John Hall Stephens

John Hall Stephens (November 22, 1847 – November 18, 1924) was an American lawyer and politician who served ten terms as a U.S. representative from Texas from 1897 to 1917.

Early life and education Born in Shelby County, Texas, Stephens attended the common schools in Mansfield, Texas. He graduated from Mansfield College, and from the law department of Cumberland University, Lebanon, Tennessee, in 1872.

Career After gaining admission to the bar in 1873, he practiced in Montague, Montague County, and Vernon, Wilbarger County, Texas.

He served as a member of the Texas State Senate from 1886 to 1888, and then resumed the practice of law in Vernon, Texas.

Congress Stephens was elected as a Democrat to the Fifty-fifth and to the nine succeeding Congresses (March 4, 1897 – March 3, 1917). He served as chair of the Committee on Indian Affairs (Sixty-second through Sixty-fourth Congresses). He was an unsuccessful candidate for renomination in 1916.

Retirement and death He moved to Monrovia, California, in 1917, and died 4 days before his 77th birthday there November 18, 1924. He was interred in East View Cemetery, Vernon, Texas.

Legacy Stephens County, Oklahoma, was named for him.