Thomas Beck (politician)

Thomas Beck (1819 – ?) was an African-American Republican politician who served three terms in the Texas House of Representatives. Various sources list his birthplace as Kentucky, Mississippi, or Virginia. He moved to Texas about 1842 and began farming in Grimes County.

According to his biographical sketch in the 1879 Texas Legislative Manual, he served in the Confederate Army for four months at Fort Smith, Arkansas. During his time in the legislature he served on the following committees: Privileges and Elections, Agriculture and Stock Raising, and Roads, Bridges, and Ferries. He also supported funding for what is now the historically black Prairie View A&M University in Prairie View, Texas. He worked to pass legislation which prevents children from being employed without the permission of their parents. Beck and his wife, Martha, had at least three children.

References[]

Forever Free: Nineteenth Century African-American Legislators and Constitutional Convention Delegates of Texas

Texas Legislators: Past & Present - Thomas Beck

Handbook of Texas Online - Thomas Beck

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