Governor Elisha Marshall Pease
Austin, Travis County, Texas
Marker Inscription
(January 3, 1812 - August 26, 1883) In 1835 E. M. Pease migrated to Texas from his native Connecticut. He joined the Texian forces at the Battle of Gonzales, Oct. 2, 1835, which initiated the Texas War for Independence. In the early days of the Republic, he worked as a government clerk and later served in the Legislature and Senate. He was a prominent lawyer in Brazoria when elected Governor in 1853. During Gov. Pease's first two terms in office, 1853-57, a permanent school fund was established and Texas' first free public schools built. Other achievements included increased railroad construction and reduction of taxes and the state debt. Gov. Pease ordered Texas Rangers to the frontier to combat recurring Indian raids. The Pease family became the first to occupy the newly constructed Governor's Mansion in 1856. A staunch Unionist, Pease restricted his political activities during the Civil War (1861-65). In 1866 he again ran for Governor but lost to J. W. Throckmorton. Gen. Philip H. Sheridan, federal military commander of Texas, removed Throckmorton in 1867 and appointed Pease provisional governor to enforce Reconstruction policies. Pease resigned in protest in 1869. At the time of his death he was an Austin banker. Married to Lucadia Niles (1813-1905), he had three daughters. (1977)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Elisha Marshall Pease came to Texas from Connecticut in 1835 and fought at the Battle of Gonzales that opened the Texas Revolution before building a career in law and government. As governor in the 1850s he helped establish a permanent school fund and Texas's first free public schools, expanded railroads, and moved his family into the new Governor's Mansion. A committed Unionist, he later returned as a Reconstruction-era provisional governor and resigned in protest in 1869.
Why it matters
Pease connects the founding struggle of the Texas Republic to the birth of its public schools and the divisive politics of Reconstruction, all in one long public life.
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Related people
- · Elisha Marshall Pease
Related events
- · Battle of Gonzales
- · Reconstruction
Themes & tags
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