Fletcher Stockdale

Fletcher Summerfield Stockdale (c. 1823 – 4 February 1890) was a U.S. politician in Texas. Stockdale was born in either 1823 or 1825 in Russellville, Kentucky as one of eight children of Thomas W. and Laurinda Stockdale. He studied law and was admitted to the Bar in Kentucky. Stockdale moved to Texas in 1846 and settled in Grimes County. By 1856, Stockdale had moved to Calhoun County, which he represented in the Texas Senate from 1857 to 1861. He... more

Fletcher Summerfield Stockdale (c. 1823 – 4 February 1890) was a U.S. politician in Texas. Stockdale was born in either 1823 or 1825 in Russellville, Kentucky as one of eight children of Thomas W. and Laurinda Stockdale. He studied law and was admitted to the Bar in Kentucky. Stockdale moved to Texas in 1846 and settled in Grimes County. By 1856, Stockdale had moved to Calhoun County, which he represented in the Texas Senate from 1857 to 1861. He was elected Lieutenant Governor in 1863, and served in that post until late May 1865 when he was elevated to governor after then-Governor Pendleton Murrah fled to Mexico. Stockdale served until provisional governor Andrew J. Hamilton assumed office in August 1865. In the late 1860s, Stockdale served as president of the Indianola Railroad and promoted the development of refrigerated cars for carrying beef to markets. Stockdale married his second wife, Elizabeth, the daughter of Texas politician Gustav Schleicher, in 1877 in Washington, D.C.... less