Background
Alexander Watkins Terrell was born on November 23, 1827 in Patrick County, Virginia. His father was Christopher Joseph Terrell and his mother, Susan Kennerly.
Alexander Watkins Terrell was born on November 23, 1827 in Patrick County, Virginia. His father was Christopher Joseph Terrell and his mother, Susan Kennerly.
Terrell graduated from the University of Missouri and was admitted to the bar in 1849.
He served as the United States minister to Turkey and a Confederate military officer His Quaker family moved to Boonville, Missouri in 1831. Terrell practiced law in Saint Joseph, Missouri.
In 1852, he moved to Austin, Texas.
He served as a district court judge from 1857 until 1863. On July 4, 1861, Terrell gave a speech on the Texas State Capitol in defense of the Confederate States of America.
He drew a parallel between George Washington and the secession of the Confederacy. When his term as judge came to an end, Terrell joined the First Texas Cavalry Regiment of the Confederate States Army as major.
He fought in several major battles as part of the Red River Campaign including the Mansfield, Louisiana, in the spring of 1864.
In 1865, he obtained the rank of brigadier general, but the war ended before his promotion was officially confirmed. Terrell briefly chose to flee to Mexico after the war. He returned to Texas, where he practised the law in Houston.
Subsequently, he spent time on his plantation in Robertson County, Texas.
After Reconstruction, he served in both the Texas Senate and House of Representatives, serving sixteen years in the state legislature. From 1893 until 1897, he was minister plenipotentiary to the Ottoman Empire during United States. President Grover Cleveland"s second administration.
He also served as the president of the Texas State Historical Association. Terrell died on September 9, 1912 in Mineral Wells, Texas.
He was buried at the Texas State Cemetery in Austin, Texas.
Terrell County, Texas is named in his honor.
From 1909 to 1911, he was a member of the University of Texas board of regents.