Background
Stephen Heard Darden was born on November 19, 1816, in Fayette, Mississippi, United States. He was the son of Washington Lee and Ann Sharkey Darden. Little is known about his early life.
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Stephen Darden
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6178 College Station Drive, Williamsburg, KY 40769, United States
Stephen was educated in the common schools of the country and at Cumberland College (present-day University of the Cumberlands), where he completed his course, except the languages.
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6178 College Station Drive, Williamsburg, KY 40769, United States
Stephen was educated in the common schools of the country and at Cumberland College (present-day University of the Cumberlands), where he completed his course, except the languages.
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Stephen Heard Darden
Edit ProfileEducation
Stephen was educated in the common schools of the country and at Cumberland College (present-day University of the Cumberlands), where he completed his course, except the languages.
Career
In 1836, Darden came to Texas, where he fought in the Texas army during the war for independence.
He moved to Madison County, Mississippi, in the early 1840s but returned to Texas in 1846 to farm in Gonzales County. Before the Civil War, he represented Gonzales County three times in the state House and once in the state Senate. He was elected to the Texas secession convention.
When the war began, he volunteered for the army. As a first lieutenant and later captain in Key's Infantry, Hood's Regiment of the 4th Texas Brigade, Darden fought in engagements from Yorktown to Sharpsburg until he was discharged because of ill health.
He subsequently joined the state militia as a major and later as a colonel. In 1864, he was elected to fill the unexpired term of John Wilcox in the Confederate House. He served on the Committee on Naval Affairs.
After the war he was broke. There is some evidence that he returned to his farm in Gonzales County. In 1874, he was a Democratic state comptroller of public accounts.
Achievements
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Stephen Heard Darden became a prominent Texas politician, who served two terms in the Texas State Senate. During the Civil War, he served in the Confederate Army and was appointed Colonel in command of the 5th Infantry Regiment, on the Texas Gulf Coast. He was also elected to the Second Confederate Congress, serving until 1865.
Politics
Darden was a unionist when secession was initially proposed but finally voted for the Secession Ordinance because the majority of the delegates supported it. He generally opposed the Davis administration.
Membership
Stephen was a Mason.
Personality
Stephen was physically tall and well proportioned. The movement of his mind was not quick, but meditative and profound. He had fair-minded and had a keen sense of justice. He was pleasant in his manners and possesses an obliging disposition, that insures for him the friendship of the masses.
Connections
Stephen was married twice. His first wife was Mary Matilda Goff. In 1862 he married Catherine Mays.
References
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Born
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Died
May 16, 1902 (aged 85) -
Resting place
Texas State Cemetery Austin, Travis County, Texas, United States -
Nationality
United States -
Political Party
Democratic party
Career
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1864 - 1865