Redding, Albert J. (1821–1900)

Albert J. Redding, physician, druggist, and state representative, was born in Milledgeville, Baldwin County, Georgia, on January 18, 1821. He was the son of Ezekiel and Winifred (Scurlock) Redding. During the 1840s Redding worked as a physician at Marine Hospital in St. Marks, Florida. During the summer of 1847, he immigrated to Texas and established a medical practice at Clarksville, Red River County. By 1848 Redding had relocated to Lamar County and continued his practice. Here, he married Martha Rebecca Bell on August 10, 1848. This couple had three sons and five daughters. Between 1859 and 1861, Redding was a partner in a druggist firm—Redding, Bayless & Co.—at Paris in Lamar County. This business counted among its clients the Confederate Army base near Paris. In 1863 Redding won election as representative for Lamar and Hopkins counties to the Tenth Texas Legislature. He served from November 2, 1863, to August 6, 1866, and was on the Claims and Accounts Committee and Land Office Committee. In 1866 Redding was one of the original incorporators of Evergreen Cemetery in Paris. Following his wife’s death on February 3, 1867, Redding married Sarah Elizabeth Shearon on August 24, 1867. This couple had one son and one daughter. Redding died in Paris on September 25, 1900, and was buried there at Evergreen Cemetery.