AS TIME GOES BY
Wood County History
By LOU MALLORY — Chairman Wood County Historical Commission
Some highlights from the early career of James Stephen Hogg
James Stephen Hogg, who was to become one of Texas' most outstanding governors, was the first native son to rise to the state's highest office.
He was born at Mountain Home, near Rusk, Texas, on March 24
th, 1853.
He was orphaned at the age of 12 and worked at many jobs including farming, sharecropping, and also as a gin hand and a typesetter. He came to Wood County for the first time either late in 1868 or early in 1869 and worked as a printer's "devil" on a Quitman newspaper known as the "Clipper."
Later on, Hogg published his own newspaper in Longview. He returned to Wood County in 1872 when he moved his newspaper to the county seat and established The Quitman News.
In the fall of 1873, at the age of 22, James Hogg was elected to the office of Justice of the Peace for Precinct 1 in Wood County. This was an important office, since, at that time, the county justices made up the commissioners' court. The Justice of Precinct 1 was designated as the Chief Justice and had many of the responsibilities that now belong to the county judge.
In January 1874, Justice of the Peace Hogg presided over the Wood County Commissioners' Court. I this, his first public office, Hogg produced an excellent record. He kept his campaign promises – rigid economy was practiced, and where funds had hitherto been wasted, leaks were plugged.
Within a short time, it became apparent that Wood County bonds might eventually reach par. By the end of 1874, the bonds were quoted at 50 cents on the dollar. To retire some of the debt and to make tax collection easier, it was decided that a percentage of old script would be received for taxes at par – a shrewd device to further restore confidence in the county's ability to pay.
The floating debt was gradually reduced despite a depression. By the end of the second year of the Hogg administration, the debt was paid off and the county script was receivable at par. The tax rate was also reduced from 75 cents per $100 valuation to 25 cents, which was a record few counties could equal.
On April 22
nd, 1874, James Hogg married Sallie Stinson, the daughter of Colonel James Stinson, a prosperous and respected Wood County farmer and sawmill owner.
Having passed his bar examination, Hogg was admitted to the practice of law during the spring term of court, 1875.
In 1878, when he was 27 years old, he was elected to the office of Wood County Attorney. In 1880, he was elected to the office of District Attorney, serving the counties of Gregg, Smith, Henderson, Upshur, Van Zandt and Wood.
Four years later, in 1884, he was elected Attorney General of Texas. In 1890, Hogg was elevated to the office of Governor of Texas. He was inaugurated at noon on January 20
th, 1891 as Texas' first native born governor. (All preceding information was taken from "James Stephen Hogg – A Biography" by Robert C. Cotner.) Hogg's public service career began on the site of the present Wood County Courthouse which stands on the square in Quitman. As Justice of the Peace in 1874, Hogg served in a two-story frame building which was the first courthouse erected on the square.
Reference to the site of the courthouse in Quitman is taken from "A History of Wood County" written in 1936 by Judge V.B. Harris and published in the Wood County Democrat on December 3r, 1942. The article stated, "The first courthouse of the county was a log house and it was situated on the south side of the public square of the town of Quitman It stood on the lot just west of the lot in which the office of the Britton Title Company now stands. In this log house our first term and session of the District Court was held sometime in the year if 1850 or the early part of 1851. Later on a new courthouse, a two-story frame building, was erected on the site where our present courthouse now stands. This was destroyed by fire in December, 1878, with all the county records."
The following are some views on the life and public service of James Stephen Hogg collected on the centenary of his birth on March 24, 1951. They were taken from "Under Texas Skies, Vol. One, Number 10" published by the Texas Heritage Foundation, Inc., Austin, Texas.
"James Stephen Hogg was one of the greatest men that our state has produced in all of its history." - Sam Rayburn.
"He was not only one of the greatest governors of Texas but one of the best in our country's history." – Harry S. Truman.
"Jim Hogg was the greatest Attorney General Texas ever had." – Price Daniel.
"One of the greatest among the many great men of Texas history." – Lyndon B. Johnson
"Governor James Stephen Hogg was one of the greatest executives who ever occupied the governor's chair in Texas." – Tom Connally.
The above article was compiled by E.A. Spacek, Vice Chairman of the Wood County Historical Survey Committee – December, 1965.
| < Prev |
|---|
