William Smith HERNDON, Congress, TX (1835-1903)

HERNDON, William Smith, a Representative from Texas; born in Rome, Floyd County, Ga., November 27, 1835; moved to Wood County, Tex., in May 1852; attended the common schools and was graduated from McKenzie College in 1859; studied law; was admitted to the bar in 1860 and commenced practice in Tyler, Smith County, Tex.; served in the Confederate Army from 1861 to 1865 and attained the rank of captain; resumed the practice of law in Tyler; attorney, executive adviser, and general solicitor for numerous railroad companies 1868-1881; elected as a Democrat to the Forty-second and Forty-third Congresses (March 4, 1871-March 3, 1875); unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1874 to the Forty-fourth Congress; again engaged in the practice of law in Tyler, Tex., engaged in railroad construction; died in Albuquerque, N.Mex., October 11, 1903; interment in Oakwood Cemetery, Tyler, Tex.

Source: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1771-Present