ASSURING HIS CLIENT JAMES R. GOBER, OF AMARILLO, TEXAS, THAT HE IS WORKING ON HIS CASE, IN AN AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED BY TEMPLE HOUSTON, JAN. 31, 1890
[Canadian, Texas: 1890]. Single sheet of letterhead stationery from the office of Temple Houston, Attorney at Law, Canadian, Texas. 27 x 21 cm., approx. 65 words. Accompanied by the stamped, addressed mailing envelope. Temple Houston writes to Gober that he is preparing for the trial but agrees with Col. Baker that it is best to wait for the upcoming regular term of the courts to put it forward. Signed in a neat hand, "Sincerely yours, Temple Houston." Item #67304
Temple Houston was the last child born to Sam Houston (1793-1863) and his wife Margaret (1819-1867). Both of his parents were dead by the time he was seven years old, and he was raised for a few years by a sister. After stints on a cattle drive, a riverboat, and as a Senate page in Washington, DC, he returned to Texas. He studied at Agricultural & Mechanical College [now Texas A&M] and Baylor before beginning the practice of law. He served for a few years in the Texas legislature before moving to the newly created town of Canadian, incorporated in 1887, where he was an attorney for various private clients and for the Santa Fe railroad. He was considered a gifted, flamboyant trial lawyer. Houston spent most of his life in the Texas Panhandle and later Oklahoma Territory.
His client James R. Gober was the sheriff of Potter County, where Amarillo was located. The Col. Baker mentioned in this letter is likely Benjamin M. Baker (1850-1918). Baker practiced law in Texas, served in the Texas legislature, and in 1887, moved his family to Canadian, Texas. In 1890 he was elected judge of the Thirty-Fifth Judicial District, serving until 1917. [see: Houston's biography in the Handbook of Texas online & Baker's brief biography on the Hemphill County, Texas website].
Price: $1,500.00