From the Annals of Reconstruction –  In 1874, the Texas Senate confirmed the election of former slave Walter Moses Burton. Burton was 21 when he was brought to Texas in 1850 as the slave of Thomas Burke Burton, a Fort Bend farmer. His owner taught Burton how to read and write, skills which Burton put to great effect. After emancipation, Burton became one of the wealthiest and most influential blacks in Fort Bend County. In 1869, Burton was elected sheriff and tax collector of Fort Bend County. In 1873 Burton was elected to the Texas Senate, where he served for seven years over two terms.  In the Senate he championed the education of blacks and is perhaps best remembered for the bill that established Prairie View Normal School (now Prairie View A&M University). When he left the Senate in 1882, Burton was given an ebony and gold cane as a tribute.  He remained active in state and local politics until his death in 1913.