Charles Allen Culberson is Born

Today in Masonic History Charles Allen Culberson is born in 1855.

Charles Allen Culberson was an American politician.

Culberson was born on June 10th, 1855 in Dadeville, Alabama. The following year his family moved to Texas, first to Gilmer and then to Jefferson. He graduate from the Virginia Military Institute in 1874. He stayed in Virginia and attended the University of Virginia at Charlottesville to study law from 1876 to 1877. In 1877 he returned to Texas and was admitted to the bar there. He then opened a private practice in Jefferson. He moved to Dallas in 1890.

In 1890, Culberson was elected Attorney General of Texas. In 1894, he was elected as the 21st Governor of Texas. Prior to his inauguration he stepped down as the Attorney General. He served two terms as Governor of Texas.

In 1899, Culberson was elected to the United States Senate. He served until 1923. During his time in the Senate he served on the Committee on the Philippines, also known as the Lodge Committee, investigating war crimes during the Philippine-American war. In his 1916 re-election he was unable to campaign in Texas due to health problems and alcoholism, still winning his re-election. In 1922 he finally lost re-election due to his health and his opposition to the Klu Klux Klan.

Culberson lived the rest of his life in Washington, D.C. He passed away on March 19th, 1925 from pneumonia.

Culberson was a member of Jefferson Lodge No. 36 in Jefferson, Texas. He was also a member of Ben Hur Shrine Temple of Austin, Texas.

This article provided by Brother Eric C. Steele.