Legislative Reference Library

Texas Legislators: Past & Present

Thomas Reuben Bonner

Thomas Reuben Bonner
Full Name: Thomas Reuben Bonner
Birth date: September 11, 1838
Death date: August 30, 1891

Terms of Service

  • House, 15th Legislature
    4/18/1876 - 1/14/1879
    Democrat
    Speaker
  • House, 11th (1) (2) Legislature
    8/6/1866 - 2/7/1870
     
(1) In 1866 Bonner had represented Cherokee County in the Texas legislature . . . [he] impressed his colleagues with his loyalty to the Democratic party." American Legislative Leaders, 1850-1910 1989.
(2) Roster of 11th Legislature, House of Representatives, "Texas Legislative Proceedings," 8/11/1866, p. 1. Galveston Daily News .

Biographical Notes and Resources

Resolutions and Journal entries

  • Presentation of cane to Speaker from members of the House of Representatives, 15th Legislature, 8/21/1876, pp. 992-995. House Journal .

Photographs

Other Resources

  • Biographical sketch. American Legislative Leaders, 1850-1910 1989.
  • Thomas R. Bonner, birth date 9/11/1838, death date 8/30/1891, portrait, burial in Oakwood Cemetery, Tyler, Smith County. Find a Grave .
  • Mentioned in Chapter XIIL, p. 84, Thomas R. Bonner. "In either 1876 or 1878, I am not sure which, probably the earlier year, Thomas R. Bonner of Tyler, Smith County, was Speaker of the House. He was a man of ability, and impressive appearance, and a very accomplished parliamentarian, and elegant gentleman." Governors Who Have Been, and Other Public Men of Texas 1921.
  • BONNER, THOMAS REUBEN (1838-1891). Handbook of Texas Online .
  • Confederate States Army, Colonel, William B. Ochiltree's 18th Texas Infantry. "He entered Confederate service in April 1862 as captain, Company C, of Col. William B. Ochiltree's Eighteenth Texas Infantry. He was subsequently major, lieutenant colonel, and colonel of that regiment, which served in the Trans-Mississippi Department as an element of Walker's Texas Division." Handbook of Texas Online .
  • Listed in "Smith County and Seventh Senatorial District Legislators, 1st—16th Regular Sessions, 1846-1879," The Tyler Journal, 5/29/1936, p. 67, crediting Smith County Historical Society. Portal to Texas History (University of North Texas Libraries) .
  • Obituary and drawing, "Thomas R. Bonner Dead," The Galveston Daily News, 8/31/1891, p. 2, crediting Abilene Library Consortium. Death date 8/30/1891 in Tyler. Portal to Texas History (University of North Texas Libraries) .
  • 24th Speaker of the House of Representatives: Thomas Reuben Bonner. Photo and biographical sketch. Presiding Officers of the Texas Legislature, 1846-2016 2016.
  • Biographical sketch, pp. 75-77. Sketches of Legislators and State Officers, Fifteenth Legislature, 1876-1878 1876.
  • Biographical sketch, p. 74. Texans Who Wore the Gray 1907.
  • Thomas Reuben Bonner. Texas Burial Sites of Civil War Notables: A Biographical and Pictorial Field Guide 2002.
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