Thomas Jefferson "Laughing Tom" Carran (1841–1894) was an American attorney and politician. Elected as city attorney of Cleveland in 1867 at the age of just 26, Carran is best remembered for having been elected to the

Ohio State Senate The Ohio Senate is the upper house of the Ohio General Assembly. The State Senate, which meets in the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus, first convened in 1803. Senators are elected for four year terms, staggered every two years such that half of the se ...

Biography

Early years

Thomas Jefferson Carran was born February 1, 1841, in Warrensville,

Cuyahoga County Cuyahoga County ( or ) is a large urban County (United States), county located in the Northeast Ohio, northeastern part of the U.S. state of Ohio. It is situated on the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the Canada–United States border, U.S.- ...

, Ohio, the son of Robert A. Carran, and the former Mary Neal."Carran's Death: How the Sad News Was Received in Los Angeles,"
''Los Angeles Times,'' June 22, 1894, pg. 10. He attended and graduated from Western Reserve College in

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

, teaching school for a short time after completion of his university studies. Following the outbreak of the American Civil War, Carran enlisted in the 134th Ohio Infantry Regiment, fighting on behalf of the Union Army. He received a field promotion for gallantry on the field of battle, gaining commission as a First Lieutenant in October 1862. Carran would later gain a further promotion, completing his military service at the rank of

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

. Carran fought in the Chickamauga Campaign and at the battle of Mission Ridge and did not muster out of the army until the end of the war. He married C. Louisa Proudfoot (1846-1904) of Cleveland in 1864, with whom he had two children. After the war Carran moved to Cleveland and began studying law at a prominent firm in the city. Carran was subsequently admitted to the Ohio state bar in 1866 and went into private practice, quickly establishing a successful firm.

Political career

Carran's first venture into politics came in 1867, when he ran for and was elected as City Attorney of Cleveland — becoming at age 26 the youngest individual ever elected to that position. Carran won election to the

in 1878 as a Republican. During his single term of office, Carran helped to elect John Sherman to the United States Senate, in the process becoming a close personal friend of James A. Garfield, who was elected President of the United States in November 1880. He was also a close field of Congressman and Secretary of State

James G. Blaine James Gillespie Blaine (January 31, 1830January 27, 1893) was an American statesman and Republican politician who represented Maine in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1863 to 1876, serving as Speaker of the U.S. House of Representative ...

. As a member of the Ohio Senate, Carran was regarded as of extremely sunny disposition and given the nickname "Laughing Tom," because, as one contemporary put it, "he simply laughs because he can't help it."W.S.M
"Correspondence, ''Gallipolis Journal,'' Columbus, O., Jan'y 17, 1880,"
''Gallipolis HJournal,'' Jan. 29, 1880, pg. 4. In 1887 Carran moved to Los Angeles, California, establishing a new legal practice there. He was a member of the Grand Army of the Republic and an active

Freemason Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

Death and legacy

In June 1894, Carran was tapped to nominate Spencer G. Millard for

Lieutenant Governor of California The lieutenant governor of California is the second highest executive officer of the government of the U.S. state of California. The lieutenant governor is elected to serve a four-year term and can serve a maximum of two terms. In addition to l ...

at the State Republican Convention, held in Sacramento.W.G.T.
"Ex-Senator Thomas J. Carran: Sudden Death of the Man Who Was to Nominate Millard,"
''Los Angeles Times,'' June 22, 1894, pg. 2. He retired to his room in the evening of June 20 in good spirits, but did not appear on schedule in the morning of June 21. Around noon his friends sought him out at the hotel in which he was staying, but found him laying on his side, dead for a number of hours. A subsequent

autopsy An autopsy (post-mortem examination, obduction, necropsy, or autopsia cadaverum) is a surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse by dissection to determine the cause, mode, and manner of death or to evaluate any di ...

determined that Carran had died of heart disease. Carran was 53 years old at the time of his death. Carran's body was interred at Lake View Cemetery in Cleveland, Ohio.Mamaquilts
"Thomas Jefferson Carran,"
Find-a-Grave, www.findagrave.com/ July 24, 2011.

Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carran, Thomas J. 1841 births 1894 deaths People from Cuyahoga County, Ohio Case Western Reserve University alumni People of Ohio in the American Civil War Republican Party Ohio state senators 19th-century American legislators