John_W._Houston
John W. Houston
American politician
John Wallace Houston (May 4, 1814 – April 26, 1896) was an American lawyer and politician from Georgetown, in Sussex County, Delaware. He was a member of the Whig Party and the Democratic Party, who served as U.S. Representative from Delaware and a Justice of Delaware Superior Court.
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John W. Houston | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Delaware's At-large district | |
| In office March 4, 1845 – March 3, 1851 | |
| Preceded by | George B. Rodney |
| Succeeded by | George R. Riddle |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1814-05-04)May 4, 1814 Concord, Delaware |
| Died | April 26, 1896(1896-04-26) (aged 81) Georgetown, Delaware |
| Political party | Whig Democratic |
| Residence | Georgetown, Delaware |
| Alma mater | Yale College |
| Profession | lawyer |
Houston was born on May 4, 1814, in Concord, Delaware, attended the country schools and Newark Academy, and graduated from Yale College in 1834. While at Yale he was initiated into one of the earliest gatherings of the Skull and Bones Society.[1] He studied law in Dover, Delaware and was admitted to the Delaware Bar in 1837. He then moved to Georgetown, Delaware in 1839 and commenced the practice of law. He was a slaveholder.[2]
Houston was Secretary of State of Delaware from 1841 to 1844, and was elected as a Whig to the 29th, 30th, and 31st Congress, serving from March 4, 1845, to March 3, 1851. While in the House he was chairman of the Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds for the 30th Congress. He was not a candidate for renomination in 1850, and was appointed associate judge of the Delaware Superior Court on May 4, 1855, retiring in 1893. Houston was a member of the Peace Conference of 1861, held in Washington, D.C., in an effort to devise means to prevent the impending Civil War.
Houston died at Georgetown, and is buried in the Lewes Presbyterian Church cemetery at Lewes, Delaware. His nephew, Robert G. Houston, was also a U.S. Representative from Delaware.
Elections are held the first Tuesday after November 1. U.S. Representatives took office March 4 and have a two-year term.
| Public Offices | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Office | Type | Location | Began office | Ended office | notes | |
| U.S. Representative | Legislature | Washington | March 4, 1845 | March 3, 1851 | ||
| Associate Justice | Judiciary | Georgetown | May 4, 1855 | 1893 | Delaware | |
| United States Congressional service | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dates | Congress | Chamber | Majority | President | Committees | Class/District |
| 1845–1847 | 29th | U.S. House | Democratic | James K. Polk | at-large | |
| 1847–1849 | 30th | U.S. House | Whig | James K. Polk | Public Buildings and Grounds | at-large |
| 1849–1851 | 31st | U.S. House | Democratic | Zachary Taylor Millard Fillmore |
at-large | |
| Election results | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Office | Subject | Party | Votes | % | Opponent | Party | Votes | % | ||
| 1844 | U.S. Representative | John W. Houston | Whig | 6,229 | 51% | George R. Riddle | Democratic | 6,023 | 49% | ||
| 1846 | U.S. Representative | John W. Houston | Whig | 6,254 | 51% | John I. Dilworth | Democratic | 6,007 | 49% | ||
| 1848 | U.S. Representative | John W. Houston | Whig | 6,630 | 50% | William G. Whiteley | Democratic | 6,026 | 49% | ||
| 1852 | U.S. Representative | John W. Houston | Whig | 6,360 | 44% | George R. Riddle | Democratic | 6,692 | 50% | ||
- Millegan, Kris (2003). "The Skeleton Crew". Fleshing Out Skull and Bones: Investigations into America's Most Powerful Secret Society. Walterville, OR: Trine Day. pp. 597–690. ISBN 0-9720207-2-1. "This list is compiled from material from the Order of Skull and Bones membership books at Sterling Library, Yale University and other public records. The latest books available are the 1971 Living members and the 1973 Deceased Members books. The last year the members were published in the Yale Banner is 1969."
- Weil, Julie Zauzmer; Blanco, Adrian; Dominguez, Leo (10 January 2022). "More than 1,800 congressmen once enslaved Black people. This is who they were, and how they shaped the nation". Washington Post. Retrieved 16 April 2022. Updated 12 April 2022
- Martin, Roger A. (2003). Delawareans in Congress: The House of Representatives, Vol. One 1789-1900. Newark: Roger A. Martin. ISBN 0-924117-26-5.
- Wilson, W. Emerson (1969). Forgotten Heroes of Delaware. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Deltos Publishing Company.
- Delaware Historical Society; website; 505 North Market Street, Wilmington, Delaware 19801; (302) 655-7161
- University of Delaware; Library website; 181 South College Avenue, Newark, Delaware 19717; (302) 831-2965
- Biographical Dictionary of the U.S. Congress
- Delaware's Members of Congress
- Find A Grave
- The Political Graveyard
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Delaware's at-large congressional district March 4, 1845 – March 4, 1851 |
Succeeded by |