17/1919
    Democrat
  • House, 35th Legislature
    1/9/1917 - 1/14/1919
    Democrat
  • House, 34th (3) (10) Legislature
    10/9/1915 - 1/9/1917
    Democrat
(1) 2-year term; entire Senate went up for reelection in 1924 due to redistricting. Act approved 1921 and effective Apr. 1, 1924, 37th Leg., 1st C.S., ch. 60, Apportionment Laws of Texas, 1836-1950 1950.
(2) In Senate, William Bledsoe, in special election 7/14/1919, sworn 7/17/1919, succeeded William S. Bell, died 6/21/1919. In House, Roy Baldwin, in special election 8/30/1919, sworn 5/20/1920, succeeded William H. Bledsoe, resigned 7/17/1919. Members of the Texas Congress 1836-1845; Members of the Texas Legislature 1846-2004 2005.
(3) William Bledsoe, in special election 10/9/1915, succeeded Don H. Biggers, resigned 9/3/1915. Members of the Texas Congress 1836-1845; Members of the Texas Legislature 1846-2004 2005.
(4) 39th Legislature - Drawing for Terms of Office, 1/15/1925, pp. 34-35. Drew 4-year term. Senate Journal .
(5) 36th Legislature, 2nd C.S. - Oath of office administered 7/17/1919, pp. 458-459. No committee appointments listed in 2nd C.S. Senate Journal .
(6) 37th Legislature - Roll Call of Holdover Senators, 1/11/1921, pp. 1-2. Senate Journal .
(7) 38th Legislature - List of State Senators Elected at the General Election Held November Seventh, 1922, oath of office administered, 1/9/1923, p. 1-2. Senate Journal .
(8) 39th Legislature - All 31 Senators were elected on November 4, 1924, per Secretary of State, oath of office administered, 1/13/1925, p. 1. Senate Journal .
(9) 40th Legislature - Roll Call of Holdover Senators, 1/11/1927, p. 1. Senate Journal .
(10) Assumed Democrat based on listing as Democrat in 35th-40th Legislatures. Texas Legislative Manual .

Biographical Notes and Resources

Selected Newspaper articles

Resolutions and Journal entries

  • 38th Legislature, 3rd Called Session, "On Members of the Senate," pp. 325-326. Senate Journal .

Photographs

Other Resources

  • Biographical sketch, William H. Bledsoe, Volume III, p. 1321. Born 12/23/1869 in Cleburne, Texas. Mentions father W.S. Bledsoe, who served in the state legislature in 1870-1871, during the Davis administration. A History of Texas and Texans 1914.
  • Obituary, "Bledsoe, Former Legislator, Dies at Lubbock Home," 4/1/1936, p. 1. Dallas Morning News .
  • William H. Bledsoe, birth date 12/23/1869 in Texas; death date 3/30/1936 in Lubbock, Lubbock County; lawyer; wife Mrs. Emma Bledsoe. FamilySearch Texas Deaths, 1890-1976 .
  • William Harrison Bledsoe, birth date 12/23/1869, death date 3/30/1936, burial in City of Lubbock Cemetery, Lubbock, Lubbock County. Grave marker inscription: "Author of Senate Bill No. 103 creating Texas Technological College." Includes photo and biographical sketch. Find a Grave .
  • BLEDSOE, WILLIAM HARRISON (1869-1936). Handbook of Texas Online .
  • Obituary and photo, "W.H. Bledsoe Is Claimed by Death," 3/31/1936, pp. 1, 7. Includes legislative history of Senate Bill 103, 38th Legislature, R.S., establishing Texas Technological College (Texas Tech University). Lubbock Morning Avalanche .
  • Biographical sketch and inventory of the William H. Bledsoe papers, Southwest Collection, Special Collections Library. Texas Tech University Libraries .
  • "William Harrison Bledsoe and the Founding of Texas Tech University, " Vol. 78, 2002, pp. 38-53. Relatives: Willis Scott Bledsoe - father; William Harrison Bledsoe - son. West Texas Historical Association Yearbook 1925.

Committee Information

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