Despite these conflicts, Runnels was reelected to represent Hinds County in the state legislature in 1841. Runnels moved to Texas in 1842 and purchased a cotton plantation located on the Brazos River near Houston. He represented Brazoria County during the Convention of 1845. He was elected to the Texas State Senate in 1855 but failed to qualify for office. He was elected to the Senate again in 1857, but died before taking office. The Texas Senate passed a memorial resolution in his honor, and Benjamin F. Tankersly was sworn into office in his stead. Runnels died in Houston on December 17, 1857, and was buried in Glenwood Cemetery. Personality The son of a man who was "would fire up and fight anybody and at any time," Runnels's personality reflected the rough-hewn violence of his frontier upbringing. Describes as excitable and volatile, his narrow defeat in the 1835 Mississippi gubernatorial race was partially attributed to an emotional outburst against one of his opponents during which he used some very harsh and unparliamentary language. Legacy Runnels County, Texas, was named in his honor. Runnels was the uncle of Texas Governor Hardin Richard Runnels, and William R. Baker, a Texas State Senator was married to Runnels’ niece, Hester. References External links 1796 births 1857 deaths Burials at Glenwood Cemetery (Houston, Texas) Governors of Mississippi Baptists from Mississippi American planters People from Hancock County, Georgia Mississippi Democrats Democratic Party governors of Mississippi Members of the Mississippi House of Representatives State Auditors of Mississippi 19th-century American politicians People from Hinds County, Mississippi 19th-century Baptists