JAMES COLLINGSWORTH
James Collinsworth came from Tennessee to Texas in 1834. He was a member of the convention at Washington which declared the independence of Texas. Before coming to Texas he held the position of district attorney in Tennessee. He was the first chief-justice of the Republic of Texas. He died in 1838. [A Texas Scrapbook Made Up Of The History, Biography, and Miscellany of Texas And Its People, compiled by D. W. C. Baker, 1875
Contributor: Sherry (47010546)
James Collinsworth was born in the early months of 1802 and had no middle name. Thompson was his mother's maiden name and the middle of name of his brother John. The marker has the wrong birth date.
Contributor: Kitchens Family (47887490)
COLLINSWORTH, JAMES (1806-1838). James Collinsworth, lawyer, jurist, and signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence,qv was born in Davidson County, Tennessee, in 1806, the son of Edmund and Alice (Thompson) Collinsworth. He attended school in Tennessee, studied law, and was admitted to the Tennessee bar in 1826. He was an ally of Andrew Jackson, Sam Houston,qv and other leading Tennessee politicians. From April 30, 1829, until early 1834, Collinsworth served as United States district attorney for the Western District of Tennessee. By 1835 he had moved to Matagorda, in the Brazos Municipality, Texas, and begun the practice of law. Along with Asa Brigham, John S. D. Byrom, and Edwin Wallerqqv he represented Brazoria in the Convention of 1836.qv
At the convention Collinsworth signed the Texas Declaration of Independence, introduced and guided to adoption a resolution making his fellow Tennessean Sam Houston commander in chief of the Texas army, became chairman of the military affairs committee, and served on the committee appointed to draft a constitution for the new Republic of Texas.qv After the convention adjourned, Houston, on April 8, 1836, appointed Collinsworth his aide-de-camp with the rank of major. After the battle of San Jacintoqv Gen. Thomas J. Ruskqv commended him for his bravery and chivalry.
From April 29 to May 23, 1836, Collinsworth served as acting secretary of state in President David G. Burnet'sqv cabinet. On May 26, 1836, because of his intimacy with President Andrew Jackson, he was designated a commissioner to the United States to seek assistance and possible annexation.qv The mission failed. Later in the year Collinsworth declined Houston's offer to make him attorney general of the Republic of Texas. Instead, on November 30, 1836, he was elected to a term in the Senate of the republic.
When the judiciary of the republic was organized, Collinsworth, on December 16, 1836, was appointed the first chief justice, a post he held until his death. Also in 1836 he helped organize the Texas Railroad, Navigation, and Banking Company,qv and the following year he helped found the city of Richmond. He was a charter member of the Philosophical Society of Texas,qv founded in 1837.
In 1838 Collinsworth was a candidate, along with Mirabeau B. Lamar and Peter W. Grayson,qqv for the presidency of the republic. The first published report of his candidacy was on June 30, 1838. On July 11, however, after a week of drunkenness, he fell or jumped off a boat in Galveston Bay and drowned. Most assumed he committed suicide. His body was recovered and taken by boat up Buffalo Bayou to Houston, where it lay in state in the capitol (see CAPITALS). Chief Justice Collinsworth was buried in the City Cemetery, Houston, under the direction of Temple Lodge No.4; his was "the first Masonic funeral ever held in Texas." On August 21, 1876, Collingsworth County, its name misspelled in the act of the legislature establishing the county, was named in his honor. A state monument was placed at Collinsworth's grave in the old City Cemetery in Houston in 1931.
BIBLIOGRAPHY: Joe E. Ericson, Judges of the Republic of Texas (1836-1846): A Biographical Directory (Dallas: Taylor, 1980). Louis Wiltz Kemp, The Signers of the Texas Declaration of Independence (Salado, Texas: Anson Jones, 1944; rpt. 1959). Texas House of Representatives, Biographical Directory of the Texan Conventions and Congresses, 1832-1845 (Austin: Book Exchange, 1941).
Handbook of Texas Online, s.v. "," http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/online/articles/CC/fco97.html (accessed May 27, 2007).
