urn:taro:utexas.cah.01721 A Guide to the Culberson (Charles Allen) Papers, 1896, 1901, 1916 Original EAD encoding by Megan Mummey according to TARO 2 EAD 2002 Editing Instructions. July 2010 Finding aid written in English. Descriptive Summary Culberson, Charles A. (Charles Allen), 1855-1925 Culberson (Charles Allen) Papers 1896, 1901, 1916 Materials are written in English and German. 1923; 91-266 2 in. Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin The Charles Allen Culberson Papers, 1896-1901, 1916, contain letters written by Culberson, pertaining to his activities as Governor of Texas and United States Senator. The bulk of the papers document his Senate career, including one letter from 1901 and a letterpress book containing official letters from 1916. Biographical Note

Charles Allen Culberson (1855-1925), son of prominent lawyer and legislator, David Browning Culberson, was a Texas state attorney general, Texas governor, and a United States senator. After attending the Virginia Military Institute and the University of Virginia law school, Culberson was elected county attorney of Marion County, Texas, in 1877. Culberson and his wife, Sally Harrison, moved to Dallas in 1887, where he practiced law. From 1890 to 1894, Culberson served two terms as Texas state attorney general. A conservative, Culberson was elected governor in 1894 with the help of Edward Mandel House, a prominent Austin banker and landowner. In 1899, the Texas Congress made Culberson a United States Senator. In his twenty-four year senatorial career (1899-1922), he served as Senate Democratic minority leader (1907-1910) and sat on many committees, including the Committee on the Judiciary (1913-1919). His ill health and alcoholism forced him to resign as minority leader in 1910 and earned him the nickname of “sick man of the senate.” Increasingly over the next twelve years, Culberson relied on his friends and status as an incumbent to win reelection. In 1922, his health and dislike of the Ku Klux Klan caused him to lose his seat in the Senate.

Source: Wagner, Robert L. “Culberson, Charles Allen.” Handbook of Texas Online. http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/CC/fcu2.html.

 Scope and Contents

The Charles Allen Culberson Papers, 1896, 1901, 1916, contain letters written by Culberson, pertaining to his activities as governor of Texas and United States Senator. The bulk of the papers document his Senate career, including one letter from 1901 and a letterpress book containing official letters from 1916. In addition, the papers include a letter, written in German, to Otto von Bismarck in 1896, when Culberson was governor, discussing bimetallism.

Access Restrictions

This collection is open for research use.

 Index Terms Subjects (Persons) Culberson, Charles A. (Charles Allen), 1855-1925 -- Archives. Bismarck, Otto, Fürst von, 1815-1898. Subjects (Organizations) United States. Congress. Senate -- History. United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on the Judiciary. United States. Congress. Senate -- Minority leaders Subjects Legislators -- United States -- History. Legislators -- Texas -- History. Politics, Practical -- Texas -- History. Politics and politicians -- Texas. Governors -- Texas. Bimetallism -- United States. Places Austin (Tex.) Washington (D.C.) Preferred Citation

Charles Allen Culberson Papers, 1896, 1901, 1916, Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin.

 Processing Information

Basic processing and cataloging of this collection was supported with funds from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) for the Briscoe Center’s History Revealed: Bringing Collections to Light project, 2009-2011.

 Detailed Description of the Papers Inventory 2D19 Letter to Otto von Bismark, 1896 Letter to Laurence F. Bower of Pittsburg, 1901 2.325/A76c Letterpress book of official letters written by Culberson, June 23-July 12, 1916