Thomas Thorson

Thomas Thorson (born November 15, 1848 in Norway , † 1915 in Canton , South Dakota , United States ) was an American businessman and politician ( Republican Party ).

Career

Thomas Thorson was born in Norway during the reign of the Swedish King Oskar I , which was then a union with Sweden . He spent the first six years of his life there. The Thorson family then emigrated to the United States in 1854 and moved to northeastern Iowa . There she settled on government land near the town of McGregor ( Clayton County ), where his father worked as a farmer. In the following years he attended the local public schools and helped his father with farm work until 1869. His youth were overshadowed by the civil war. In 1869 he took a job as a clerk in a hardware store in Sioux City , the administrative seat of Woodbury County . Thorson moved in 1871 to Beloit ( Lyon County ). There he opened the first store in the county. Over time, he expanded it into a successful department store.

In the fall of 1871 he was elected Lyon County First Recorder and in 1874 County Auditor.

He then took a job as a traveler for the Sioux City Journal in 1875 and practiced it for six years. In 1881 he moved to the Dakota Territory and settled there in Canton ( Lincoln County ). There he worked in the real estate business. He promoted the development and settlement of this area. In this context, he became the owner of many valuable urban properties, farms and pastureland.

On 12 July 1882 he married Miss Jessie Hunt from Dodge County ( Minnesota ).

Thorson served as Mayor of Canton for two terms. In 1885 he represented Lincoln County in the Provisional Legislature. He was elected Secretary of State of South Dakota in the 1892 election . Thorson was re-elected in 1894. He held the post from 1893 to 1897.

After the end of his tenure, he resumed his activity in the real estate business, which he continued with great success. He was one of the shareholders when the First National Bank of Canton was founded. Thorson served on the bank's board of directors for many years. In January 1903 he was elected President of the bank.

From 1908 to 1912 he was a member of the Republican National Committee of South Dakota.

Thorson was a member of the Knights of Pythias . In the Masonic order , he had attained all degrees of the York and Scottish Rites up to and including the 32nd degree. He was also a member of the Shriners . He belonged to the Evangelical Lutheran Church .

Individual evidence

1. ^ Executive Officers Of The States And Territories - Thomas Thorson , usgennet.org
2. ↑ Chapter 4 - 2007 South Dakota Legislative Manual Executive Branch , p. 92 (PDF document)

Web links

• Thomas Thorson in the database of Find a Grave (English)
• Thomas Thorson at The Political Graveyard
• Thomas Thorson on the genealogytrails.com website