James Collinsworth came from Tennessee to Texas in 1834. He was a member of the convention at Washington which declared the independence of Texas. Before coming to Texas he held the position of district attorney in Tennessee. He was the first chief-justice of the Republic of Texas. He died in 1838. [A Texas Scrapbook Made Up Of The History, Biography, and Miscellany of Texas And Its People, compiled by D. W. C. Baker, 1875
Contributor: Sherry (47010546)
James Collinsworth was born in the early months of 1802 and had no middle name. Thompson was his mother's maiden name and the middle of name of his brother John. The marker has the wrong birth date.
Contributor: Kitchens Family (47887490)
COLLINSWORTH, JAMES (1806-1838). James Collinsworth, lawyer, jurist, and signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence,qv was born in Davidson County, Tennessee, in 1806, the son of Edmund and Alice (Thompson) Collinsworth. He attended school in Tennessee, studied law, and was admitted to the Tennessee bar in 1826. He was an ally of Andrew Jackson, Sam Houston,qv and other leading Tennessee politicians. From April 30, 1829, until early 1834, Collinsworth served as United States district attorney for the Western District of Tennessee. By 1835 he had moved to Matagorda, in the Brazos Municipality, Texas, and begun the practice of law. Along with Asa Brigham, John S. D. Byrom, and Edwin Wallerqqv he represented Brazoria in the Convention of 1836.qv
At the convention Collinsworth signed the Texas Declaration of Independence, introduced and guided to adoption a resolution making his fellow Tennessean Sam Houston commander in chief of the Texas army, became chairman of the military affairs committee, and served on the committee appointed to draft a constitution for the new Republic of Texas.qv After the convention adjourned, Houston, on April 8, 1836, appointed Collinsworth his aide-de-camp with the rank of major. After the battle of San Jacintoqv Gen. Thomas J. Ruskqv commended him for his bravery and chivalry.
From April 29 to May 23, 1836, Collinsworth served as acting secretary of state in President David G. Burnet'sqv cabinet. On May 26, 1836, because of his intimacy with President Andrew Jackson, he was designated a commissioner to the United States to seek assistance and possible annexation.qv The mission failed. Later in the year Collinsworth declined Houston's offer to make him attorney general of the Republic of Texas. Instead, on November 30, 1836, he was elected to a term in the Senate of the republic.
When the judiciary of the republic was organized, Collinsworth, on December 16, 1836, was appointed the first chief justice, a post he held until his death. Also in 1836 he helped organize the Texas Railroad, Navigation, and Banking Company,qv and the following year he helped found the city of Richmond. He was a charter member of the Philosophical Society of Texas,qv founded in 1837.
In 1838 Collinsworth was a candidate, along with Mirabeau B. Lamar and Peter W. Grayson,qqv for the presidency of the republic. The first published report of his candidacy was on June 30, 1838. On July 11, however, after a week of drunkenness, he fell or jumped off a boat in Galveston Bay and drowned. Most assumed he committed suicide. His body was recovered and taken by boat up Buffalo Bayou to Houston, where it lay in state in the capitol (see CAPITALS). Chief Justice Collinsworth was buried in the City Cemetery, Houston, under the direction of Temple Lodge No.4; his was "the first Masonic funeral ever held in Texas." On August 21, 1876, Collingsworth County, its name misspelled in the act of the legislature establishing the county, was named in his honor. A state monument was placed at Collinsworth's grave in the old City Cemetery in Houston in 1931.
BIBLIOGRAPHY: Joe E. Ericson, Judges of the Republic of Texas (1836-1846): A Biographical Directory (Dallas: Taylor, 1980). Louis Wiltz Kemp, The Signers of the Texas Declaration of Independence (Salado, Texas: Anson Jones, 1944; rpt. 1959). Texas House of Representatives, Biographical Directory of the Texan Conventions and Congresses, 1832-1845 (Austin: Book Exchange, 1941).
Handbook of Texas Online, s.v. "," http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/online/articles/CC/fco97.html (accessed May 27, 2007).
