Ira Ingram, First Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives
Bay City, Matagorda County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Born in Vermont. Came to Texas in 1824. Worked to establish the Republic. Represented Matagorda in the First Congress of the Republic where he served as speaker, Oct. 1836 to April 1837. At his death in Sept. 1837 left $70,000 to schools in Matagorda. Since Ingram's term, 62 men have served Texas as speaker. Five have gone on to become governor. One, Sam Rayburn, became Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives and served 21 years in that office. The speaker, elected from the 150 members of the house, is one of the most powerful men in state government -- being third in line of succession to the governorship. Through his power of appointment of the 41 standing committees, and a presiding officer, he directs the course of legislation. He is chairman of the Legislative Audit Committee; vice-chairman of the Legislative Budget Board; and vice-chairman of the Texas Legislative Council. He signs all legislative acts and resolutions, appoints conference and interim committees, and performs many administrative duties spanning his two year term. (1965)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Vermont-born Ira Ingram came to Texas in 1824 and threw himself into building the new Republic, representing Matagorda in its First Congress and serving as the first Speaker of the Texas House from October 1836 to April 1837. At his death in 1837 he left $70,000 to Matagorda's schools. The speakership he inaugurated grew into one of the most powerful offices in Texas government—third in line to the governorship—held over the years by figures like Sam Rayburn, later Speaker of the U.S. House.
Why it matters
Ingram helped lay the institutional foundations of the Republic of Texas, and his office links the frontier legislature of 1836 to one of the most powerful roles in modern state government.
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Related people
- · Ira Ingram
- · Sam Rayburn
Related events
- · First Congress of the Republic of Texas
Themes & tags
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Matagorda County
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This corner of the Texas coast was home to the Karankawa people and the landing place of the French explorer La Salle in 1685. Colonists of Stephen F. Austin settled the area between 1822 and 1836, and the municipality of Matagorda organized under Mexican rule in 1834 before becoming Matagorda County in the new Republic of Texas. Erected by the state in 1936 for Texas's centennial, the marker honors early settlers, delegates to the conventions that declared independence, and Mary S. Wightman Helms, remembered as the first woman teacher in Texas.
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