John B. Rector

Who was John B. Rector?

John B. Rector was a United States federal judge.

Born in Jackson County, Alabama, Rector graduated from Yale College in 1859 and read law to enter the bar in 1860. He entered private practice in Bastrop, Texas, interrupted by his service as a soldier in Terry's Texas Rangers during the American Civil War, beginning 1861. He was a district attorney of Travis County, Texas from 1866 to 1867, thereafter returning to private practice in Bastrop until 1871. He was a judge on the 31st Judicial District of Texas from 1871 to 1876, when he again returned to Private practice, in Austin, Texas.

On March 24, 1892, Rector was nominated by President Benjamin Harrison to a seat on the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas vacated by Andrew P. McCormick. Rector was confirmed by the United States Senate on March 28, 1892, and received his commission the same day. Rector served in that capacity until his death, in 1898, in Dallas, Texas.