Warren T. McCray

Warren Terry McCray
29th Governor of Indiana
In office January 10, 1921 – April 30, 1924
Preceded by	James P. Goodrich
Succeeded by	Emmett Forrest Branch
Personal details
Born	February 4,1865 Brook, Indiana
Died	December 19,1938 Kentland, Indiana
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Ella M. Ade

Warren Terry McCray (February 4,1865 near Brook, Indiana – December 19,1938 in Kentland, Indiana) was governor of the U.S. state of Indiana from 1921 to 1924. He resigned from office following his conviction for mail fraud and served three years in federal prison before being pardoned by President Herbert Hoover in 1927.

Biography

McCray was born near Brook, Indiana on February 4,1865 to Greenberry Ward and Martha (Galey) McCray. At age four he moved to Kentland, Indiana where he grew up attending local public school. He worked six years as a bookkeeper at the Discount and Deposit Bank of Kentland.

He partnered with Willis Kirkpatrick during his twenties to create a grocery business. After a few years he moved on and entered a business associated with grain elevators. He quickly rose to prominence among that community and became the President of the National Grain Dealers Association.

He also served eleven years as the Treasurer of the Board of Trustees of the Northern Hospital for Insane. During World War I he served as the President of the State Board of Agriculture, Chairman of the Food Conservation Committee of Indiana, and as a member of the United States Live Stock Advisory Committee. In 1922 he became Chairman of the Corn Belt Advisory Committee of the War Finance Corporation which sought government assistance for farmers.

He first campaigned for governor in 1916 but was defeated in the primary. He was again the candidate in 1920 when he defeated Carleton B. McCulloch in a landslide victory with over 180,000 vote majority.

His administration focused largely on education passing laws for compulsory school attendance and against child labor. His administration also oversaw a large expansion of the state's highway system and the enactment of the state's first gasoline tax.

Shortly after becoming governor he quickly began to lose much of his fortune from a bad investment. He was convicted of mail fraud, which was related to his attempt to divest from the losing enterprise. He resigned from office on April 30, 1924. He served three years in prison before being pardoned by President Herbert Hoover. He retired to his farm where he died on December 19, 1938. He was buried in Fair Lawn Cemetery in Kentland, Indiana.

See also

• List of Governors of Indiana

External links

• Indiana Historical Bureau: Biography and portrait
• County History - McCray Bio
• Times Magazine
• National Governors Association