JAMES COLLINGSWORTH
James Collinsworth came from Tennessee to Texas in 1834. He was a member of the convention at Washington which declared the independence of Texas. Before coming to Texas he held the position of district attorney in Tennessee. He was the first chief-justice of the Republic of Texas. He died in 1838. [A Texas Scrapbook Made Up Of The History, Biography, and Miscellany of Texas And Its People, compiled by D. W. C. Baker, 1875
Contributor: Sherry (47010546)
James Collinsworth was born in the early months of 1802 and had no middle name. Thompson was his mother's maiden name and the middle of name of his brother John. The marker has the wrong birth date.
Contributor: Kitchens Family (47887490)
COLLINSWORTH, JAMES (1806-1838). James Collinsworth, lawyer, jurist, and signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence,qv was born in Davidson County, Tennessee, in 1806, the son of Edmund and Alice (Thompson) Collinsworth. He attended school in Tennessee, studied law, and was admitted to the Tennessee bar in 1826. He was an ally of Andrew Jackson, Sam Houston,qv and other leading Tennessee politicians. From April 30, 1829, until early 1834, Collinsworth served as United States district attorney for the Western District of Tennessee. By 1835 he had moved to Matagorda, in the Brazos Municipality, Texas, and begun the practice of law. Along with Asa Brigham, John S. D. Byrom, and Edwin Wallerqqv he represented Brazoria in the Convention of 1836.qv
At the convention Collinsworth signed the Texas Declaration of Independence, introduced and guided to adoption a resolution making his fellow Tennessean Sam Houston commander in chief of the Texas army, became chairman of the military affairs committee, and served on the committee appointed to draft a constitution for the new Republic of Texas.qv After the convention adjourned, Houston, on April 8, 1836, appointed Collinsworth his aide-de-camp with the rank of major. After the battle of San Jacintoqv Gen. Thomas J. Ruskqv commended him for his bravery and chivalry.
From April 29 to May 23, 1836, Collinsworth served as acting secretary of state in President David G. Burnet'sqv cabinet. On May 26, 1836, because of his intimacy with President Andrew Jackson, he was designated a commissioner to the United States to seek assistance and possible annexation.qv The mission failed. Later in the year Collinsworth declined Houston's offer to make him attorney general of the Republic of Texas. Instead, on November 30, 1836, he was elected to a term in the Senate of the republic.
When the judiciary of the republic was organized, Collinsworth, on December 16, 1836, was appointed the first chief justice, a post he held until his death. Also in 1836 he helped organize the Texas Railroad, Navigation, and Banking Company,qv and the following year he helped found the city of Richmond. He was a charter member of the Philosophical Society of Texas,qv founded in 1837.
In 1838 Collinsworth was a candidate, along with Mirabeau B. Lamar and Peter W. Grayson,qqv for the presidency of the republic. The first published report of his candidacy was on June 30, 1838. On July 11, however, after a week of drunkenness, he fell or jumped off a boat in Galveston Bay and drowned. Most assumed he committed suicide. His body was recovered and taken by boat up Buffalo Bayou to Houston, where it lay in state in the capitol (see CAPITALS). Chief Justice Collinsworth was buried in the City Cemetery, Houston, under the direction of Temple Lodge No.4; his was "the first Masonic funeral ever held in Texas." On August 21, 1876, Collingsworth County, its name misspelled in the act of the legislature establishing the county, was named in his honor. A state monument was placed at Collinsworth's grave in the old City Cemetery in Houston in 1931.
BIBLIOGRAPHY: Joe E. Ericson, Judges of the Republic of Texas (1836-1846): A Biographical Directory (Dallas: Taylor, 1980). Louis Wiltz Kemp, The Signers of the Texas Declaration of Independence (Salado, Texas: Anson Jones, 1944; rpt. 1959). Texas House of Representatives, Biographical Directory of the Texan Conventions and Congresses, 1832-1845 (Austin: Book Exchange, 1941).
Handbook of Texas Online, s.v. "," http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/online/articles/CC/fco97.html (accessed May 27, 2007).
James Collinsworth came from Tennessee to Texas in 1834. He was a member of the convention at Washington which declared the independence of Texas. Before coming to Texas he held the position of district attorney in Tennessee. He was the first chief-justice of the Republic of Texas. He died in 1838. [A Texas Scrapbook Made Up Of The History, Biography, and Miscellany of Texas And Its People, compiled by D. W. C. Baker, 1875
Contributor: Sherry (47010546)
James Collinsworth was born in the early months of 1802 and had no middle name. Thompson was his mother's maiden name and the middle of name of his brother John. The marker has the wrong birth date.
