Albert H. Latimer

Albert Hamilton Latimer (May 25, c. 1800 – January 27, 1877) was a Justice of the Texas Supreme Court from September 1867 to November 1869.

Born in Huntingdon, Tennessee,[1] Latimer gained admission to the bar in Tennessee in 1831, and moved to Texas with family in 1833.[1] The family settled near what would later become Clarksville in Red River County.[1]

Latimer was a delegate to the Convention of 1836 in Washington-on-the-Brazos, Texas, in which Texas declared independence from Mexico,[2] which declaration Latimer signed.[1] Learning of General Santa Anna's attack on the Alamo, Latimer turned for his home. Along the way, he confronted a Cherokee band, who turned out to be friendly, and let him pass.[2] He served in the Republic of Texas House of Representatives from 1840 to 1842, as a delegate to the Statehood Convention of 1845, and in the Texas State Senate from 1849 to 1851.[1]

Latimer, too old to fight during the American Civil War, "was vocal in his opposition to Texas' secession from the Union".[2] He joined the Republican Party, and in October 1865 he was appointed state comptroller, during Reconstruction,[2] by Provisional Governor Andrew Jackson Hamilton.[1] Latimer then served stints as a federal tax commissioner overseeing revenue collection for North Texas, and supervisor of voter registration for North Texas.[1] He was also a commissioner with the Freedman's Bureau,[2] until his appointment to the Texas Supreme Court, in 1867,[2][1] one of several anti-secessionist justices appointed.[1]

Latimer served until his resignation from the court in November 1869, later serving as a district judge of the Eighth Judicial District from 1870 to 1872.[1]

Latimer died in Clarksville, and was buried in Clarksville Cemetery.[2]

References

1. "Albert Hamilton Latimer (1800-1877)". University of Texas.
2. Van Craddock, "The tale of an early Texas patriot", Longview News-Journal (March 24, 2013), p. A-2.