Representative Lindley Garrison Beckworth

Lindley Garrison Beckworth Sr. (June 30, 1913 – March 9, 1984) was an American judge and politician who served as a United States Representative from Texas and as a judge of the United States Customs Court. A member of the Democratic Party, he represented Texas in the United States House of Representatives for 12 terms between 1939 and 1967, contributing to the legislative process during a significant period in American history.

Beckworth was born on June 30, 1913, on a farm in the South Bouie community of Mabank, Kaufman County, Texas. He attended the rural schools of Kaufman County before pursuing higher education at several Texas institutions. He studied at Abilene Christian College; East Texas State Teachers College in Commerce, Texas (now Texas A&M University–Commerce); Sam Houston State Teachers College in Huntsville (now Sam Houston State University); and Southern Methodist University in Dallas. His early professional life was rooted in education: from 1932 to 1936 he worked as a teacher in Upshur County, Texas, gaining experience in the public school system that would inform his later public service.

While teaching, Beckworth prepared for a career in law. He was admitted to the bar in 1937 and commenced the practice of law in Gilmer, Texas. Almost immediately he entered public office, serving as a member of the Texas House of Representatives from 1936 to 1938. This early legislative experience at the state level provided him with a foundation in lawmaking and constituent service that he carried into his subsequent federal career.

Beckworth was elected as a Democrat to the 76th Congress and to the six succeeding Congresses, serving in the United States House of Representatives from January 3, 1939, to January 3, 1953, from Texas’s 3rd Congressional District. During these seven consecutive terms, he participated in the democratic process and represented the interests of his East Texas constituents through World War II and the early Cold War era. In 1952 he chose not to seek renomination to the House and instead became a candidate for higher office. That year he was an unsuccessful candidate for the Democratic nomination for United States Senator from Texas.

After leaving Congress in 1953, Beckworth returned to the practice of law. He maintained a private law practice in Longview, Texas, from 1954 to 1958. He reentered national politics when he was elected again from Texas’s 3rd Congressional District to the 85th Congress and to the four succeeding Congresses, serving from January 3, 1957, to January 3, 1967. Over these additional five terms, he continued his long tenure in the House, bringing his total service in Congress to 12 terms between 1939 and 1967. In 1966 he was an unsuccessful candidate for renomination, which ended his legislative career in the House.

Following his extended congressional service, Beckworth was appointed to the federal judiciary. President Lyndon B. Johnson nominated him on January 16, 1967, to a seat on the United States Customs Court vacated by Judge David John Wilson. The United States Senate confirmed his nomination on March 2, 1967, and he received his commission on March 4, 1967. His tenure on the Customs Court was relatively brief; his service terminated on August 31, 1968, when he resigned from the bench.

After resigning from the United States Customs Court, Beckworth returned once more to private legal practice. He briefly practiced law in Longview in 1969 before resuming elective office at the state level. He served as a member of the Texas Senate from 1970 to 1972, continuing his long association with Texas public life. Following his term in the state senate, he again returned to private practice in Longview in 1974 and continued practicing law there for the remainder of his life. In his later years he resided in Gladewater, Texas. Lindley Garrison Beckworth Sr. died in Tyler, Texas, on March 9, 1984, and was buried in Rose Hill Cemetery in Tyler.