Chief Justice, Supreme Court of the Republic of Texas, 1836-1838
Born in Davidson County, Tennessee, in 1806, James Collingsworth received his education there. He studied law and was admitted to the Tennessee bar in 1826. He served as U.S. District Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee from 1829 to1834 and became a political ally of fellow Tennesseans, Sam Houston and Andrew Jackson.
Collingsworth moved to Texas in 1834 or 1835 and started a private law practice in Matagorda, then part of the Brazoria Municipality. He became an important figure in the Texas Revolution and a leader in the Republic of Texas. His military activities included organizing a company of some forty men during the Goliad Campaign of 1835. Ultimately the company grew to about 120 men and captured La Bahia Presidio; it was the first military action against a Mexican military installation during the Texas Revolution. Collingsworth was subsequently elected major of a regiment and would later be commended for his bravery and gallant conduct at the Battle of San Jacinto.
Collingsworth was one of Brazoria's representatives to the Convention of 1836, was elected its temporary chairman, and was among the signers of the Texas Declaration of Independence. He was chosen to head the military affairs committee and was on the committee that drafted the constitution for the Republic of Texas. He also introduced the resolution to have Sam Houston named commander in chief of the Texas army, and Houston later appointed Major Collingsworth his aide-de-camp. Collingsworth served as acting secretary of state during the brief presidency of David G. Burnet, and in November 1836 he was elected to the senate of the Republic.
The Constitution of 1836 established a court system and provided for a supreme court. On December 16, 1836, at its first session, the Congress of the Republic of Texas elected James T. Collingsworth its first chief justice.
In June 1838, Collingsworth became a candidate for the presidency of the Republic. It was a bitter, three-way race between Collingsworth, Peter Grayson, and Mirabeau Lamar. But on July 11, Collingsworth drowned in Galveston Bay, reportedly following "a week of drunkenness." Whether he jumped or fell into the water is not certain, but it was generally assumed that he committed suicide. Two days earlier, Peter Grayson had ended his own life in Bean Station, Tennessee. Unopposed, Lamar went on to win the election.
Collingsworth died before a session of the supreme court had been held and therefore never wrote an opinion.
In Memoriam,
126 Texas reports xxxi (1936).Ericson, Joe E. Collinsworth, James,
Handbook of Texas Online (last updated June 6, 2001). http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/CC/fco97.htmlEricson, Joe E.
Judges of the Republic of Texas (1836-1846) 73 (Dallas, Texas: Taylor Publishing Co., 1980).Presidio La Bahia, Goliad, Texas (visited May 30, 2006).
http://www.presidiolabahia.orgRoell, Craig H. Goliad Campaign of 1835,
Handbook of Texas Online (last updated June 6, 2001). http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/GG/qdg1.html
