John Ireland

John Ireland (January 1, 1827March 15, 1896) was the 18th Governor of Texas from 1883 to 1887. During Ireland's term, the University of Texas was established, and construction on the Texas State Capitol began. Ireland is credited with the selection of local pink granite as the construction material. Early years Ireland was born on January 1, 1827 in Hart County, Kentucky to Irish immigrants Patrick Ireland and the former Rachel Newton. Although he had little formal education, when he was 18 he was appointed deputy sheriff of the county. At 24 years of age he decided to study law, and was admitted to the bar. In 1852, Ireland moved to Texas, where he settled in Seguin and practiced law. Two years later, he married Mathilda Wicks Faircloth. She died in 1856, and the following year Ireland married Anna Maria Penn. They had three children together. Ireland was elected the mayor of Seguin in 1858. A firm believer in slavery, Ireland campaigned for greater efforts to reclaim slaves who had run away to freedom in Mexico. He was an ardent secessionist and served as a delegate of Seguin to the 1861 Secession Convention. He enlisted in the Confederate States Army as a private and eventually worked his way through the ranks to that of lieutenant colonel.