b. 1841 – Mississippi
Governor: 1899–1903
After serving in the Fifth Regiment, Mounted Volunteers of the Confederate Army, Sayers returned to Bastrop where he taught and practiced law before being elected to the Texas Senate. After a term as lieutenant governor, he was elected to the U.S. House in 1884, where he helped secure long-delayed payment for services of the Texas Rangers on the Indian frontier.
As two-term governor, Sayers witnessed the burning of the Texas State Penitentiary at Huntsville, the Brazos River flood in 1899, and the Galveston hurricane in 1900. After leaving office he practiced law in San Antonio and served as a regent of the University of Texas.