Williamson Simpson Oldham Sr.
Born: June 19, 1813
Birthplace: Franklin County, Tennessee
Father: Elias Oldham 1779 – 1850
Mother: Mary Bratton Burton 1780 – 1850
1st Wife: Mary Vance McKisick 1820 – 1849
(Buried: Eagle Lake Masonic Cemetery, Eagle Lake, Texas)
2nd Wife: Anne S. Kirk
Children:
Sarah Jane Oldham 1838 – 1855
Mary Eliza Oldham 1840 – Unknown
Williamson Simpson Oldham Jr. 1841 – 1921
(Buried: Eagle Lake Masonic Cemetery, Eagle Lake, Texas)
Letitia Madeleine Oldham McCarty 1842 – 1922
(Buried: Eagle Lake Masonic Cemetery, Eagle Lake, Texas)
Ada Yell Oldham Spratt 1847 – 1924
(Buried: Reeves Chapel Cemetery, Pittsburg, Texas)
Political Party: Democratic Party
Occupation before War:
School Teacher in Tennessee
Attorney in Fayetteville, Arkansas
1838: Arkansas State Representative
1842: Speaker of Arkansas State House of Representatives
Justice of Arkansas State Supreme Court
1846: Unsuccessful Candidate for United States Congressman
1848: Unsuccessful Candidate for United States Senator
1849: Moved to Texas due to suffering for a mild case of tuberculosis
1852: President of Austin, Texas Railroad Association
1853: Unsuccessful Candidate for Texas State Representative
1854 – 1857: Editor of Austin State Gazette Newspaper
1859: Unsuccessful Candidate for United States Congressman from Arkansas
1859: Moved to Brenham, Texas
Civil War Career:
1861: Delegate to Texas State Secession Convention
1861 – 1862: Texas Delegate to Confederate Provisional Congress
1862 – 1865: Confederate States Senator from Texas
1862 – 1864: Member of Senate Indian Affairs Committee
1862 – 1864: Chairman of Senate Post Offices and Post Roads Committee
1862: Member of Senate Naval Affairs Committee
1863 – 1864: Member of Senate Commerce Committee
1864 – 1865: Chairman of Senate Commerce Committee
1864 – 1865: Member of Senate Claims Committee
1864 – 1865: Temporary Member of Senate Finance Committee
1864 – 1865: Temporary Member of Senate Judiciary Committee
Advocate for high taxes, devises to counter inflation
Advocate for arming Slaves
Opposed the administration for establishment of Navy
Opposed the administration for drafting and reorganizing troops
Against measures that might violate personal and property rights.
Occupation after War:
1865 – 1866 : Fled to Mexico and made his way to Canada
1866: Returned to Texas and was a resident of Houston, Texas
1868: He died unrepentant, unpardoned, and unreconstructed.
Died: May 8, 1868
Place of Death: Houston, Texas
Cause of Death: Typhoid Fever
Age at time of Death: 54 years old
Burial Place: Eagle Lake Masonic Cemetery, Eagle Lake, Texas
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