Peter W. Gray : Early life, Career, Death and legacy, Further reading Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Peter W. Gray

American judge

Peter W. Gray (December 12, 1819 – October 3, 1874) was an American lawyer, judge, and legislator from Texas. He represented Texas in the Confederate House of Representatives, and briefly served on the Texas Supreme Court.

Early life

Gray was born to William Fairfax Gray and Mary "Millie" (Stone) Gray in Fredericksburg, Virginia on December 12, 1819. In 1838, he moved to Houston, Texas, with his parents and siblings. He read law with his father and was admitted to the bar.^[1]

Career

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History of Texas

Timeline

Pre-Columbian Texas
Early Spanish explorations	1519–1543
French Texas	1684–1689
Spanish Texas	1690–1821
Mexican Texas	1821–1836
Republic of Texas	1836–1845
Statehood	1845–1860
Civil War Era	1861–1865
Reconstruction	1865–1899

Years in Texas

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After his father died, Gray was appointed Houston’s District Attorney on April 24, 1841, remaining in the job until Texas became a state in 1845. He also served the city of Houston as an Alderman and on the local board of health.^[1]

Gray was elected to the House of Representatives in the first Texas state legislature in 1846, then authored the first procedural code in Texas.^[2]

In 1848 he founded the Houston Lyceum, which later became the Houston Public Library. He was elected to the Texas State Senate in 1854, then served as a State District Court Judge from 1856 to 1861.

In 1861, Gray attended the Texas State Secession Convention, and voted to leave the union. In November that year, he was elected to the Confederate House of Representatives. After the war he returned to his law practice in Houston, Gray, Botts & Baker. In 1874 he quit his practice upon being appointed as an associate justice of the Texas Supreme Court, but served only a few months before resigning due to declining health.

Death and legacy

Gray died at home in Houston of tuberculosis, and is buried in the Glenwood Cemetery in Houston.^[1] He was an active Episcopalian and a Mason. Gray County, Texas, is named in his honor.^[3]^[1]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Cutrer, Thomas W. (February 22, 2017). "GRAY, PETER W." Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved August 16, 2018.
^ Lipartito, Kenneth J.; Pratt, Joseph A. (1991). Baker & Botts in the Development of Modern Houston. Austin: University of Texas Press. pp. 12–14. ISBN 0-292-70782-7.
^ Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. Government Printing Office. p. 142. Retrieved August 16, 2018.

External links

"History of Baker Botts L.L.P". Retrieved August 16, 2018.
"The Diary of William Fairfax Gray: From Virginia to Texas, 1835–1837". William P. Clements Center for Southwest Studies, Southern Methodist University. Retrieved August 16, 2018.
"A Guide to the Millie Richards Stone Gray Diary". Virginia Heritage: Guides to Manuscript & Archival Collections in Virginia. University of Virginia Library. Retrieved August 16, 2018.