John H. Reagan

John H. Reagan was a Texas statesman in every sense of the word. He served his adopted state in numerous capacities ranging from county judge to United States senator. He sacrificed personal gain for the good of the state's citizens, and applied his not inconsiderable talents and prestige to solving serious problems facing Texans between the Civil War and the twentieth century. In short, he devoted his life to Texas.

John Henninger Reagan was born on October 8, 1818, in Sevier County, Tennessee. After a childhood spent rearing younger siblings and a decade of sporadic schooling and odd jobs, he came to the Republic of Texas in 1938 seeking work in Nacogdoches. Soon thereafter, he took part in the Cherokee War and worked as a surveyor and scout before becoming captain of a Nacogdoches militia company. At the same time, Reagan studied the law and opened a legal office at Buffalo.

Reagan began his political career shortly after Texas statehood, and politics consumed the remainder of his long life. He served as a Henderson County judge, a member of the Texas legislature, a United States congressman, and, in 1859, was elected to represent Texas in the United States Senate. Ostensibly a Unionist, Reagan nevertheless resigned his position in January of 1861, returned to Texas, and urged Governor Sam Houston to support citizens' calls for secession.

Thus Reagan continued his political career, this time serving Texas and the Confederate States of America. In February 1861 Reagan represented Texas at the secession convention at Montgomery, Alabama. Soon he was appointed postmaster general of the Confederacy, and held that post throughout the duration of the war. After being captured by Union forces along with Jefferson Davis in Georgia in May of 1865, Reagan was imprisoned in Boston, then released home to Texas in December.

While a captive, Reagan wrote an open letter to Texans urging them to submit to Union authority. This position, while initially unpopular, eventually earned Reagan the unqualified respect of his fellow Texans and the nickname "Old Roman," intended to evoke the self-sacrificing spirit of Cincinnatus. As active as Reagan had been, his most impressive achievements still lay ahead.

After helping draft the Texas Constitution of 1876, politics again consumed him. From 1875 until 1887 he served in the United States House of Representatives, then was elected to the Senate. While in Congress, Reagan was largely responsible for the Interstate Commerce Act that allowed federal regulation and oversight of railroads. But Texas beckoned once more-soon after taking his senate seat, Reagan resigned at the urging of Texas governor James Stephen Hogg. The newly created Texas Railroad Commission, a state regulatory body, desperately needed the prestige only he could bring to it. As he had often done in the past, Reagan foreswore personal desires for the good of his state. With Reagan as its chair, the Railroad Commission proved successful. He remained on the commission until his retirement from politics in January 1903.

On March 6, 1905, John H. Reagan died of pneumonia in Palestine, and was buried in East Hill Cemetery. To get there, take either Highway 287 or 84 to west Loop 256, exit to East Lacy St., then travel west toward town to the cemetery.

For more information about John H. Reagan, see Ben H. Procter, Not Without Honor: The Life of John H. Reagan (1962), or the New Handbook of Texas. To learn more about East Texas history, contact the East Texas Historical Association at Stephen F. Austin State University or visit the ETHA web site at http://leonardo.sfasu.edu/etha/.