John Thomas Caine

John Thomas Caine

John Thomas Caine (born January 8, 1829 in Patrick on the Isle of Man , † September 20, 1911 in Salt Lake City , Utah ) was an American politician . Between 1882 and 1893 he represented the Utah Territory as a delegate in the US House of Representatives .

Early years and advancement

John Caine attended public schools in his home country. In 1846 he came to the United States, where he first settled in New York City . In 1848 he moved to St. Louis , Missouri . Since 1852 he was resident in the Utah Territory, where he worked as a teacher. Since 1847 he was a member of the Mormon movement , which made up the majority of Utah's population. Between 1856 and 1860, with the exception of 1858, he was executive officer of the Territorial Government Council. In 1870, John Caine was a co-founder of the Salt Lake Herald newspaper. Caine was a member of the Democratic Party . In 1872 and 1882 he was a constituent delegate for Utah. From 1874 to 1882 he was a member of the territorial government council, from 1876 to 1882 he was a town clerk in Salt Lake City.

Controversial congressional elections

Turbulence broke out in the Utah Territory in the 1880 congressional elections. Although the previous delegate George Q. Cannon was re-elected by the Republican Party with a clear majority, Territorial Governor Eli Houston Murray awarded the victory to his opponent Allen G. Campbell of the Liberal Party . This was justified, among other things, with the charge of polygamy , which is incompatible with the oath of office of the congressmen. After he had lodged a complaint, Cannon received permission from the administration of Congress to appear there as a delegate for the Utah Territory. On February 25, 1882, the House of Representatives finally decided that neither candidate was eligible to exercise the mandate. The vacant seat of the delegate for Utah went after a by-election to John Caine, who took up his new mandate on November 7, 1882.

Political career

After several re-elections, John Caine was able to hold office in the US Congress until March 3, 1893. During the last two legislatures since 1889, he represented the short-lived People's Party . In the elections of 1892 he no longer ran for Congress. Caine then returned to the Democratic Party. In the first gubernatorial elections of the new state, he ran unsuccessfully for this office in 1895. In 1896 he was elected to the Utah Senate. He later took over as manager of the newspaper "Salt Lake Herald". John Thomas Caine died in September 1911 and was buried in Salt Lake City.

Web links

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

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