Stephen W. Perkins was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 political figure in the Republic of Texas

Republic of Texas

The Republic of Texas was an independent nation in North America, bordering the United States and Mexico, that existed from 1836 to 1846.Formed as a break-away republic from Mexico by the Texas Revolution, the state claimed borders that encompassed an area that included all of the present U.S...

 and early statehood Texas who, in 1846–47, served as Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives

Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives

The Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives is the presiding officer of the Texas House of Representatives. The Speaker's main duties are to conduct meetings of the House, appoint committees, and enforce the Rules of the House...

 during the First Texas Legislature

First Texas Legislature

The First Texas Legislature convened from 16 February to 13 May 1846 in regular session. Members of the House of Representatives and Senate were elected in December 1845, after an election on 13 October 1845 that ratified the proposed state constitution....

.

A native of Kentucky

Kentucky

The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...

, Perkins moved in 1840 to Texas' Brazoria County, where he founded a plantation in the village of Bailey's Prairie. In 1844 he was elected to the Texas House in the Ninth Congress of the Republic of Texas

Congress of the Republic of Texas

The Congress of the Republic of Texas was the national legislature of the Republic of Texas established by the Constitution of the Republic of Texas in 1836. It was a bicameral legislature based on the model of the United States Congress...

. Perkins was on the committee charged to write an “Address to the People of Texas” in regard to annexation.

After the annexation of Texas

Texas Annexation

In 1845, United States of America annexed the Republic of Texas and admitted it to the Union as the 28th state. The U.S. thus inherited Texas's border dispute with Mexico; this quickly led to the Mexican-American War, during which the U.S. captured additional territory , extending the nation's...

, Perkins was elected to the House of Representatives

Texas House of Representatives

The Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the Texas Legislature. The House is composed of 150 members elected from single-member districts across the state. The average district has about 150,000 people. Representatives are elected to two-year terms with no term limits...

 of the First Texas Legislature, and to the Senate

Texas Senate

The Texas Senate is the upper house of the Texas Legislature. There are 31 members of the Senate, representing 31 single-member districts across the state with populations of approximately 672,000 per constituency. There are no term limits, and each term is four years long. The Senate meets at the...

 of the Second Legislature

Second Texas Legislature

The Second Texas Legislature met from 13 December 1847 to 20 March 1848 in regular session. All members of the House of Representatives and about half of the members of the Senate were elected in 1847.-Senate:...

. During his time in the House, Perkins was elected Speaker after the resignation of William H. Bourland

William H. Bourland

William H. Bourland was a politician in the Republic of Texas and early statehood Texas who served briefly as Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives during the First Texas Legislature....

.

After fulfilling his legislative duties, Perkins served as chief justice of Brazoria County from 1850 until 1862. In that year, at the age of 53, with the Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

 at full momentum, he reported as a private in the Brazoria Volunteers of the Rio Grande

Rio Grande

The Rio Grande is a river that flows from southwestern Colorado in the United States to the Gulf of Mexico. Along the way it forms part of the Mexico – United States border. Its length varies as its course changes...

 Regiment, a home guard company. In 1866 he was re-elected to his former judicial post in Brazoria County, but the regional Union

Union Army

The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...

 commander, Major General

Major general (United States)

In the United States Army, United States Marine Corps, and United States Air Force, major general is a two-star general-officer rank, with the pay grade of O-8. Major general ranks above brigadier general and below lieutenant general...

 Joseph J. Reynolds

Joseph J. Reynolds

Joseph Jones Reynolds was an American engineer, educator, and military officer who fought in the American Civil War and the postbellum Indian Wars.-Early life and career:Reynolds was born in Flemingsburg, Kentucky...

 removed him from office on April 25, 1869 as "an impediment to Reconstruction".

Stephen W. Perkins had married in 1850, but his wife, Anne E., died before 1860. No specific documentation has been produced to indicate his activity after 1869, including the year of his death.