Thomas Chipman McRae (December 21, 1851June 2, 1929) was an American attorney and politician from Arkansas. He served as a Democratic 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 ...

(1885 to 1903) and the 26th

Governor of Arkansas A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political r ...

, from 1921 to 1925.

Biography

Thomas Chipman McRae, the eldest of five siblings, was born to Duncan L. and Mary Ann (Chipman) McRae on December 21, 1851, at Mount Holly in

Union County, Arkansas Union County is a county located on the central southern border of the U.S. state of Arkansas. As of the 2010 census, the population was 41,639. The county seat is El Dorado. The county was formed on November 2, 1829, and named in recognition ...

. He attended

Soule Business College Soule Business College (sometimes called Soulé's Business College, Soule Commercial College, or Soule College) was an educational institution focused primary on practical business skills, established by George Soule in New Orleans, Louisiana in ...

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

and graduated with a law degree from

Washington and Lee University , mottoeng = "Not Unmindful of the Future" , established = , type = Private liberal arts university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.092 billion (2021) , president = William C. Dudley , provost = Lena Hill , city = Lexingto ...

Lexington, Virginia Lexington is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. At the 2020 census, the population was 7,320. It is the county seat of Rockbridge County, although the two are separate jurisdictions. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines ...

. He passed the Arkansas bar in 1873, and began his practice at Rosston in

Nevada County, Arkansas Nevada County is a county located in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Arkansas. As of the 2010 census, the population was 8,997, less than half of its peak in 1920. The county seat is Prescott. Nevada County is Arkansas's 63rd coun ...

. He married Amelia Ann White in December 1874, with whom he would go on to have six daughters and three sons. On May 19, 1877, Nevada County voters elected to move the county seat from Rosston, and construct a new courthouse in the newly created railroad town of Prescott. McRae relocated his family there to be closer to his center of business. In 1874, McRae was appointed to the post of Election Commissioner in Arkansas. From 1877 to 1879, he served in the

Arkansas House of Representatives The Arkansas State House of Representatives is the lower house of the Arkansas General Assembly, the state legislature of the US state of Arkansas. The House is composed of 100 members elected from an equal amount of constituencies across the ...

and was a

presidential elector The United States Electoral College is the group of presidential electors required by the Constitution to form every four years for the sole purpose of appointing the president and vice president. Each state and the District of Columbia appo ...

in 1880. In 1884, 1896, and 1900, he was a delegate to the

Democratic National Convention The Democratic National Convention (DNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 1852 ...

and served as president of the convention twice. From 1888 to 1902 he was a member of the

Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) is the United States Democratic Party, Democratic Hill committee for the United States House of Representatives, working to elect Democrats to that body. The DCCC recruits candidates, raises ...

. From 1885 to 1903, McRae served in the

. In 1902, McRae donated land for an

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

school in

Prescott, Arkansas Prescott is a city and the county seat of Nevada County, Arkansas, United States. The community had a population of 3,296 at the 2010 census. Prescott is part of the Hope Micropolitan Statistical Area. Located 100 miles southwest of Little Ro ...

. McRae's Elementary, Middle, and High School were integrated with the Prescott School District in 1969. In 1917 and 1918, McRae was president of the Arkansas Bar Association; in the latter year he took part in the Arkansas Constitutional Convention. In 1920, McRae was elected to his first term as

. In the election, McRae represented the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

, receiving 123,637 votes (66.6 percent). Wallace Townsend represented the Republican Party, receiving 46,350 votes (25 percent), and Josiah H. Blount represented the Independent Party, receiving 15,627 votes (8.4 percent). Blount, an African American school superintendent from Forest City, was the leader of a splinter GOP faction called the "Black-and-Tan Republicans," who protested the "lily-white" stand of its new leaders that included gubernatorial nominee Townsend. Blount was the first of his race to seek election as Arkansas's chief executive. McRae was elected to his second term in 1922. In that election, McRae received 99,987 votes (78.1 percent), and Republican

John W. Grabiel John Willington Grabiel (March 17, 1867 – April 13, 1928) was an attorney in Fayetteville, Arkansas, who was the Republican gubernatorial nominee in 1922 and 1924. Background Grabiel was one of nine children born to John Grabiel (1815 ...

received 28,055 votes (21.9 percent). During his tenure, the Arkansas Railroad Commission was re-established, the Arkansas Corporation Commission was abolished, and the Arkansas Tuberculosis Sanitarium for Negroes was established. A severance tax was passed with its revenue funding public schools, the Arkansas Office of State Geologist was created, and a personal income tax law was enacted. Upon the end of his governorship, McRae was appointed special Chief Justice of the

Arkansas Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Arkansas is the highest court in the state judiciary of Arkansas. It has ultimate and largely discretionary appellate jurisdiction over all state court cases that involve a point of state law, and original jurisdiction o ...

. He was elected a life member of the Arkansas Democratic State Convention in 1926. After serving four years as Governor of Arkansas, McRae returned to Prescott to be with his family. He resumed his law practice and he engaged in banking activities until his death on June 2, 1929. McRae is buried in the historic section of the De Ann Cemetery in Prescott. McRae was a cousin of Thomas Banks Cabaniss, a U.S. Representative from

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

. He was also the grandfather of Thomas C. "Tom" McRae, III, longtime President of the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation who challenged

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...

for the Democratic Gubernatorial Nomination in 1990.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McRae, Thomas Chipman 1851 births 1929 deaths People from Union County, Arkansas People from Nevada County, Arkansas People from Prescott, Arkansas People from Lexington, Virginia Washington and Lee University School of Law alumni Democratic Party members of the Arkansas House of Representatives Democratic Party governors of Arkansas Chief Justices of the Arkansas Supreme Court Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Arkansas 1880 United States presidential electors