Texas Legislators: Past & Present

Rienzi Melville Johnston

Full Name: Rienzi Melville Johnston
Birth date: September 9, 1849
Death date: February 28, 1926

Terms of Service

Senate, 36th ⁽¹⁾ ⁽³⁾ & 35th ⁽²⁾ Legislatures
1/9/1917 - 1/12/1920
Democrat
Senate President Pro Tempore, elected 3/27/1918, 4th C.S.

(1) In Senate, Lynch Davidson, in special election 3/4/1920, sworn 5/20/1920, succeeded Rienzi M. Johnston, resigned 1/12/1920. In House, J. Lewis Thompson, sworn 5/27/1920, succeeded Lynch Davidson, resigned 1/16/1920. Members of the Texas Congress 1836-1845; Members of the Texas Legislature 1846-2004 2005.
(2) 35th Legislature - Member-elect in List of State Senators Elected at the General Election Held November 7, 1916, oath of office administered, 1/9/1917, pp. 2-3. Senate Journal .
(3) 36th Legislature - Roll Call of Holdover Senators, 1/14/1919, p. 1. Senate Journal .

Biographical Notes and Resources

Selected Newspaper articles

Resolutions and Journal entries

39th Legislature, 1st C.S., Simple Resolution 21, 9/28/1926, p. 551. Resolutions - Memorial .

Photographs

Photograph. R.M. Johnston, State Preservation Board
Photograph. R.M. Johnston, State Preservation Board

Other Resources

Confederate States Army. "During 1862-63 he served two years in the Confederate army as a drummer boy. He was then discharged, but in the fall of 1864 reenlisted and continued until the close. When the army was disbanded he was still less than thirteen years of age." Referred to as "Col. Johnston" throughout biographical sketch, appears to be honorary term. A History of Texas and Texans 1914.
Biographical sketch, Hon. R.M. Johnston, Volume III, p. 1168. Birth date 9/9/1850. A History of Texas and Texans 1914.
JOHNSTON, Rienzi Melville (1849-1926). Senator, TX. Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress .
Rienze Melville Johnston, birth date 9/9/1849 in Georgia; death date 2/28/1926 in Houston, Harris County, Texas; editor. FamilySearch Texas Deaths, 1890-1976 .
Rienzi Melville Johnston, birth date 9/9/1849, death date 2/28/1926, photo, burial in Glenwood Cemetery, Houston, Harris County. Find a Grave .
JOHNSTON, RIENZI MELVILLE (1849-1926). Handbook of Texas Online .
Obituary and photo, "Col. R.M. Johnston Is Called by Death," "Col. Johnston to Be Buried at 4 P.M. Today," "Banquet Honored Journalist in 1913: Col. R.M. Johnston's Retirement from the Senate Was Occasion for Gathering," "Expressions of Sorrow," and editorial, Rienzi Melville Johnston, 3/1/1926, pp. 1, 5, 6. President of the Houston Printing company and editor-in-chief for many years of the Houston Post, former State and U.S. Senator.
"High Tribute Paid Col. R.M. Johnston at Funeral Service," continued "Expressions of Sorrow," 3/2/1926, pp. 1, 2. Houston Post-Dispatch .
Biographical sketch, pp. 62-63. Personnel of the Texas State Government for 1885, 19th Legislature 1885.
Biographical sketch, Senate of the 35th Legislature, "A Look at the Affairs of State: The Real Names and Addresses of Thirty-one Senators With Additional Facts," The Houston Post, 3/22/1917, p. 6. Portal to Texas History (University of North Texas Libraries) .
Portrait and biographical sketch, Rienzi Melville Johnston, p. 242. Birth date 9/9/1850. Texans and Their State: A Newspaper Reference Work 1918.
Rienzi Melville Johnston, "Drummer and soldier in an unidentified Georgia infantry or homeguard unit." Texas Burial Sites of Civil War Notables: A Biographical and Pictorial Field Guide 2002.
Portrait and biographical sketch. Birth date 9/9/1850. The Texas Senator 1978.