Christopher Yancy Thomas (March 24, 1818 – February 11, 1879) was a politician and lawyer from

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

. He served brief terms in the Virginia Senate, Virginia House and U.S. House of Representatives.

Early and family life

Born in

Pittsylvania County, Virginia Pittsylvania County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 60,501. Chatham is the county seat. Pittsylvania County is included in the Danville, VA Micropolitan Statistical Ar ...

, Thomas attended local schools as a child and went on to graduate from a private academy in 1838.

Career

Thomas read law and was admitted to the bar in 1844, commencing practice in

Martinsville, Virginia Martinsville is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 13,485. A community of both Southside and Southwest Virginia, it is the county seat of Henry County, although ...

. He served in the

Confederate Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...

Virginia Senate The Senate of Virginia is the upper house of the Virginia General Assembly. The Senate is composed of 40 senators representing an equal number of single-member constituent districts. The Senate is presided over by the lieutenant governor of Virg ...

from 1860 to 1864 and was member of the commission to settle the boundary line between

and

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

. Thomas also served as

prosecuting attorney A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the common law adversarial system or the civil law inquisitorial system. The prosecution is the legal party responsible for presenting the case in a criminal tria ...

for

Henry County, Virginia Henry County is a county located in the U.S. state of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 50,948. The county seat is usually identified as Martinsville; however, the administration building (where county offices are located an ...

(surrounding Martinsville), and in 1867 was elected to serve the

Virginia Constitutional Convention of 1868 The Virginia Constitutional Convention of 1868, was an assembly of delegates elected by the voters to establish the fundamental law of Virginia following the American Civil War and the Fourteenth Amendment to the US Constitution. The Convention, w ...

. After approval of the new state Constitution (and rejection of a proposed provision forbidding former Confederates from holding office), Thomas served in the

Virginia House of Delegates The Virginia House of Delegates is one of the two parts of the Virginia General Assembly, the other being the Senate of Virginia. It has 100 members elected for terms of two years; unlike most states, these elections take place during odd-numbe ...

in 1869, both succeeding fellow Confederate delegate and

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

George W. Booker and being succeeded by him. In 1872, Thomas ran as a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

for the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

for Virginia's 5th district. He ran against former Confederate officer and Conservative

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

Alexander Davis, who was initially declared the victor, but Thomas contested the result and was seated. However, Thomas served only a single term from 1874 to 1875, losing his reelection bid in 1874 to Democrat

George Cabell George Craighead Cabell (January 25, 1836 – June 23, 1906) was a nineteenth-century congressman, lawyer and editor from Virginia. Early and family life Born in Danville, Virginia, Cabell attended Danville Academy and later the University ...

, another lawyer and former Confederate officer active in railroad promotion.

Death and legacy

Thomas resumed practicing law until his death in

on February 11, 1879. He was interred in the family cemetery on

Leatherwood plantation Leatherwood Plantation of 10,000 acres (40 km2) was located in Henry County, Virginia, where American Founding Father Patrick Henry lived from 1779 until 1784. The plantation is probably named after Leatherwood Creek, a tributary to the Smith River ...

References

External links

1818 births 1879 deaths Republican Party members of the Virginia House of Delegates Republican Party Virginia state senators Virginia lawyers Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Virginia 19th-century American politicians 19th-century American lawyers People from Pittsylvania County, Virginia People from Martinsville, Virginia {{Virginia-Representative-stub