Timothy Edward Tarsney (February 4, 1849 – June 8, 1909) was an American

lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solic ...

and

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

from the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

. He served two terms in 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 ...

from 1885 to 1889.

Early life and education

Tarsney was born in Ransom, Michigan and attended the common and high schools. He worked on the Government roads in

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

until the close of the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

. When he returned to Michigan, he settled in

Saginaw Saginaw () is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the seat of Saginaw County. The city of Saginaw and Saginaw County are both in the area known as Mid-Michigan. Saginaw is adjacent to Saginaw Charter Township and considered part of Greater ...

, where he was employed as a sawmill engineer and became a

marine engineer Marine engineering is the engineering of boats, ships, submarines, and any other marine vessel. Here it is also taken to include the engineering of other ocean systems and structures – referred to in certain academic and professional circl ...

in 1867. He graduated from the law department of the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

Ann Arbor Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female given name Anna (name), Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah (given name), Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie (given name), ...

in 1872 and was admitted to the bar the same year and commencing practice in

East Saginaw East Saginaw is a defunct city in Saginaw County in the U.S. state of Michigan. History Much of the area that later became East Saginaw was granted by treaty to James Reilly, the Métis son of fur trader Stephen V. R. Reilly and his Chippewa wife ...

. He was elected justice of the peace in 1873 and city attorney from 1875 to 1878, when he resigned. His brother,

John Charles Tarsney John Charles Tarsney (November 7, 1845 – September 4, 1920) was an Politics of the United States, American politician from Missouri and an associate justice of the Oklahoma Territory Supreme Court (1896-1899). He then returned to Kansas City, Mi ...

, was a

U.S. Representative 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 chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

from

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

. His sister Mary E. Tarsney married Thomas A. E. Weadock who became a U.S. Representative from Michigan after her death.

Congress

In 1880, Tarsney was an unsuccessful candidate for election to the

47th United States Congress The 47th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1881, ...

, losing to

Roswell G. Horr Roswell Gilbert Horr (November 26, 1830 – December 19, 1896) was a politician from the U.S. state of Michigan. Horr was born in Waitsfield, Vermont and moved with his parents to Lorain County, Ohio, in 1834, where he attended the public school ...

. He was a delegate

at-large At large (''before a noun'': at-large) is a description for members of a governing body who are elected or appointed to represent a whole membership or population (notably a city, county, state, province, nation, club or association), rather than ...

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 ...

in 1884. That year, he defeated Horr to be elected as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

from

Michigan's 8th congressional district Michigan's 8th congressional district is a United States congressional district in Southern Michigan and Southeast Michigan, including almost all of the state capital, Lansing. From 2003 to 2013, it consisted of all of Clinton, Ingham, and Li ...

to the 49th Congress. He defeated Horr again to be re-elected to the

50th Congress The 50th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1887, ...

, serving from March 4, 1885 to March 3, 1889. He was an unsuccessful candidate for re-election in 1888, losing to

Aaron T. Bliss Aaron Thomas Bliss (May 22, 1837 – September 16, 1906) was an American politician who served as a U.S. Representative and the 25th governor of Michigan, and was from Saginaw. Bliss Township was named after him. Early life in New York Bliss ...

Career after Congress

Tarsney moved to

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

in 1893 and resumed the practice of law. He served on the corporation counsel of

from 1900 to 1908. The following year, he died at the age of sixty in Detroit and is interred in Calvary Cemetery in

, Michigan.

References

The Political Graveyard
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tarsney, Timothy Edward 1849 births Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Michigan 1909 deaths Burials in Michigan Michigan state court judges University of Michigan Law School alumni 19th-century American politicians People from Hillsdale County, Michigan Politicians from Saginaw, Michigan 19th-century American judges