Ormsby Brunson Thomas (August 21, 1832October 24, 1904) was an

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lawyer, Republican politician, and

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

pioneer. He was a member of 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 three terms (1885–1891), representing

Wisconsin's 7th congressional district Wisconsin's 7th congressional district is a congressional district of the United States House of Representatives in northwestern and central Wisconsin; it is the largest congressional district in the state geographically, covering 20 counties (i ...

. He also served five years in the

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and 13 years as

district attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a l ...

of Crawford County, Wisconsin.

Early life and career

Ormsby Thomas was born in Sandgate, Vermont, but moved to the Wisconsin Territory with his parents when he was a young child. His parents settled in Prairie du Chien, in Crawford County. After receiving his early education, he was sent to the

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in Manchester, Vermont, for an academic education. He then graduated from the State and National Law School in

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, in 1856. He was admitted to the bar in

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, that year. He returned to Prairie du Chien to establish his own law practice. He became active in local politics and was elected

of Crawford County in 1858, running on the

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ticket. He was subsequently re-elected in 1860.

Civil War service

When the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

started, in 1861, Thomas was the incumbent district attorney in Crawford County and was running for

Wisconsin State Assembly The Wisconsin State Assembly is the lower house of the Wisconsin Legislature. Together with the smaller Wisconsin Senate, the two constitute the legislative branch of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Representatives are elected for two-year terms, ...

. He was elected to represent Crawford County in the 1862 session of the Wisconsin Legislature. After the end of the 1862 legislative session, Thomas went to work raising a company of volunteers for the

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from Crawford County. His company was enrolled as Company D in the

31st Wisconsin Infantry Regiment The 31st Wisconsin Infantry Regiment was a volunteer infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Service The 31st Wisconsin was organized at Prairie du Chien and Racine, Wisconsin, and mustered into Federal se ...

, and Thomas was formally commissioned captain in September 1862. For the first several months of their service, the regiment was solely tasked with training for battle, supervising conscription of draftees, and guarding Confederate prisoners of war at camps in Wisconsin. The regiment was reorganized at

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, in the Winter of 1862–1863, and mustered into federal service. They were sent to the western theater of the war and assigned to protecting supplies and logistics in

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through all of 1863. Thomas resigned his commission in January 1864 and returned to Wisconsin.

Postbellum years

On returning to Wisconsin, Thomas was elected to another term in the Assembly, but was now running on the National Union Party ticket. This was a short-term alliance of Republicans and Pro-Union Democrats. Thomas served in the Union caucus in the 1865 session of the Legislature and remained associated with the

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for the rest of his life. He was not a candidate for re-election in 1865, but was elected to another term in the Assembly in 1866. After the legislative session in 1867, Governor

Lucius Fairchild Lucius Fairchild (December 27, 1831May 23, 1896) was an Americans, American politician, soldier, and diplomat. He served as the List of Governors of Wisconsin, tenth Governor of Wisconsin and represented the United States as List of ambassadors o ...

appointed Thomas to fill the vacant district attorney post in Crawford County, following the resignation of Joseph M. Wilcox. He served the remainder of Wilcox's term and was then elected to another term in 1868. In 1869, he ran for Wisconsin State Senate in the 30th State Senate district, but was defeated by Democrat George Krouskop. He subsequently was elected to another term as district attorney in 1870. In 1872, he was a

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for

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. During the 1870s, Thomas was focused on his legal practice. He formed a partnership with Charles S. Fuller in 1876, which became a prominent and leading practice throughout the state. Fuller was later appointed a county judge in the 1880s. Thomas resumed his political career in 1879, running for Wisconsin State Senate in the 4th State Senate district, which comprised Crawford County following the 1876

redistricting Redistribution (re-districting in the United States and in the Philippines) is the process by which electoral districts are added, removed, or otherwise changed. Redistribution is a form of boundary delimitation that changes electoral dist ...

law. Thomas was easily elected running on the Republican ticket; he received 56% of the vote in a three-person race.

Congressional career

Thomas did not run for re-election in 1881, and in 1882, he waged a campaign for nomination to Congress, from

. His principal opponent was believed to be

Gideon Hixon Gideon Cooley Hixon (March 28, 1826September 23, 1892) was an American businessman and Republican politician. He was a pioneer settler of La Crosse, Wisconsin, and represented in the Wisconsin State Senate and State Assembly. In historical d ...

, who had the support of delegates from La Crosse County, but after 29 ballots at the Republican 7th district convention, the delegates broke in favor of Cyrus M. Butt, of Viroqua. Butt went on to lose the general election to Democrat

Gilbert M. Woodward Gilbert Motier Woodward (December 25, 1835March 13, 1914) was an American lawyer and politician. He served one term in the United States House of Representatives, representing Wisconsin's 7th congressional district. He was also the 16th mayor of ...

. Two years later, Thomas made another run for congress. This time, he won the nomination on the first ballot at the convention. He went on to defeat Woodward in the general election with 52% of the vote. He was subsequently re-elected in 1886 and 1888, serving in the Forty-ninth, Fiftieth, and Fifty-first congresses. During the 51st Congress, Thomas was chairman of the House Committee on War Claims. He was defeated seeking a fourth term in

1890 Events January–March * January 1 ** The Kingdom of Italy establishes Eritrea as its colony, in the Horn of Africa. ** In Michigan, the wooden steamer ''Mackinaw'' burns in a fire on the Black River. * January 2 ** The steamship ...

, in the wave election that saw Democrats claim 8 of Wisconsin's 9 congressional seats. After leaving office, he resumed his legal career with his old partner, Judge C. S. Fuller. Fuller, however, committed suicide in 1897. In 1898, Thomas accepted the Republican nomination for another term as district attorney of Crawford County, and was elected in the Fall. During his final term as district attorney, Thomas suffered from Bright's disease. His health continued to deteriorate after he left office in January 1903. He died at his home in Prairie du Chien on October 24, 1904. At the time of his death, he was described as the oldest member of the

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Personal life and family

Ormsby B. Thomas married Sarah E. Rosencrans at Prairie du Chien in June 1875. They had three children together before her death in 1884. Their first child, however, died in infancy.

Electoral history

Wisconsin Senate (1869)

, colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, November 2, 1869

Wisconsin Senate (1879)

, colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, November 4, 1879

U.S. House of Representatives (1884–1890)

References

External links

*
Thomas, Ormsby Brunson 1832 - 1904
at

Wisconsin Historical Society The Wisconsin Historical Society (officially the State Historical Society of Wisconsin) is simultaneously a state agency and a private membership organization whose purpose is to maintain, promote and spread knowledge relating to the history of N ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Ormsby Brunson 1832 births 1904 deaths People from Sandgate, Vermont People from Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin State and National Law School alumni Union Army officers People of Wisconsin in the American Civil War Wisconsin lawyers District attorneys in Wisconsin Republican Party members of the Wisconsin State Assembly Republican Party Wisconsin state senators Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Wisconsin 19th-century American politicians