Legislative Reference Library

Texas Legislators: Past & Present

Giles Cotton

Giles Cotton
Full Name: Giles Cotton
Birth date: 1814
Death date: Deceased, date unknown

Terms of Service

  • House, 12th (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) Legislature
    2/10/1870 - 1/14/1873
     
(1) Calvert is in west central Robertson County. In 1870, as part of the Reconstruction political maneuvering in Robertson County, Calvert replaced Owensville as county seat. Handbook of Texas Online .
(2) 12th Legislature, Provisional Session - Qualified and took the oath of office on 2/10/1870. House Journal .
(3) Silas J. Cotton. Members of the Texas Congress 1836-1845; Members of the Texas Legislature 1846-2004 2005.
(4) Calvert, Robertson County. Members of the Texas Congress 1836-1845; Members of the Texas Legislature 1846-2004 2005.
(5) Party affiliation, Radical. Texas Almanac for . . . and Emigrant's Guide to Texas .
(6) Silas J. Cotton. Texas House of Representatives: A Pictorial Roster 1846-1992 1992.
(7) Leon County. Texas House of Representatives: A Pictorial Roster 1846-1992 1992.
(8) Radical Republican Association, established 6/4/1870, p. 26. Through Many Dangers, Toils, and Snares: Black Leadership in Texas, 1868-1898 2016.

Biographical Notes and Resources

Resolutions and Journal entries

  • S. Cotton. House Journal .
  • 79th Legislature, R.S., HR 589, paying tribute to African American legislators and constitutional convention delegates of 1868-1900. Resolutions - Congratulatory and Honorary .
  • 81st Legislature, R.S., HCR 81, paying tribute to African American legislators and constitutional convention delegates. Resolutions - Congratulatory and Honorary .
  • 85th Legislature, R.S., HR 452, celebrating Black History Month and honoring the leadership and vision of African American lawmakers. Resolutions - Congratulatory and Honorary .
  • 88th Legislature, R.S., SCR 13, Recognizing the Texas Black Reconstruction Legislators Recognition Act. SB 667, Texas Black Reconstruction Legislators Recognition Act. Resolutions - Congratulatory and Honorary . SB 667 SCR 13
  • 88th Legislature, R.S., SCR 13, Recognizing the Texas Black Reconstruction Legislators Recognition Act. SB 667, Texas Black Reconstruction Legislators Recognition Act. Resolutions - Legislative Policy . SB 667 SCR 13

Photographs

Other Resources

  • Biographical information in Alwyn Barr, "Black Legislators of Reconstruction Texas," Volume 32, Number 4, December 1986, pp. 340-352. Civil War History .
  • Portrait and biographical sketch. Forever Free: Nineteenth Century African-American Legislators and Constitutional Convention Delegates of Texas 2002.
  • COTTON, GILES (ca. 1814-ca. 1883). Died in either 1883 or 1884. "Tax records as well as legislative records have often had Cotton’s first name misspelled as Jiles or Silas." Handbook of Texas Online .
  • Mentioned in Negro Legislators of Texas and Their Descendants 1970.
  • Biographical sketch, pp. 21-22. Birth year 1814, death year 1880, Appendix D. Through Many Dangers, Toils, and Snares: Black Leadership in Texas, 1868-1898 2016.
  • Giles/Jiles Cotton mentioned, pp. 14, 148. Time of Hope, Time of Despair: Black Texans During Reconstruction 1981.

Committee Information

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