Robert Lee Henry

This week’s Cass County Pioneer is a politician. Robert Lee Henry was born in Linden, Texas, on May 12, 1864. Henry was a direct descendant of Patrick Henry, the famed American Revolutionary leader. He attended public schools and graduated from Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, in 1885. After studying law, he was admitted to the bar in 1886 and briefly practiced in Texarkana. He furthered his education at the University of Texas at Austin, graduating in 1887.

Henry’s political journey began as the Mayor of Texarkana in 1890, though he resigned the following year. He then served as First Assistant to the Attorney General of Texas from 1891 to 1893 and as Assistant Attorney General from 1893 to 1896.

In 1896, Henry was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, where he served from March 4, 1897, to March 3, 1917. During his tenure, he represented Texas’s Seventh and later the Eleventh congressional districts. He held significant leadership roles, including Chairman of the House Democratic Caucus from 1905-1907, and Chairman of the House Committee on Rules from 1912-1927. A progressive Democrat, Henry was a strong supporter of President Woodrow Wilson.

Henry chose not to seek renomination in 1916 and instead pursued the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senator, though unsuccessfully. After his congressional service, he returned to practicing law in Waco, Texas. He made additional unsuccessful bids for the U.S. Senate in 1922 and 1928. In 1923, he relocated to Houston to continue his legal career.

Robert Lee Henry died in Houston, Texas on July 9, 1931. He is buried at Rose Hill Cemetery in Texarkana, Texas.

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