Constantine B. Kilgore

Constantine B. Kilgore
Judge for the Southern District of the United States Court for the Indian Territory
In office March 20, 1895 – September 23, 1897
Appointed by	Grover Cleveland
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Hosea Townsend
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Texas's 3rd district
In office March 4, 1887 – March 3, 1895
Preceded by	James H. Jones
Succeeded by	C. H. Yoakum
President pro tempore of the Texas Senate
In office 1885–1886
Preceded by	William Russell Shannon
Succeeded by	William Henry Pope
Member of the Texas Senate
In office 1884–1886
Personal details
Born	Constantine Buckley Kilgore (1835-02-20)February 20, 1835 Newnan, Georgia, U.S.
Died	September 23, 1897(1897-09-23) (aged 62) Ardmore, Indian Territory, U.S.
Resting place	White Rose Cemetery Wills Point, Texas, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Military career
Allegiance	Confederate States of America
Service / branch	Confederate States Army
Rank	Adjutant general
Unit	Army of the Tennessee
Battles / wars	American Civil War

Constantine Buckley Kilgore (February 20, 1835 – September 23, 1897) was a U.S. Representative from Texas.

Early life and Confederate Army service

Constantine Buckley "Buck" Kilgore was born on February 20, 1835, in Newnan, Georgia. In 1846, his family moved to Rusk County, Texas, where Kilgore attended school. He also studied law, was admitted to the bar, and practiced in Rusk County, Texas. During the Civil War, Kilgore entered the Confederate States Army as a private and by 1862 attained the rank of adjutant general of Matthew Ector's brigade in the Army of the Tennessee. During the war he was wounded during the Battle of Chickamauga and was captured. He was a prisoner of war for the rest of the war.

Political career

A political cartoon of Constantine Buckley Kilgore nicknamed Buck Kilgore

Kilgore was elected Justice of the Peace in 1869. In 1872 the city of Kilgore, Texas was named in his honor after the International–Great Northern Railroad acquired land for a depot just south of Longview, Texas. He served as a member of the Texas Constitutional convention in 1875 and was elected to the Texas Senate in 1884 for a term of four years. He was voted president of that body in 1885 for two years. He resigned from the State senate in 1886 after winning an election to Congress.

Kilgore was elected as a Democrat to the Fiftieth and to the three succeeding Congresses (March 4, 1887 – March 3, 1895). When House Speaker Thomas Brackett Reed attempted to end the "silent filibuster" in 1890, a process by which the minority party could stop House business by calling quorums but then not answering when their names were called, Reed ended the process by directing the House Clerk to record those not answering to their names when the roll was called as present but not voting. Kilgore famously attempted to avoid being counted by kicking through a locked door to escape the House chamber.

In 1895, President Grover Cleveland appointed Kilgore judge for the southern district of the United States Court for the Indian Territory. He served from March 20, 1895 until his death in Ardmore, Indian Territory (now Oklahoma) on September 23, 1897. Kilgore was interred at White Rose Cemetery, Wills Point, Texas.

External links

• United States Congress. "Constantine B. Kilgore (id: K000173)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.

 This article incorporates public domain material from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress