b. 1825 – Tennessee
Governor: 1866–1867
Throckmorton’s family moved from Arkansas to present-day Melissa. He studied medicine with his uncle in Kentucky and returned to Texas to fight in the U.S.-Mexican War but was forced to take a medical discharge due to kidney disease.
Throckmorton practiced medicine in McKinney but dissolved his practice to practice law. He served three terms in the Texas House; as chairman of the Internal Improvement Committee, he advocated for land grants to establish free public schools and for the construction of a railroad network. He was elected to the Texas Senate in 1857 and was appointed Confederate commissioner to the Native Americans.
As chairman of the Constitutional Convention of 1866 Throckmorton presided over the writing of the new state constitution. As governor, he returned political, economic, and social stability to Texas, while maintaining order between former Confederates and former slaves. However, he was removed from office by General Philip Sheridan after refusing to support Radical Republican policies. He returned to McKinney to practice law and was elected to Congress in 1874. He attempted to run for a second term but was defeated.