Thomas Settle (January 23, 1831 – December 1, 1888) was a
United States Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to Peru, an associate justice of the
Supreme Court of North Carolina and a
United States district judge
The United States district courts are the trial courts of the United States federal judiciary, U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each United States federal judicial district, federal judicial district, which each cover o ...
of the
.
Education and career
Born on January 23, 1831, in
Rockingham County,
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 ...
,
Settle received an
Artium Baccalaureus degree in 1850 from the
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...
and
read law
Reading law was the method used in common law countries, particularly the United States, for people to prepare for and enter the legal profession before the advent of law schools. It consisted of an extended internship or apprenticeship under the ...
at
Richmond Hill Law School
Richmond Hill Law School is a historic home and law school building located near Richmond Hill, Yadkin County, North Carolina. It was built in 1848, and is a two-story, three bay, "T"-plan, brick building. It has a low hipped roof and deep ove ...
in 1854.
He was private secretary to
Governor of North Carolina
The governor of North Carolina is the head of government of the U.S. state of North Carolina. The governor directs the executive branch of the government and is the commander in chief of the military forces of the state. The current governor, ...
David Settle Reid from 1850 to 1854.
He entered private practice in Rockingham County in 1854.
As a member of 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 ...
, Settle was elected as a member of the
North Carolina House of Commons
The North Carolina House of Representatives is one of the two houses of the North Carolina General Assembly. The House is a 120-member body led by a Speaker of the House, who holds powers similar to those of the President pro-tem in the North Ca ...
(now the
North Carolina House of Representatives
The North Carolina House of Representatives is one of the two houses of the North Carolina General Assembly. The House is a 120-member body led by a Speaker of the House, who holds powers similar to those of the President pro-tem in the North Ca ...
) from 1854 to 1859, serving as
Speaker
Speaker may refer to:
Society and politics
* Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly
* Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture
* A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially:
** I ...
from 1858 to 1859.
He resumed private practice in North Carolina from 1860 to 1861.
He was solicitor for the Fourth Judicial Circuit of North Carolina in 1861, and from 1862 to 1868.
He was a Captain in the
Confederate States Army
The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighting ...
from 1861 to 1862.
After the war ended, he was elected as a member of the
North Carolina Senate
The North Carolina Senate is the upper chamber of the North Carolina General Assembly, which along with the North Carolina House of Representatives—the lower chamber—comprises the state legislature of North Carolina. The term of office for e ...
and was
speaker
Speaker may refer to:
Society and politics
* Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly
* Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture
* A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially:
** I ...
of that body.
A supporter of Gov.
William W. Holden
William Woods Holden (November 24, 1818 – March 1, 1892) was an American politician who served as the 38th and 40th governor of North Carolina. He was appointed by President Andrew Johnson in 1865 for a brief term and then elected in 1868. He ...
, Settle helped Holden found the
North Carolina Republican Party.
[NCpedia biography of Thomas Settle, Jr.]
/ref> He was an associate justice of the Supreme Court of North Carolina from 1868 to 1871, and from 1872 to 1876. He wrote the opinion for a unanimous court in ''State v. Linkhaw
''State v. Linkhaw'', 69 N.C. 214 (N.C. 1873), was a case in which the North Carolina Supreme Court reversed a criminal conviction for disturbing a religious congregation. Defendant William Linkhaw, a Methodism, Methodist, sang so poorly in chur ...
'', reversing the criminal conviction of a man who sang so badly in church that he was found guilty of disturbing a religious congregation. In between his stints on the court, he served as United States Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to Peru in 1871.
Settle resigned from the Supreme Court in 1876 to accept the 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 ...
nomination for governor
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 ...
. He lost the election to former Gov. Zebulon B. Vance.
Federal judicial service
Settle was nominated by President Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union Ar ...
on January 26, 1877, to a seat on the vacated by Judge Philip Fraser. He was confirmed by the United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and pow ...
on January 30, 1877, and received his commission the same day. His service terminated on December 1, 1888, due to his death in Raleigh
Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the seat of Wake County in the United States. It is the second-most populous city in North Carolina, after Charlotte. Raleigh is the tenth-most populous city in the Southeas ...
, North Carolina.
Family
Settle's father was also named Thomas Settle, as was his son, Thomas Settle. Both his father and his son served in the United States Congress
The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...
.. He was the cousin of North Carolina Governor David Settle Reid, under whom he had served as private secretary. He was married to Mary Glen of Yadkin County
Yadkin County is located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 37,214. Its county seat is Yadkinville. Yadkin County is included in the Winston-Salem, NC Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is also inc ...
and lived at Mulberry Island Plantation
Mulberry Island, also known as the Penn Farm, is a historic plantation house in Stoneville, North Carolina near the Dan River. The home was once the seat of the Scales family and the Settle family, two prominent North Carolinian political dynas ...
.[http://files.usgwarchives.net/nc/rockingham/history/other/dan1.txt ]
References
Sources
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Settle, Thomas
1831 births
1888 deaths
Ambassadors of the United States to Peru
Justices of the North Carolina Supreme Court
Judges of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida
19th-century American diplomats
United States federal judges appointed by Ulysses S. Grant
19th-century American judges
People from Rockingham County, North Carolina
Settle family
United States federal judges admitted to the practice of law by reading law