Burford was also an attorney and a state district judge, and during the Civil War, he raised and led the 19th Texas Cavalry Regiment.

After a sojourn to Shreveport, Louisiana, Burford ended up in Jefferson, Texas, in early 1847 where he clerked in the Cass County district court.

Finding the local bar too full for his ambitions, he moved on to Dallas in 1848 with $5 in his pocket and letters of recommendation from, among others, Gov.

[3] In 1856 Burford was selected as judge of the new 16th Judicial District, seated in Waxahachie, a post he would resign in 1861 to fight in the Civil War.

[4] On April 25, 1869, Gen. Philip H. Sheridan declared all elective offices in Texas vacant,[5] ending Burford's legislative career.