Identified with Texas: The Lives of Governor Elisha Marshall Pease and Lucadia Niles Pease by Elizabeth Whitlow

Abstract

Reviewed by: Identified with Texas: The Lives of Governor Elisha Marshall Pease and Lucadia Niles Pease by Elizabeth Whitlow Amy M. Porter Identified with Texas: The Lives of Governor Elisha Marshall Pease and Lucadia Niles Pease. By Elizabeth Whitlow. (Denton: University of North Texas Press, 2021. Pp. xii, 405. $45.00, ISBN 978-1-57441-866-8.) Biographies of early Texas political figures often focus on men, but in her new book, Elizabeth Whitlow breaks from this trend by studying the lives of both Elisha and Lucadia Pease. Identified with Texas: The Lives of Governor Elisha Marshall Pease and Lucadia Niles Pease examines an important political figure who served as governor from 1853 to 1857 and again during Reconstruction from 1867 to 1869, as well as the challenges of life in nineteenth-century Texas and the experiences of a woman who often lived apart from her husband as he left home to serve in political office. Public records allow for more coverage of Elisha, but Lucadia Pease’s extensive private correspondence reveals a woman’s world that works on Texas political history have rarely examined. Whitlow notes that, before this project, Elisha Pease was the only major political figure or Texas governor of this era who did not have a full-length scholarly biography. Identified with Texas follows the lives of Elisha and Lucadia Pease in chronological order, and several of the chapters focus on parts of his three terms as governor. Whitlow’s research in the Pease Papers and other public records is extensive. Identified with Texas is at its best when Whitlow provides details from personal correspondence that offer readers glimpses into the relationship between Lucadia and Elisha, as well as their thoughts on political and societal issues. Lucadia Niles Pease is a fascinating figure. She attended school in Connecticut and Massachusetts, and she traveled extensively before she [End Page 356] married Elisha Pease in 1850. She referred to herself as a “woman’s rights woman,” and she made sure her daughters, one of whom attended Vassar College, had access to education (p. vi). Lucadia was often without her husband, as he lived away from home when he held political positions. Her story reveals the emotional support she provided for Elisha during his political career, and their letters disclose a loving relationship. Lucadia’s story also takes the reader through the challenges of epidemic illnesses, losing children, and living through a war. Elisha receives more coverage in the book than Lucadia since he was the public figure, but the attention paid to Lucadia and her letters adds tremendously to Whitlow’s analysis. Whitlow demonstrates that Elisha Pease played a critical role in nineteenth- century Texas politics. He advocated for causes that he felt were important to the development of the state. He supported public schools and advocated for public higher education. He also worked to start schools for deaf and blind Texans and to open a state asylum. Politically, he opposed the Know-Nothing Party, criticized abolitionists, and registered his frustration with the federal government for not providing enough troops to offer protection against Indian raids. Pease worked to prevent the secession of Texas, but after the outbreak of the Civil War, he remained in the state to protect his property. This was a risk for him and his family, as other Texans knew he held Unionist views. But throughout his career, Pease had also made his proslavery views widely known. The Peases were slaveholders, and Elisha defended the system of slavery on numerous occasions. In letters Lucadia wrote during a stint teaching children on a Virginia plantation, she noted her opposition to slavery but also claimed that the slaves appeared happy. In Texas, too, slaves were part of her household. One of the most interesting sections in Identified with Texas explores the Reconstruction era. As a Unionist with political experience, Pease was an obvious choice for appointment to the governorship during the postwar years. His correspondence noted the challenges the state faced: economic problems, violence against Unionists, violence against freedmen and freedwomen, conflict with Indians along the frontier, and divisions within the ranks of Unionists and Republicans. Pease’s words vividly illustrate this complicated atmosphere. Whitlow has...