William H. Bourland was a politician 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

Texas

Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

 who served briefly 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....

.

Bourland was born in 1811 in Kentucky to Benjamin Bourland and the former Agnes Nancy McElroy. He moved to Texas in 1840 and joined the Texas Rangers

Texas Ranger Division

The Texas Ranger Division, commonly called the Texas Rangers, is a law enforcement agency with statewide jurisdiction in Texas, and is based in Austin, Texas...

 in 1841, leading a group of men at the Battle of Village Creek on 24 May 1841 in what is now Tarrant County

Tarrant County, Texas

Tarrant County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2010 U.S. Census, it had a population of 1,809,034. Its county seat is Fort Worth. Tarrant County is the sixteenth most populous county in the United States and the third most populous in Texas. The county is named in honor...

.

Bourland represented Lamar County in the Eighth and Ninth Congresses 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...

 (1843–1845), and introduced the legislation that incorporated Paris

Paris, Texas

Paris, Texas is a city located northeast of the Dallas–Fort Worth Metroplex in Lamar County, Texas, in the United States. It is situated in Northeast Texas at the western edge of the Piney Woods. Physiographically, these regions are part of the West Gulf Coastal Plain. In 1900, 9,358 people lived...

, the county seat of Lamar County, on 3 February 1845.

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...

 into the United States

United States

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

, Bourland represented the county in the First

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....

 and Second Texas 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:...

s. On 1 May 1846, he was elected 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...

, but resigned before the end of the session on 13 May 1846. Bourland later represented Grayson County

Grayson County, Texas

As of the census of 2000, there were 110,595 people, 42,849 households, and 30,208 families residing in the county. The population density was 118 people per square mile . There were 48,315 housing units at an average density of 52 per square mile...

 in the Fifth Texas Legislature

Fifth Texas Legislature

The Fifth Texas Legislature met from 7 November 1853 to 13 February 1854 in its regular session. All members of the House of Representatives and about half of the members of the Senate were elected in 1853.-Senate:...

.

Bourland was married twice. His first wife was Rachel C. Davis, and his second was Caroline Willis, a member of the Chickasaw

Chickasaw

The Chickasaw are Native American people originally from the region that would become the Southeastern United States...

 nation. He died 2 April 1860 in Dexter in Cooke County

Cooke County, Texas

As of the census of 2000, there were 36,363 people, 13,643 households, and 10,000 families residing in the county. The population density was 42 people per square mile . There were 15,061 housing units at an average density of 17 per square mile...

.

Bourland was the brother of James G. Bourland, a state senator from Lamar County.