Joseph D. Sayers

Joseph Draper Sayers
22nd Governor of Texas
In office
January 17, 1899 – January 20, 1903
Lieutenant James Browning
Preceded by Charles A. Culberson
Succeeded by S. W. T. Lanham
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Texas's 9th district
In office
March 4, 1893 – January 16, 1899
Preceded by Edwin Le Roy Antony
Succeeded by Albert S. Burleson
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Texas's 10th district
In office
March 4, 1885 – March 3, 1893
Preceded by John Hancock
Succeeded by Walter Gresham
18th Lieutenant Governor of Texas
In office
1879–1881
Governor Oran M. Roberts
Preceded by Richard B. Hubbard
Succeeded by Leonidas J. Storey
Member of the Texas Senate
In office
1873-1874
Personal details
Born (1841-09-23)September 23, 1841
Grenada, Mississippi
Died May 15, 1929(1929-05-15) (aged 87)
Texas
Political party Democratic
Profession politician, lawyer

Joseph Draper Sayers (September 23, 1841 – May 15, 1929) was the 22nd Governor of Texas from 1899 to 1903. During Sayers's term, the Galveston Hurricane of 1900 demolished that city.

Early years

Joseph Sayers was born September 23, 1841 in Grenada, Mississippi to Dr. David Sayer and his wife Mary Thomas {Peete}. His mother died in 1851, and soon after he moved to Texas with his father and younger brother, William.[1] The family settled in Bastrop, where Sayers and his brother attended the Bastrop Military Institute.[2]

When the Civil War broke out, Sayers joined the Confederate States Army's 5th Texas Regiment, a cavalry unit led by General Tom Green. He participated in the Battle of Valverde in New Mexico in February 1862, and was recommended for promotion for his bravery in capturing an artillery battery. Later that year he returned to Texas with his regiment before being sent to Louisiana, where he was wounded in the Battle of Fort Bisland in April 1863. His actions during that conflict led to his promotion to major, and he became Green's chief–of–staff. Sayers was wounded again in April 1864 at the Battle of Mansfield. After Green died at the Battle of Blair's Landing, Sayers became the assistant adjutant to General Richard Taylor.[2]

After the war ended, Sayers returned to Texas. He opened a school and simultaneously studied law. He was admitted to the bar and then formed a partnership with G. "Wash" Jones.[2]

Public service

Sayers entered political service in 1873, when he became a state senator in the 13th Texas Legislature. In his term, he helped reverse most of the legislation that had been passed under the Radical Republicans.[2] After his term ended in 1875, Sayers spent three years as chairman of the Texas State Democratic Executive Committee. He presided over the state Democratic convention in both 1876 and 1878.[2] At the 1878 convention he was nominated to be lieutenant governor under Oran M. Roberts and later won the election. Sayers and Roberts differed on one key point; Sayers believed that public lands should be saved for homesteaders and schools, not sold cheaply to speculators, as Roberts advocated.[2]

In 1884, Sayers was elected to U.S. Congress, where he served until 1898. That year, he ran for governor, winning the election and taking office in early 1899. During his term in office, labor unions were exempted from antitrust laws, and blacklists were outlawed. His term saw increased spending on education, prisons, and social service institutions and outlawed railroad rebates.[2] He also spearheaded legislation that authorized the creation of school districts.[3]

Sayers's term was notable for the number of disasters that the state faced. The Brazos River flooded in 1899, and the following year the Galveston Hurricane of 1900 caused great devastation. Other parts of the state suffered from a severe drought, and boll weevils caused widespread cotton destruction. Millions of dollars in assistance came to the state, and Sayers administered the distribution of the funds "honestly and fairly."[3]

Later years

After leaving office in 1903, Sayers focused mainly on his law practice. He also took the time, however, to serve on the Board of Regents for the University of Texas System as well as on the Industrial Accident Board, the State Board of Legal Advisors, and the pardon board.[3]

Sayers died May 15, 1929 and is buried in Bastrop.[3]

Notes

  1. ↑ Hendrickson (1995), p. 137.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Hendrickson (1995), p. 138.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Hendrickson (1995), p. 140.

References

Texas Senate
Preceded by
Reinhard Hillebrand		 Texas Senate, District 26
1873–1874 		Succeeded by
William Hamilton Ledbetter
Political offices
Preceded by
Richard Bennett Hubbard, Jr.		 Lieutenant Governor of Texas
1879–1881 		Succeeded by
Leonidas Jefferson Storey
Preceded by
Charles A. Culberson		 Governor of Texas
1899–1903 		Succeeded by
S. W. T. Lanham
United States House of Representatives
Preceded by
John Hancock		 Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Texas's 10th congressional district
1885–1893 		Succeeded by
Walter Gresham
Preceded by
Edwin Le Roy Antony		 Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Texas's 9th congressional district
1893–1899 		Succeeded by
Albert S. Burleson
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