Besser, General John Slater
Huntsville, Walker County, Texas
Marker Inscription
A native of Pennsylvania, John Slater Besser was a brigadier general, legislator, and judge in Missouri before moving his family to Texas in 1842. While living in Montgomery and Walker counties, Besser held a number of public offices before and after the Civil War. He served as director and financial agent of the state penitentiary under Governors Bell, Henderson, Pease, Runnels, Houston, Clark, and Lubbock, and was Walker County Judge from 1878 to 1880. Married four times, Besser was the father of nine children born to his first wife, Julia Hampton.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
John Slater Besser had already been a brigadier general, legislator, and judge in Missouri before he moved his family to Texas in 1842. Over the following decades he held a string of public offices in Montgomery and Walker counties, serving as director and financial agent of the state penitentiary under a long line of governors and as Walker County Judge from 1878 to 1880. His career spanned the years bracketing the Civil War.
Why it matters
Besser typifies the experienced officeholders who migrated west and built the machinery of government in a young frontier state.
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Related people
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Themes & tags
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