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B. Dudley Tarlton Papers
Benjamin Dudley Tarlton, Jr. (1889-1956), the
son of former Chief Justice of the Texas Court
of Civil Appeals B.D. Tarlton, Sr., was born
at Hillsboro, Texas. After finishing high school,
he took a Bachelor of Arts from St. Edwards
University in Austin and entered the University
of Texas Law School from which he graduated
in 1911. Tarlton was soon appointed as District
Attorney for the 36th Judicial District in Hill
County, Texas. He remained in this position
until 1917 when he resigned to join the Army.
Upon his release from service in 1919, Tarlton
moved to Corpus Christi, Texas, where he returned
to the practice of law. He quickly emerged as
one of Corpus Christi’s most prominent
attorneys and citizens.
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A colorful attorney, Tarlton participated in almost
every important law case in South Texas for the next
thirty-five years. Early in his career, Tarlton gained
a reputation as an authority on Texas election laws.
Tarlton had a reputation for winning at least ninety
percent of his cases. He may be best known for winning
all but one of over a hundred murder trials he handled.
While Tarlton never ran for public office, he was
a staunch Democrat and actively participated in local,
state, and national politics. He managed several of
U.S. Congressman Richard M. Kleberg’s successful
campaigns, and had a working relationship with U.S.
Representative Lyndon B. Johnson. Of interest was
Tarlton’s opposition to a U.S. president holding
a third term. This belief led him to support Wendell
Wilke against Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1940.
Tarlton died in Corpus Christi in 1956 after a short
illness. At the time of his death, he was still actively
practicing law with his son Vincent B. Tarlton. His
daughter, Frances T. “Sissy” Farenthold
later became one of the most prominent political figures
and international peace activists in Texas history.
The B. Dudley Tarlton Papers consist of forty-seven
document cases of materials, including print items
pertaining to numerous civil court cases and a few
criminal court cases he was involved in during the
1930s-1950s. There is also a limited amount of correspondence
concerning political campaigns of the 1930s as well
as personal correspondence. These papers represent
only a portion of Tarlton’s career and life.
Many items unfortunately were lost to water damage.
The Tarlton Papers were donated to Special Collections
& Archives by his daughter, Frances T. Farenthold.
We invite questions and/or comments and look
forward to hearing from you. Contact Jan Weaver
at Jan.Weaver@tamucc.edu.
Webpage revised on
08/10/2007
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