Thomas Sturgis (April 6 or 30, 1846 – February 25, 1914) was a businessman, soldier and financier. He was appointed the second

New York City Fire Commissioner The New York City Fire Commissioner is the civilian administrator of the New York City Fire Department (FDNY), appointed by the Mayor of the City of New York. There have been 34 commissioners excluding Acting Fire Commissioners, and 38 commission ...

by Mayor

Seth Low Seth Low (January 18, 1850 – September 17, 1916) was an American educator and political figure who served as the mayor of Brooklyn from 1881 to 1885, the president of Columbia University from 1890 to 1901, a diplomatic representative of t ...

on January 1, 1902 and served in that position until the end of the Low Administration on December 31, 1903. Prior to this he served as a fire commissioner under William Lafayette Strong, replacing Austin E. Ford. Sturgis was also developer of

Cheyenne, Wyoming Cheyenne ( or ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Wyoming, as well as the county seat of Laramie County, Wyoming, Laramie County, with 65,132 residents, per the 2020 US Census. It is the principal city of the Cheyenne ...

, and financier. In the ''

Pacific Historical Review The ''Pacific Historical Review'' is the official publication of the Pacific Coast Branch of the American Historical Association. It is a quarterly academic journal published by University of California Press. It was established in 1932 under foun ...

'', Gene M. Gressley wrote that Sturgis was "one of the few young easterners who came west in search of a fortune and stayed long enough to become one of the most respected men in the cattle industry."

Biography

Thomas Sturgis was born on April 6 or 30, 1846, to Wiliam and Elizabeth Sturgis, in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. He attended New York City public schools, including Grammar School No. 40. When he was 16, Sturgis began working as a clerk at a wholesale

dry goods Dry goods is a historic term describing the type of product line a store carries, which differs by region. The term comes from the textile trade, and the shops appear to have spread with the mercantile trade across the British Empire (and forme ...

house. Upon the outbreak of 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 ...

, Sturgis joined the twenty-second regiment of the

New York State Militia The New York Guard (NYG) is the state defense force of New York State, also called The New York State Military Reserve. Originally called the New York State Militia it can trace its lineage back to the American Revolution and the War of 1812. Th ...

. When he turned 18 in 1864, Sturgis enlisted in the Sixtieth Massachusetts Regiment, commissioned as a

first lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a ...

and adjutant of the Sixtieth regiment. Sturgis served as post-adjutant of a

prisoner-of-war camp A prisoner-of-war camp (often abbreviated as POW camp) is a site for the containment of enemy fighters captured by a belligerent power in time of war. There are significant differences among POW camps, internment camps, and military prisons. ...

near Camp Morton in Indiana in the summer and fall of 1864. After the Sixtieth was mustered out, he was commissioned as a first lieutenant in the Fifty-seventh, serving in various capacities as an aide-de-camp and an

assistant adjutant general An adjutant general is a military chief administrative officer. France In Revolutionary France, the was a senior staff officer, effectively an assistant to a general officer. It was a special position for lieutenant-colonels and colonels in staf ...

at the army camp, rising to be assistant adjutant general of the First Division of the Ninth Army Corps, attached to the

Army of the Potomac The Army of the Potomac was the principal Union Army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. It was created in July 1861 shortly after the First Battle of Bull Run and was disbanded in June 1865 following the surrender of the Confede ...

. At the

Battle of Fort Stedman The Battle of Fort Stedman, also known as the Battle of Hare's Hill, was fought on March 25, 1865, during the final weeks of the American Civil War. The Union Army fortification in the siege lines around Petersburg, Virginia, was attacked in a pr ...

(March 25, 1865), Sturgis was taken prisoner, held in

Libby Prison Libby Prison was a Confederate prison at Richmond, Virginia, during the American Civil War. In 1862 it was designated to hold officer prisoners from the Union Army. It gained an infamous reputation for the overcrowded and harsh conditions. Priso ...

, and exchanged, serving until the end of the war in 1865. After the conclusion of the war, Sturgis briefly studied law, before moving to west to Neosho in Southwest Missouri in spring 1868. He managed several farms, and worked as a general land agent for the

Atlantic and Pacific Railroad The Atlantic and Pacific Railroad was a U.S. railroad that owned or operated two disjointed segments, one connecting St. Louis, Missouri with Tulsa, Oklahoma, and the other connecting Albuquerque, New Mexico with Needles in Southern Californi ...

, and negotiated with Native Americans on behalf of then

Governor of Missouri 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 ...

Thomas Clement Fletcher, gaining right of way to build a railroad on the 35th parallel. Sturgis moved to

, in 1878 and was involved in banking, railroads and stockraising, spending fifteen years in the city. Sturgis became the leader of the Republican Party in Wyoming. He married Helen Rutgers Weir, daughter of

Robert Walter Weir Robert Walter Weir (June 18, 1803 – May 1, 1889) was an American artist and educator and is considered a painter of the Hudson River School. Weir was elected to the National Academy of Design in 1829 and was an instructor at the United States M ...

, on June 9, 1880. Sturgis organized and served as president of the Stockgrowers National Bank in Cheyenne. He was involved in the founding of and served as president of the Cheyenne and Northern Railway. He was secretary of the

Wyoming Stock Growers Association The Wyoming Stock Growers Association (WSGA) is an American cattle organization started in 1872 among Wyoming cattle ranchers to standardize and organize the cattle industry but quickly grew into a political force that has been called "the de facto ...

for 14 years, and secretary of the National Cattle Growers Association. He was elected to the Wyoming Territorial Senate and chairman of the Republican Central Committee of the Territory while in Cheyenne, serving from 1882 to 1883. Sturgis returned to

in 1887 or 1888, opening a building company, Sturgis & Hill. Sturgis soon became prominent in New York City business, owning stock or being a director of the Consolidated Ice Company, the

Knickerbocker Ice Company The Knickerbocker Ice Company was an ice company based in New York State during the 19th century. Early history Knickerbocker Ice Company, an Ice trade company, was founded by John J. Felter, John G. Perry, and Edward Felter in 1831 on the easter ...

, the American Ice Company, the Wyoming Development Company, and the Cheyenne Gas and Electric Light Company. He became treasurer of the

Union Stock Yards The Union Stock Yard & Transit Co., or The Yards, was the meatpacking district in Chicago for more than a century, starting in 1865. The district was operated by a group of railroad companies that acquired marshland and turned it into a central ...

. He was appointed to the Civil Service Commission of New York in 1896 and was made a trustee of the

Elmira Correctional Facility Elmira Correctional Facility, also known as "The Hill," is a maximum security state prison located in Chemung County, New York, in the City of Elmira. It is operated by the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision. The ...

in 1899, being elected president of the latter's board. Sturgis served as New York City Fire Commissioner from January 1, 1902 to December 31, 1903. He died February 25, 1914 in

Eastbourne Eastbourne () is a town and seaside resort in East Sussex, on the south coast of England, east of Brighton and south of London. Eastbourne is immediately east of Beachy Head, the highest chalk sea cliff in Great Britain and part of the la ...

, England.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sturgis, Thomas Commissioners of the New York City Fire Department 1846 births 1914 deaths Businesspeople from New York City Politicians from New York City People of Massachusetts in the American Civil War People of New York (state) in the American Civil War Members of the Wyoming Territorial Legislature Wyoming Republicans Ranchers from Wyoming Sturgis family