Prof. William Stuart Lorraine Bringhurst

Husband of Antoinette Power Houston, daughter of General Sam Houston. Married on February 28, 1877 in Austin, Texas. The couple had five children.

William Stuart Lorraine Bringhurst was born August 27, 1844 at Alexandria, Louisiana, son of Augustus L. and Maria Louise (Waters) Bringhurst. In 1860 he entered the Louisiana State Seminary of Learning and Military Academy. On September 22, 1862 he enlisted at Alexandria as a private in Co. I of the Consolidated Crescent Regiment of Louisiana Infantry.

In 1863 he was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant of Ordinance and transferred to Fort De Russy, Louisiana. He was captured at Fort De Russy on March 14, 1864 and sent to federal prison at New Orleans. In January 1865 he was paroled from prison.

On August 11, 1869 he was awarded Doctor of Philosophy at the University of Tuebingen, Germany.

In 1879 he served as a member of the faculty of the Texas Military Institute at Bastrop, Texas.

From 1882-1893 Bringhurst taught physics, history and English at Texas Agricultural and Mechanical (A&M) University. In 1888 he was appointed Vice Chairman of the faculty at the A&M College of Texas.

On July 1, 1890 he was appointed as vice president of the A&M College of Texas. He served as acting president of the university from July 1, 1890 to January 20, 1891 while the school waited for confirmation of Lawrence Sullivan Ross as it's president.

In 1893 Bringhurst then taught at Bryan High School for a year. The family moved to Rusk in 1894. From August 1894 - 1901 he was president of the Henderson Normal College at Henderson, Texas. He would serve until the school closed in 1901. In 1901 the family moved to San Antonio, Texas.

In 1913 he was appointed superintendent of the State Orphans Home in Corsicana in 1913. He died of pneumonia on February 18, 1913 in Corsicana, Texas. He was 68 years old.

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