Born in Gibson County, Tennessee, Edwin Pinckney Becton (1834-1901) was the son of John May and Eleanor E. (Sharpe) Becton. The family moved to San Augustine, Texas, in 1841, and Becton apprenticed in Dr. A. R. Hamilton’s medical practice in New Danville, Texas, and the office of Dr. James E. and Robert S. Wendel of Murfreesboro, Tennessee. In 1857, he graduated from the University of Nashville in Nashville, Tennessee. That same year he established a practice in New Danville, Texas. In 1862, Becton joined the Confederate Army in Captain James A. Pegues’s company within the Waterhouse Regiment and became surgeon in Col. Richard B. Hubbard’s 22nd Texas Infantry Regiment, a part of Walker’s Texas Division. After the Civil War he settled in Hopkins County, where he practiced in Tarrant from 1866 to 1874 and subsequently Sulphur Springs. He represented Hopkins County in the Texas Legislature from 1870 to 1871. He served as vice president (1884) and president (1885-1886) of the Texas State Medical Association, now the Texas Medical Association, and as superintendent of the Texas School for the Blind in 1895.
In 1857, Becton married Mary Eliza Dickson. In 1867, the now widowed Becton married Olivia L. (Mrs. P. L.) Smith. He had three children with each wife, including Mrs. J. Wortham of San Antonio, Texas, Mrs. J. J. Nunnaly of Nashville, Tennessee, and Dr. Joseph D. Becton of Nelta, Texas.
Source:
Edwin Pinckney Becton Vertical File, Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, University of Texas at Austin.
The Edwin Pinckney Becton Papers, 1862-1870, consist of Civil War correspondence and speeches. Two originals and several transcripts compose the correspondence between Becton and his wife Mary. Transcripts of Becton's speeches concern his activities as Confederate surgeon, as a candidate for election, and as a member of the Texas Legislature.
Unrestricted access.
Edwin Pinckney Becton Papers, 1862-1870, Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin.
Subsequent revisions were made by Robyn King, April 1979, and Sara Clark and Alison Beck, August 1984.