Jim Hogg
James Stephen "Jim" Hogg (
March 24,
1851-
March 3,
1906) Born near
Rusk, Texas, Hogg was a
Texas lawyer and
statesman, and the first native to become
Governor of Texas. Hogg is often remembered for naming his daughter
Ima Hogg, an odd name which derived from a poem written by James' brother. She was known as "Miss Ima" throughout her lifetime.The rumor that she had a sister named "Ura" is an
urban legend.
Hogg was a follower of the
conservative New South Creed which became popular following the
U.S. Civil War, however he was also associated with
populism.
James was born to
Joseph Lewis Hogg and Lucanda McMath. His father died in 1862 followed by his mother's death in 1863. Young Jim and his siblings had to run the Hogg family
plantation. In
1866, Hogg went to
Tuscaloosa, Alabama, to study. Upon returning to Texas, he became a
typesetter of
Andrew Jackson's
newspaper.
Eventually, the Hogg family's fortune went away as a direct consequence of Hogg's mother and father's
deaths. The Hogg estate had to be sold, and Jim and his brothers decided to work for the
law.
While helping the
sheriff at
Quitman, Hogg survived an attack from which he suffered a gun shot to his back. Later on, he became a
newspaper editor in the area, using his publications to oppose
trains and
Ulysses S. Grant, among other topics and persons.
In
1873, Hogg was named
Justice of the Peace at Quitman, a position that he kept until
1875, partly because of personal reasons: he had become a lawyer and
married Ms.
Sally Stinson. In
1876, he was defeated by
John S. Griffith during a race for a seat on the Texas house of legislature.
In
1878, Hogg regained political status when he was elected
Wood County's attorney, and he went on to serve from
1880 to
1884 as Texas' seventh district's attorney. While
district attorney, Hogg personally saw communities that had become ghost towns when
railroads passed them by. He also witnessed a major strike by rail workers and a number of corruption
scandals in the railroad industry. Reforming the railroads would become one of his priorities as he later gained political power.
Hogg was not
racist, which was a rarity among
White Southeners of his era. Because of this, he was one of the men responsible for making Smith County a
Democratic stronghold during that year's elections, as he helped convince the
black vote for the Democratic party. He later on was offered a seat in
congress, but he declined, choosing instead to stay close to his family and practice as a lawyer in
Tyler.
In
1886, Hogg was convinced to run for the position of state
attorney general. He was elected, and then, he proceeded to become an important figure in Texas' economical growth, recovering much land for the state, helping
Washington, DC justice to write the second state antitrust law in the nation and regaining control of the
East Line and Red River Railroad. In
1888 Hogg sued the rail companies for attempting to create a
monopoly, among other charges. Hogg won, defeating the powerful rail baron
Jay Gould and creating for himself a name in Texas politics. In
1890, Hogg ran for
governor on the platform of establishing the
Railroad Commission of Texas. He won, and took office the next year.
In the governor's office, Hogg created the powerful position of railroad commissioner and passed a major land reform law that forced corporations to sell their land to the public within fifteen years. He worked to encourage investment in Texas through frequent trips east. He sought to eliminate the influence of corporations and lobbying groups in Texas and to clean the government of
nepotism and
graft. He supported Texas's common schools, the
University of Texas and
Texas A&M University, providing them with substantially increased public funding and his personal
philanthropy.
Hogg's wife died in
1895, after which he stepped down from the position of governor. Disencouraged to go on as a public figure, he invited his sister,
Martha Frances Davis, to his house so that she could take care of his children while he ran a private law office. Hogg did so well economically as a lawyer, that he built a second Hogg family fortune and was able to help the
University of Texas as well as various Texas cities with monetary presents.
After his governorship ended, he retired from public office but not from political life. He continued to work against the government corruption he believed was at the center of public woes. He spoke on behalf of
William Jennings Bryan in
Tammany Hall in
1896 and
1900. Hogg also became interested in the idea of what became the
Panama Canal; having done well as an
oil investor, Hogg had interest for a
shipping route to open between Texas and
South America, as well as between Texas and
Asia. On
April 19,
1900, he gave a speech in
Waco, where he said the now legendary words: "Let us have Texas, the Empire State, (be) governed by the people, not Texas, the truckpatch, ruled by corporate lobbyists".
Hogg took a business trip to
England, and then he returned to Texas, settling in
Houston where he ran a law firm. On
April 5,
1905, he spoke at a banquet that was especially prepared to honor
President Theodore Roosevelt. Later on, he was invited to make a speech at the
World's Fair in
Dallas, but he fell ill the day of the speech and had to stay in his hotel room in
Fort Worth. This was the beginning of a long illness that confined him mainly to his bed.
Nevertheless, he used his experience as a
publisher to write many, well known letters in which he indicated what aspects of society he agreed or disagreed with. Finally, on
March 3,
1906, he died while staying with his partner, Frank Jones, in Houston. He is now buried in Austin, Texas.
Jim Hogg County, Texas is named after him.
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Message of Gov. J. S. Hogg to the twenty-third Legislature of Texas., hosted by the Portal to Texas History
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Message of Governor James S. Hogg to the twenty-fourth legislature of Texas, hosted by the Portal to Texas History
See Wikipedia article on Sid McMath, a distant cousin of Hogg's who served as Governor of Arkansas (1949-1953) and who has been historically compared with him.
