Cato Sells (October 6, 1859 – December, 30 1948) was a commissioner at the Bureau of Indian Affairs from 1913 to 1921.

Life and career

He was born in

Vinton, Iowa Vinton is a city in Benton County, Iowa, United States. The population was 4,938 in the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, a decrease from 5,102 in 2000 United States Census, 2000. It is also part of the Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Cedar Rapids Ceda ...

on October 6, 1859. He lost his father when he was young. He entered

Cornell College Cornell College is a private college in Mount Vernon, Iowa. Originally the Iowa Conference Seminary, the school was founded in 1853 by George Bryant Bowman. Four years later, in 1857, the name was changed to Cornell College, in honor of iron ty ...

in 1875. In 1878 he read law with Charles Alvord Bishop and in 1880 was admitted to Iowa State Bar Association and began practice at

La Porte City, Iowa La Porte City is a city in Black Hawk County, Iowa, United States. The population was 2,284 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Waterloo– Cedar Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area. History La Porte City was platted in 1855. It is named ...

. In 1889 he moved to

and served on the Iowa State Central Committee. In 1887 he was chairman of the committee and was a delegate to the 1888 Democratic National Convention. He was a delegate to the 1892 Democratic National Convention as secretary. In 1892 was he was elected as a trustee of the Iowa State College of Agriculture. In 1893 he was president of the Iowa Democratic State Convention. In 1894 he was appointed by

Grover Cleveland Stephen Grover Cleveland (March 18, 1837June 24, 1908) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 22nd and 24th president of the United States from 1885 to 1889 and from 1893 to 1897. Cleveland is the only president in American ...

United States Attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal ...

for the

United States District Court for the Northern District of Iowa The United States District Court for the Northern District of Iowa (in case citations, N.D. Iowa) has jurisdiction over fifty-two of Iowa's ninety-nine counties. It is subject to the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals (except for patent claims and ...

. In 1899 he was again president of the Iowa Democratic State Convention and in 1900 chairman of the Iowa delegation in the

1900 Democratic National Convention The 1900 Democratic National Convention was a United States presidential nominating convention that took place the week of July 4, 1900, at Convention Hall in Kansas City, Missouri. The convention nominated William Jennings Bryan for president ...

in Kansas City. He was a commissioner at the Bureau of Indian Affairs from 1913 from 1921. In 1914 he banished books that taught anything concerning the Asian origins of

Indigenous peoples of the Americas The Indigenous peoples of the Americas are the inhabitants of the Americas before the arrival of the European settlers in the 15th century, and the ethnic groups who now identify themselves with those peoples. Many Indigenous peoples of the A ...

. He died October 30, 1948 and was buried in the Cleburne Memorial Cemetery in Cleburne, Texas.

Legacy

Sells is the namesake of the town of

Sells, Arizona , native_name_lang = ood , settlement_type = CDP , image_skyline = , imagesize = , image_caption = , image_map = Pima County Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sells highl ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sells, Cato 1859 births 1948 deaths United States Bureau of Indian Affairs personnel Cornell College alumni People from Vinton, Iowa Iowa Democrats United States Attorneys for the Northern District of Iowa American lawyers admitted to the practice of law by reading law