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Creager, R. B. (Rentfro Banton) (1877-1950)

 Person

Dates

  • Existence: 1877 - 1950

Biography

CREAGER, RENTFRO BANTON (1877–1950). Rentfro Banton (Rene B.) Creager, Republican party leader, was born at Waco, Texas, on March 11, 1877, son of Francis Asbury Warwick and Katherine (Rentfro) Creager. In 1898 he received a B.S. degree from Southwestern University, where he was awarded an LL.D. in 1930. After graduation from the law school of the University of Texas in Austin in 1900, he began practice in Brownsville. Before 1916, when he became the gubernatorial candidate of the Republican party in Texas, Creager served as a collector of customs at Brownsville under presidents Theodore Roosevelt and William H. Taft. Upon the death of Henry F. MacGregor of Houston in 1923, Creager was elected the Texas member of the Republican National Committee, a position he held until his death. He retained a firm leadership in the state Republican party and played a prominent role in national Republican politics for many years. At the Republican national convention of 1920 he delivered the only speech seconding the nomination of Warren G. Harding. After Harding's election, the president-elect and Mrs. Harding visited Creager at his home in Brownsville. The presidential party also fished at nearby Port Isabel. Creager was offered the post of ambassador to Mexico by both President Harding and President Calvin Coolidge, but declined. He was the first national committeeman to come out in support of Herbert Hoover for the 1928 presidential nomination. Likewise, he was in the forefront of the movement to secure the 1936 nomination for Kansas governor Alfred Landon. Creager was a close friend of and floor leader for Senator Robert A. Taft at the Republican national convention of 1948. In addition to his political activities, he was president of an oil company. He died on October 28, 1950, in Brownsville. He was survived by four children and his widow, the former Alice Terrell, whom he had married on February 3, 1904.

Found in 2 Collections and/or Records:

R.B. Creager Papers

 Collection
Identifier: BLIBR-0007
Scope and Contents R.B. Creager Papers span his professional and political life. Materials are generally organized as follows Brownsville Customs Collector (1907–1912), Republican Political Patronage (1921), Gateway Bridge Corporation (1925–1935), Business with Mexico (1939–1950), and Intracoastal Canal and Water Treaty (1945–1947).While his 1916 run for Governor of Texas as a Republican is not well documented within the collection, it does document other activities within the party, including...
Dates: 1907 - 1956

Rio Grande Gateway Bridge Corporation, 1925 - 1945

 Series
Scope and Contents

Series includes documentation and correspondence relating to Mexico's concession for construction and operation of the Gateway Bridge Corporation (1925), bridge opening (1928), refinancing (1931) and reorganization as the Rio Grande Gateway Bridge Corporation (1934).

Dates: 1925 - 1945

Additional filters:

Type
Archival Object 1
Collection 1
 
Subject
Brownsville (Tex.) 1
International Gateway Bridge 1
Politics and culture--Texas--Cameron County 1
Texas--Politics and government 1
United States--Politics and government 1