Lot Thomas

Lot Thomas


Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Iowa's 11th district
In office March 4, 1899 – March 3, 1905
Preceded by	George D. Perkins
Succeeded by	Elbert H. Hubbard
Personal details
Born	(1843-10-17)October 17, 1843 Markleysburg, Pennsylvania
Died	March 17, 1905(1905-03-17) (aged 61) Yuma, Arizona
Political party	Republican Party
Alma mater	Vermillion Institute University of Iowa College of Law
Occupation	Attorney Judge

Lot Thomas (October 17, 1843 – March 17, 1905) was a state-court judge who also served three terms as a Republican U.S. Representative from Iowa's now-obsolete 11th congressional district, in northwestern Iowa.

Born on a farm near Markleysburg, Pennsylvania to Christian and Susan Fiske Thomas,^[1] Lot Thomas attended the public schools in Pennsylvania, then Vermillion Institute in Hayesville, Ohio. He moved to Iowa in 1868. After teaching school in New Virginia, in Warren County, he attended the University of Iowa College of Law. He was admitted to the bar in 1870. That year he moved to Sioux Rapids in Buena Vista County, Iowa, where he started his law practice. When the county seat was moved to Storm Lake, Thomas also moved there.^[2]

He was Buena Vista County Attorney from 1872 to 1885.^[1] From 1885 until 1898, he served as judge of the fourteenth judicial district of Iowa (which included Buena Vista, Palo Alto, Pocahontas, Dickinson, Emmett, Kossuth, Humboldt, and Clay Counties).^[3]

In February 1898, Thomas challenged incumbent Republican Congressman George D. Perkins for the Republican nomination for the 11th congressional district seat held by Perkins since 1891.^[3] After defeating Perkins for the nomination on the 217th ballot,^[4] he resigned his judgeship effective August 16, 1898.^[5] Thomas won the general election, and in 1899 became a member of the Fifty-sixth Congress. He was re-elected twice, and served in the Fifty-seventh, and Fifty-eighth Congresses.

Thomas' service in Congress coincided with a worsening of factionalism within the Iowa Republican Party, with an "insurgent" contingent loyal to the career and platform of Des Moines attorney (and later Governor and U.S. Senator) Albert B. Cummins, and another "stand-patter" faction hostile toward Cummins. Thomas was considered a leader in the pro-Cummins faction.^[6] He also served on the House Committee on the Judiciary.

He tried and failed to win renominated by his party in 1904.^[7] In all, Thomas served in Congress from March 4, 1899 to March 3, 1905.

Thomas lived only two weeks following the end of his congressional service. In poor health and in search of a more hospitable setting, died on a train near Yuma, Arizona on March 17, 1905, while en route to Los Angeles, California.^[2] He was interred in Storm Lake Cemetery.

References

1 2 "Lot Thomas is Dead," Emmettsburg Democrat, 1905-03-22 at p. 3.
1 2 "Died En Route to California," Perry Daily Chief, 1905-03-18 at p. 2.
1 2 Editorial, The Milford Mail, 1898-02-24 at p. 4.
↑ "Geo. D. Perkins Defeated," Sioux County Bee, 1898-06-24 at p. 8.
↑ "New Iowa Judge Appointed," Semi-Weekly Cedar Falls Gazette, 1898-07-08 at p. 2.
↑ "Judge Thomas' Career is Ended," O'Brien County Bell, 1905-03-23 at p 6.
↑ "Hubbard Wins in the Eleventh District," Cedar Rapids Evening Gazette, 1904-05-05 at p. 1.

Lot Thomas at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress

United States House of Representatives
Preceded by George D. Perkins	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Iowa's 11th congressional district 1899–1905	Succeeded by Elbert H. Hubbard

Members of the U.S. House of Representatives from Iowa

1st	W. Thompson Miller Henn A. Hall S. Curtis J. F. Wilson McCrary Stone McCoid B. Hall Gear Seerley Gear S. Clark Hedge Kennedy Kopp Eicher Martin Schwengel Schmidhauser Schwengel Mezvinsky Leach Nussle Braley Blum

2nd	Leffler L. Clark J. P. Cook Thorington Davis Vandever Price Smyth W. Wolf Cotton Tufts Price Farwell Murphy Hayes G. Curtis Lane Rumple Wade Dawson Pepper Vollmer Hull Letts B. Jacobsen W. Jacobsen Talle L. Wolf Bromwell Culver Blouin Tauke Nussle Leach Loebsack

3rd	Allison Donnan Ainsworth Burdick Updegraff Henderson Birdsall Pickett Connolly Sweet Robinson Willford Gwynne Gross Grassley Evans Nagle Lightfoot Boswell Latham Young

4th	Grinnell Loughridge Walden Pratt Deering Weller Fuller Sweney Butler Updegraff Haugen Biermann Talle Le Compte Carter Kyl Bandstra Kyl N. Smith Ganske Latham King

5th	Kasson G. Dodge Palmer J. Wilson R. Clark W. G. Thompson J. Wilson Frederick Kerr J. Hamilton Cousins Good Cole Thruston Le Compte Cunningham N. Smith Scherle Harkin Lightfoot Grandy Latham King

6th	A. Hubbard Pomeroy Orr Loughridge Sampson Weaver Cutts J. C. Cook Cutts J. C. Cook Weaver Lacey White Lacey D. Hamilton Kendall Kirkpatrick Ramseyer Dowell Utterback Dowell Goodwin Cunningham Gilchrist J. I. Dolliver Coad Hoeven Greigg Mayne Bedell Grandy

7th	Kasson Cummings E. Gillette Kasson H. Smith Conger Hays Hull Prouty Dowell Wearin Jensen Hansen Scherle

8th	McDill Sapp Hepburn Anderson Flick Hepburn Jamieson Towner Evans Thurston Gilchrist Hoeven

9th	Orr Oliver Carpenter Pusey Lyman Reed Bowman Hager McPherson W. Smith Green Vincent Swanson G. Gillette Harrington Narey

10th	Holmes J. P. Dolliver Conner Woods Dickinson Gilchrist

11th	Struble Perkins Thomas E. Hubbard Scott Steele Scott Boies Campbell

AL	Hastings and Leffler

Terr	Chapman A. Dodge

This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.

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