Texas Legislators: Past & Present

Richard Williams

Full Name: Richard Williams
Birth date: 1822
Death date: Deceased, date unknown

Terms of Service

House, 13th ⁽²⁾ ⁽⁴⁾ ⁽⁷⁾ Legislature
1/14/1873 - 1/13/1874
Republican
House, 12th ⁽¹⁾ ⁽³⁾ ⁽⁵⁾ ⁽⁶⁾ Legislature
2/8/1870 - 1/14/1873

(1) Term and oath information, p. 56, and footnote 28, p. 76. "Richard Williams and David Medlock are generally omitted from published lists, but both were elected and seated, although Medlock appears not to have served his full term." Black Leaders: Texans for Their Times 1981.
(2) Republican. Directory of the Members of the Thirteenth Legislature of the State of Texas 1873.
(3) 12th Legislature, Provisional Session - Qualified and took the oath of office on 2/8/1870. House Journal .
(4) Richard Williams absent for oath of office on first day, 1/14/1873; listed in floor votes 1/15/1873, 1/22/1873 forward; appointed on committees, 1/16/1873, p. 16; granted leave of absence for 3 days, 2/1/1873, p. 135. House Journal . January 14, 1873
January 15, 1873
January 16, 1873
January 22, 1873
February 1, 1873
(5) Party affiliation, Radical. Texas Almanac for . . . and Emigrant's Guide to Texas .
(6) Radical Republican Association, established 6/4/1870, p. 26. Through Many Dangers, Toils, and Snares: Black Leadership in Texas, 1868-1898 2016.
(7) Richard Williams and James Washington won seats in contested election and did not take seats until February 1873 (along with Henry Phelps, late because of illness), p. 41. Through Many Dangers, Toils, and Snares: Black Leadership in Texas, 1868-1898 2016.

Biographical Notes and Resources

Resolutions and Journal entries

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

Photograph. Richard Williams, State Preservation Board
Photograph. Richard Williams, DeGolyer Library, SMU, Lawrence T. Jones III Texas Photographs
Photograph. Richard Williams, State Preservation Board

Other Resources

Biographical information in Alwyn Barr, "Black Legislators of Reconstruction Texas," Volume 32, Number 4, December 1986, pp. 340-352. Civil War History .
Listed in "Men who have represented Grimes County in the House of Representatives/State Senate, 1846-1931," pp. 205-209. Includes Date, Legislatures, District, and Source of Data. Early History of Grimes County 1930.
Portrait and biographical sketch. Forever Free: Nineteenth Century African-American Legislators and Constitutional Convention Delegates of Texas 2002.
Mentioned pp. 147-154. From Slave to Statesman 1993.
Portrait, biographical information, and discussion of the Republican legislative agenda, pp. 134-137. From Slave to Statesman 1993.
WILLIAMS, RICHARD (ca. 1822-?). Handbook of Texas Online .
Mentioned in Negro Legislators of Texas and Their Descendants 1970.
Biographical sketch, p. 22. Birth year 1823, Appendix D. Through Many Dangers, Toils, and Snares: Black Leadership in Texas, 1868-1898 2016.