David Abner: Difference between revisions - Wikipedia

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| term_start = January 13, 1874

| term_end = March 15, 1875

| birth_date = c. 1826

| birth_place = [[Selma, Alabama]], U.S.

| death_date = {{death year and age|1902|1826}}

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'''David Abner Sr.''' (c. 1826–1902) was an American politician who served in the [[Texas House of Representatives]].

Born into [[slavery in the United States|slavery]] in [[Selma, Alabama]], he served in the [[Fourteenth Texas Legislature]] for District 5 and sat on the Education Committee. He was a delegate to the 1875 Texas Constitutional Convention.<ref>[https://www.tsl.state.tx.us/exhibits/forever/biographies/page1.html Forever Free: the biographies (page 1)] at the [[Texas State Library and Archives Commission]]; published August 26, 2011. Retrieved October 30, 2013</ref>

==Early life==

At the age of seventeen, Abner in 1843 was taken to [[Upshur County, Texas|Upshur County]] in [[East Texas]].<ref name=TSHA /> After being [[Emancipation Proclamation|emancipated]] after the [[American Civil War]], he moved to [[Marshall, Texas|Marshall]] in [[Harrison County, Texas|Harrison County]], also in East Texas. There, he rented a plot of land and a mule from the sister of his original master. A few years later, he purchased the farm and became wealthy.<ref name="TSHA">{{cite web|url=http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fab06|title=David Abner Sr.|publisher=Texas State Historical Association|author1-link=Merline Pitre|author=Merline Pitre|accessdate= October 30, 2013}}</ref>

==Political life==

In 1873, Abner was appointed to the executive committee of the first Colored Men's State Convention.<ref>{{cite web|last=Barr|first=Alwyn|authorlink=Alwyn Barr|title=Black State Conventions|url=http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/pkb01|publisher=Texas State Historical Association|accessdate=October 31, 2013}}</ref> Later, he was elected to the position of treasurer for Harrison County.<ref name="Harvey2003">{{cite book|last=Harvey|first=Bill|title=Texas Cemeteries: The Resting Places of Famous, Infamous, and Just Plain Interesting Texans|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fMCAuw4JifYC&pg=PA181|date=February 1, 2003|publisher=University of Texas Press|isbn=978-0-292-73466-1|page=181}}</ref> In 1874, Abner was elected to the legislature for Harrison and [[Rusk County, Texas|Rusk]] counties.<ref>{{cite web|title=David Abner Sr.|url=http://www.lrl.state.tx.us/legeLeaders/members/memberDisplay.cfm?memberID=5310|publisher=Legislative Reference Library of Texas|accessdate=October 31, 2013}}</ref>

Halfway through his term in the state House, in August 1875, a convention was called to rewrite the 1869 [[Texas State Constitution]]. Abner was one of three delegates elected to the convention from the [[Texas State Senate]] district that made upcomprised Harison and Rusk counties.<ref name="Campbell1997">{{cite book|last=Campbell|first=Randolph B. |title=Grass-roots Reconstruction in Texas, 1865–1880|url=https://archive.org/details/grassrootsrecons0000camp|url-access=registration|year=1997|publisher=Louisiana State University Press|isbn=978-0-8071-2194-8|pages=[https://archive.org/details/grassrootsrecons0000camp/page/128 128]–29}}</ref> He was the only Republican at the convention who voted for a clause in the state constitution that prohibited the state from spending money for the encouragement of immigration.{{ref|citation|a}}<ref name="Rozek2003">{{cite book|last=Rozek|first=Barbara J.|title=Come to Texas: Attracting Immigrants, 1865–1915|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=B1RKXqhKVaUC&pg=PA205|date=July 22, 2003|publisher=Texas A&M University Press|isbn=978-1-58544-267-6|page=53}}</ref>

After his state legislative term, Abner was the vice president of the Republican State Convention in 1876.<ref name=Harvey2003 />

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==Notes==

*{{note|citation|a}} Article 16, section 56 of the Texas State Constitution states: "The Legislature shall have no power to appropriate any of the public money for the establishment and maintenance of a bureau of immigration, or for any purpose of bringing immigrants to this State." It was part of the Constitution from 1875 until it was repealed in 2001.<ref name=Rozek2003 />

==External links==

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[[Category:18261820s births]]

[[Category:1902 deaths]]

[[Category:Republican Party members of the Texas House of Representatives]]

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[[Category:19th-century American slaves]]

[[Category:20th-century African-American politicians]]

[[Category:20th-century American legislators]]

[[Category:20th-century Texas politicians]]

[[Category:People enslaved in Alabama]]