John R. Thomas

John Robert Thomas (born October 11, 1846 in Mount Vernon , Illinois , †  January 19, 1914 in McAlester , Oklahoma ) was an American lawyer and politician . Between 1879 and 1889 he represented the state of Illinois in the US House of Representatives .

Career

John Thomas attended the common schools and then the Hunter Collegiate Institute in Princeton ( Indiana ). During the Civil War , he served in an Indiana infantry regiment that was part of the Union Army . He made it to the captain. After studying law and being admitted to the bar in 1869, he began to work in this profession. In 1869 and 1870 he was the legal representative of the city of Metropolis . Between 1871 and 1874 he was a public prosecutor. At the same time he embarked on a political career as a member of the Republican Party .

In the congressional election of 1878 Thomas was elected to the US House of Representatives in Washington, DC in the 18th  electoral district of Illinois , where he succeeded the Democrat William Hartzell on March 4, 1879 . After four re-elections, he was able to complete five legislative terms in Congress by March 3, 1889 . Since 1883 he represented the then newly established 20th district of his state. Between 1881 and 1883 he was chairman of the Mississippi Dyke Improvement Committee . In 1888 he renounced another candidacy.

After the end of his time in the US House of Representatives, Thomas practiced as a lawyer in Muskogee in what would later become the state of Oklahoma, which at that time was still part of Indian territory . Between 1897 and 1901 he was a federal judge in this area. Between 1908 and 1910 he was a member of the Legislative Commission of the State of Oklahoma, which was established in 1907. He then continued his legal practice in Muskogee. John Thomas died in McAlester on January 19, 1914 and was initially buried in Muskogee. He was later reburied in Arlington National Cemetery , Virginia .

Web links

• John R. Thomas in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)

• John R. Thomas in the database of Find a Grave (English)