Contributor: Kitchens Family (47887490)
COLLINSWORTH, JAMES (1806-1838). James Collinsworth, lawyer, jurist, and signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence,qv was born in Davidson County, Tennessee, in 1806, the son of Edmund and Alice (Thompson) Collinsworth. He attended school in Tennessee, studied law, and was admitted to the Tennessee bar in 1826. He was an ally of Andrew Jackson, Sam Houston,qv and other leading Tennessee politicians. From April 30, 1829, until early 1834, Collinsworth served as United States district attorney for the Western District of Tennessee. By 1835 he had moved to Matagorda, in the Brazos Municipality, Texas, and begun the practice of law. Along with Asa Brigham, John S. D. Byrom, and Edwin Wallerqqv he represented Brazoria in the Convention of 1836.qv
At the convention Collinsworth signed the Texas Declaration of Independence, introduced and guided to adoption a resolution making his fellow Tennessean Sam Houston commander in chief of the Texas army, became chairman of the military affairs committee, and served on the committee appointed to draft a constitution for the new Republic of Texas.qv After the convention adjourned, Houston, on April 8, 1836, appointed Collinsworth his aide-de-camp with the rank of major. After the battle of San Jacintoqv Gen. Thomas J. Ruskqv commended him for his bravery and chivalry.
From April 29 to May 23, 1836, Collinsworth served as acting secretary of state in President David G. Burnet'sqv cabinet. On May 26, 1836, because of his intimacy with President Andrew Jackson, he was designated a commissioner to the United States to seek assistance and possible annexation.qv The mission failed. Later in the year Collinsworth declined Houston's offer to make him attorney general of the Republic of Texas. Instead, on November 30, 1836, he was elected to a term in the Senate of the republic.
When the judiciary of the republic was organized, Collinsworth, on December 16, 1836, was appointed the first chief justice, a post he held until his death. Also in 1836 he helped organize the Texas Railroad, Navigation, and Banking Company,qv and the following year he helped found the city of Richmond. He was a charter member of the Philosophical Society of Texas,qv founded in 1837.
In 1838 Collinsworth was a candidate, along with Mirabeau B. Lamar and Peter W. Grayson,qqv for the presidency of the republic. The first published report of his candidacy was on June 30, 1838. On July 11, however, after a week of drunkenness, he fell or jumped off a boat in Galveston Bay and drowned. Most assumed he committed suicide. His body was recovered and taken by boat up Buffalo Bayou to Houston, where it lay in state in the capitol (see CAPITALS). Chief Justice Collinsworth was buried in the City Cemetery, Houston, under the direction of Temple Lodge No.4; his was "the first Masonic funeral ever held in Texas." On August 21, 1876, Collingsworth County, its name misspelled in the act of the legislature establishing the county, was named in his honor. A state monument was placed at Collinsworth's grave in the old City Cemetery in Houston in 1931.
BIBLIOGRAPHY: Joe E. Ericson, Judges of the Republic of Texas (1836-1846): A Biographical Directory (Dallas: Taylor, 1980). Louis Wiltz Kemp, The Signers of the Texas Declaration of Independence (Salado, Texas: Anson Jones, 1944; rpt. 1959). Texas House of Representatives, Biographical Directory of the Texan Conventions and Congresses, 1832-1845 (Austin: Book Exchange, 1941).
Handbook of Texas Online, s.v. "," http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/online/articles/CC/fco97.html (accessed May 27, 2007).
Bio by: Screwtape
Family Members
Siblings
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Edmond B. Collinsworth
1781 – unknown
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Cynthia Collinsworth Matthews
1787–1870
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Susan Collinsworth Cockrill
1798–1872
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Elizabeth Catherine Collinsworth Collins
1800–1874
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Benjamin Franklin Collinsworth Sr
1803–1889
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Parmelia Ann Collinsworth Davis
1807–1879
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COL John T Collinsworth
1808–1837
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George Washington Collinsworth
1810–1835
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Edmond Collinsworth
1810–1830
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