John McClannahan Crockett explained

John McClannahan Crockett
Order1:8th
Office1:Lieutenant Governor of Texas
Term Start1:November 7, 1861
Term End1:November 5, 1863
Governor1:Francis Lubbock
Predecessor1:Edward Clark
Order2:2nd, 5th and 8th
Office2:Mayor of Dallas
Term Start2:1865
Term End2:1866
Predecessor2:No mayor due to the American Civil War
Successor2:John W. Lane
Term Start3:1859
Term End3:1861
Predecessor3:A. D. Rice
Successor3:J. L. Smith
Term Start4:1857
Term End4:1858
Predecessor4:Dr. Samuel B. Pryor
Successor4:Isaac Naylor
Birth Date:26 December 1816
Birth Place:Lancaster, South Carolina
Death Place:Dallas, Texas
Resting Place:Old Masonic Cemetery, Dallas
Profession:Lawyer, politician
Party:Democratic

John McClannahan Crockett (December 26, 1816  - August 4, 1887) was a Texan lawyer, mayor of Dallas, and the eighth Lieutenant Governor of Texas. A South Carolina native, Crockett moved to Texas in 1847. He became the second mayor of Dallas, and the eighth Lieutenant Governor of Texas from 1861 - 1863.[1]

Early life

Crockett was born at Lancaster, South Carolina, on December 26, 1816. He studied at Franklin Academy in Lancaster. Before studying law, he was involved in a business career. He married Catherine W. Polk on March 17, 1837. He started studying law in 1841, and in 1844, he was granted a license to practice law.[1]

Life in Texas

Crockett and his wife, Catherine, moved to the city of Paris, Texas in 1847. In 1848 they moved to the Dallas area. William H. Hord, the brother-in-law of Crockett, was county judge there. Crockett started practicing law in the Dallas area, and also became deputy county clerk there. He became commissioner of the Mercer colony in 1850. In 1851 he became state representative from the Dallas area. He was involved in multiple court trials, and was a law partner of John Jay Good in the first half of the 1850s.[1]

Dallas was granted a town charter on February 2, 1856, by the Texas legislature.[2] Crockett was elected as the second mayor of Dallas in 1857, serving for three non-consecutive terms; his last was 1865–1866.

Crockett became meteorological observer for the Smithsonian Institution in Dallas in 1859. He was elected as the eighth Lieutenant Governor of Texas in 1861. He left the lieutenant governor's office in 1863. Despite a supportive constituency, he refused to enter the race for the governorship of Texas. He returned to the Dallas area to become superintendent of the Confederate arms factory in Lancaster, Texas.

After the war, he incorporated the Dallas Grain, Elevator, and Flouring Company in 1872. In 1875, he became a charter member of the executive committee of the Dallas Pioneers Association.[1]

Death

Crockett died on August 4, 1887; he was interred at the Old Masonic Cemetery, Dallas.[1]

Notes and References

  1. . Retrieved on August 6, 2009.
  2. . Retrieved on August 6, 2009.