Benjamin O. Watrous

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Benjamin O. Watrous(1819-?) was a wheelwright, minister, constitutional convention delegate, and state legislator in Texas. He was African American. He was known as Ben Carter when he was young. He was a Republican. He campaigned for a state senate seat in 1869 but lost to Matthew Gaines. [1]

He was born in McMinn County, Tennessee. He was enslaved. [2]

Carrie Watrous was his wife. [3] He was a member of the Union Loyal League and Texas House of Councils. [4]

He lost the vote to become speaker of the Texas House of Representatives by three votes. [4] He was one of 52 African-American men who were in the Texas legislature or were delegates to the 1868-1869 Texas Constitutional Convention. [5]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Association, Texas State Historical. "Watrous, Benjamin O." Texas State Historical Association.
  2. ↑ "Forever Free The Biographies". www.tsl.texas.gov.
  3. ↑ "Watrous". www.afrotexan.com.
  4. 1 2 Pitre, Merline (1988). "The Evolution of Black Political Participation in Reconstruction Texas". East Texas Historical Journal. 26 (1) 8.
  5. ↑ Association (TSHA), Texas State Historical. "African American Legislators of the 19th Century". Texas Almanac.


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