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Pleasant Williams Kittrell

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Pleasant Williams Kittrell
Member of the House of Representatives for the 6th Texas Legislature
In office
November 5, 1855 – September 1, 1856
Member of the House of Representatives for the 7th Texas Legislature
In office
November 7, 1859 – November 2, 1857
Personal details
BornApril 13, 1805
Chapel Hill, North Carolina, U.S.
Diedcirca September 29, 1867(1867-09-29) (aged 62)
Huntsville, Texas, U.S.
Resting placeOakwood Cemetery,
Huntsville, Texas, U.S.
PartyDemocratic
Spouse(s)Ann Hicks Pegues (m. 1826–1846; her death)
Mary Frances Goree (m. 1847–1867; his death)
Children8
EducationUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (BA),
University of Pennsylvania
OccupationPhysician, politician, planter

Pleasant Williams Kittrell (April 13, 1805 – c. September 29, 1867), commonly known as P. W. Kittrell, was an American medical doctor, politician, and planter. He was Sam Houston's personal physician, a member of the Texas House of Representatives for two terms, and a pioneer of the University of Texas System. He also served three terms in the Alabama state legislature, and two terms in the North Carolina state legislature.

Early life and education

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Pleasant Williams Kittrell was born on April 13, 1805, at Chapel Hill, North Carolina, to parents Mary (née Norman) and Bryant Kittrell.[1]

He graduated in 1822 at the age of 17, from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.[1] He continued his medical studies at the University of Pennsylvania (now known as the Perelman School of Medicine), however he did not complete his degree and left in 1824.[1]

Family

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In 1826, he married Ann Hicks Pegues, and together they had two children. His first wife died in 1846.[2] By 1847, he remarried Mary Frances Goree,[1] and they had six children.

Career and late life

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After leaving the medical school at the University of Pennsylvania early, Kittrell returned to North Carolina to practice medicine.[1] Kitrell was twice elected to the North Carolina legislature,[1] serving in the North Carolina House of Commons in 1832 and 1833. He also served as a trustee of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.[1]

In 1837, Kittrell moved to Alabama, and continued to practice medicine.[1] He was elected to the Alabama state legislature three times.[1] The University of Alabama conferred on him an honorary master of arts degree while he was serving in the Alabama legislature.[1] He served as a trustee for Judson College, a private women's college in Marion, Alabama.[1]

In 1850, the Kittrell family, the Goree family, and the people they enslaved, moved together to Madison County, Texas and lived at Prairie View Plantation.[1][2] Prairie View Plantation (was later known as the Alta Vista Plantation) is now occupied by Prairie View A&M University in Prairie View, Texas.[3] The Kittrell family later settled in Huntsville, Texas, where Kittrell continued his medical practice and befriended statesman Sam Houston (1793–1863).[2][4] He worked as Sam Houston's personal physician.[2]

Kittrell served two terms in as a member of the House of Representatives for the Texas state legislature in the 6th and 7th legislatures representing Grimes, Madison, Walker Counties.[1][5][6] In the Sixth Legislature, Kittrell ran for Speaker of the House but lost to Hamilton P. Bee.[7] Kittrell authored the bill to establish the University of Texas System while serving in the legislature.[4] The bill was signed by Governor Elisha M. Pease on February 11, 1858, but it was delayed and the university opened in 1883.[1][4]

After Sam Houston's died in July 1863, Kittrell bought Houston's home, the Steamboat House in Huntsville, and moved there.[1]

Death and legacy

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In 1867, the yellow fever epidemic struck Walker County, Texas and Kittrell cared for patients until he succumbed to yellow fever himself.[4] Kittrell died c. September 29, 1867, in his home at Steamboat House in Huntsville.[1][4]

He is interred at Oakwood Cemetery and his grave has a historical marker erected 1998 by Texas Historical Commission.[8] He was the namesake of the town of Kittrell, Texas, which is now a ghost town.[9]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p McComb, Viva M. (1976). "Pleasant Williams Kittrell: Pioneer of the University of Texas". Texas State Historical Association (TSHA). University of Texas at Austin. Retrieved October 13, 2025.
  2. ^ a b c d Goree, Thomas Jewett (1995). Longstreet's Aide: The Civil War Letters of Major Thomas J. Goree. University of Virginia Press. p. 188. ISBN 978-0-8139-1574-6 – via Google Books.
  3. ^ Reed, William (1952). "History and Growth of Prairie View, Texas". Texas State Historical Association (TSHA). University of Texas at Austin. Sam Houston State University. Retrieved October 14, 2025.
  4. ^ a b c d e "Pleasant Williams Kittrell". East Texas History. University of Texas at Austin. Sam Houston State University. Retrieved October 14, 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  5. ^ "Pleasant Williams Kittrell". Legislative Reference Library of Texas. Retrieved October 14, 2025.
  6. ^ Ray, Worth S. (Worth Stickley) (1936). Southern Historical Research Magazine, April 1937 issue. p. 116 – via Internet Archive.
  7. ^ Journal of the House of Representatives of the State of Texas, Sixth Legislature (PDF). Texas. Legislature. House of Representatives. Austin, Texas: Marshall & Oldham, State Printers. 1855. pp. 5–6. Retrieved January 16, 2007.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  8. ^ "Pleasant Williams Kittrell Historical Marker". Historical Marker Database (HMDB). Retrieved October 13, 2025.
  9. ^ Hailey, James L. (1952). "Kittrell, Texas: History and Community Overview". Texas State Historical Association (TSHA). University of Texas at Austin. Retrieved October 13, 2025.
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