Joseph C. Eldridge: Texas Indian Commissioner and Navy Officer (1818–1881)
By: L. W. Kemp
Published: 1952
Updated: January 1, 1995
Joseph C. Eldridge, early Texas Indian commissioner and United States Navy officer, was born in New York City on May 8, 1818. He moved to Texas from Connecticut in 1837. During the ten years he lived in Texas, he served as commissioner; in 1843 he was head of the peace party that went into the Indian country. He was appointed assistant paymaster in the United States Navy on February 2, 1847, and served with several commands including that of Commodore Oliver Perry, which opened Japan to world trade. Eldridge also participated in the expeditions for laying the Atlantic telegraph cable. He retired from the navy in 1878 and died in New York on August 14, 1881.
Bibliography:
The following, adapted from the Chicago Manual of Style, 15th edition, is the preferred citation for this entry.
L. W. Kemp, “Eldridge, Joseph C.,” Handbook of Texas Online, accessed March 09, 2026, https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/eldridge-joseph-c.
Published by the Texas State Historical Association.
TID:
FEL04
- 1952
- January 1, 1995
