HENDERSON CO. TX -  BIOGRAPHY James Pickney Henderson
 
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James P. Henderson
         
         
        TEXAS’ FIRST GOVERNOR was an aristocrat, bred in the traditions of Virginia and 
North Carolina. He had served the Republic of Texas ably as a diplomat after arriving too 
late to fight at the Battle of San Jacinto.
He was James Pinckney Henderson, a native of North Carolina and grandson of the 
Virginian who had sent Daniel Boone westward over the Smokies to explore the unknown 
West of Kentucky and Tennessee.
       Born at Lincolnton, N.C., March 31, 1808, Henderson attended the University of North 
Carolina and was admitted to the bar. Threats of tuberculosis sent him to Canton, Miss., 
in 1835, seeking a milder climate. He soon became interested in the cause of Texans, 
captained a troop of Mississippians and sailed for Velasco. Al-
though too late to fight in the Texas Revolution, Henderson settled at  San Augustine and 
within six months was attorney general of Texas. By December,  1836, Sam Houston 
appointed him secretary of state, succeeding Stephen F. Austin.
         The polished North Carolinian was chosen to represent Texas as minister to England 
and France, where he successfully negotiated treaties of trade and credit vitally important 
to the new nation. Henderson also was sent to Washington to aid Isaac Van Zandt in annexation 
discussions with the United States. The treaty that was signed April 12, 1844. was rejected in 
June by the U.S. Senate and Henderson was ordered home by President Houston.
       Henderson was associated with other prominent Texans—Thomas J. Rusk and Kenneth J. 
Anderson, also a North Carolinian—in a law firm. Anderson had been vice-president under 
Anson Jones, was famed for his eloquence, and was generally expected to be the first 
governor of Texas. After Anderson’s death in 1845, Henderson
 became a candidate and was elected governor in November, with 7,853 votes out of  
9,578 cast. On Feb. 19, 1846, Gov. Henderson was inaugurated as the Lone Star Flag 
of the Republic was replaced over the Capitol in Austin by the Stars and Stripes.  Texas 
had become the 28th state.
     When the war with Mexico broke out, Gov. Henderson insisted on leading the Texas 
volunteers and the Texas Legislature granted permission. Lt. Gov. Albert C. Horton acted 
as governor during his absence and is listed as de facto governor by many historians.
     Henderson resumed the office when war ended, but declined to seek a second term. 

He practiced law for 10 years, but was named U.S. senator from Texas when his friend 
and former legal associate, Thomas J. Rusk, committed suicide. Ill health ended his life, 
at the age of 50, in Washington on  June 4, 1858. He was buried there, but his body was 
moved to the State Cemetery in Austin in 1930.
     While in Paris and London, Henderson had met 19-year-old Frances Cox of Philadelphia 
and they were married in London in October, 1839.