William Henderson Cate | |
|---|---|
 Congressman William H. Cate | |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromArkansas's1st district | |
| In office March 4, 1889 – March 5, 1890 | |
| Preceded by | Poindexter Dunn |
| Succeeded by | Lewis P. Featherstone |
| In office March 4, 1891 – March 3, 1893 | |
| Preceded by | Lewis P. Featherstone |
| Succeeded by | Philip McCulloch |
| Member of theArkansas House of Representatives from the 1st district | |
| In office January 2, 1871 – May 11, 1874[1] | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | November 11, 1839 (1839-11-11) Murfreesboro, Tennessee |
| Died | August 23, 1899 (1899-08-24) (aged 59) Toledo, Ohio |
| Resting place | City Cemetery inJonesboro, Arkansas |
| Citizenship |  United States |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Virginia E. Warner Cate |
| Alma mater | University of Tennessee at Knoxville |
| Profession |
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| Signature |  |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  Confederate States of America |
| Branch/service | Confederate States Army |
| Rank | Captain |
| Battles/wars | Civil War |
William Henderson Cate (November 11, 1839 – August 23, 1899) was an American politician, lawyer and judge. In 1889 and 1890, he served part of one term as aU.S. Representative fromArkansas. He was removed from his seat following an investigation of election fraud before regaining the seat in the subsequent election, serving an additional term from 1891 to 1893.
Cate was born nearMurfreesboro, Tennessee, the son of Noah Cate, who was a Baptist minister, and his wife Margaret M. (Henderson) Cate. He attended the common schools, as well as an academy atAbingdon, Virginia. He ultimately graduated from theUniversity of Tennessee at Knoxville in 1857.
In 1868, he married Virginia E. Warner of Craighead County, and the couple had one son.[2]
Cate taught school while studying law.
During theCivil War, he served in theConfederate States Army, eventually rising to the rank of captain.
After a move toJonesboro, Arkansas in 1865, Cate studied law, and wasadmitted to the bar in Arkansas. In 1866, he commenced the practice of law, counting among his clients the Iron Mountain and Southern Railroad and the St. Louis, Arkansas, and Texas Railroad.[3]
In 1870, he was elected as aDemocrat to theArkansas House of Representatives to represent the first district, which included Craighead,Cross,Jackson,Mississippi andPoinsett counties. Cate was seated in the18th Arkansas General Assembly on January 2, 1871 and represented the 1st district alongside Charles Minor,L. D. Rozell andJ. A. Meek.[4] Cate was re-elected for the19th Arkansas General Assembly, representing the 1st alongside Roderick Joiner,Hiram McVeigh, and F.W. Lynn.[5] During his time in the Arkansas House, Cate served on the Agriculture and the Cities and Corporations committees.[3]
He was elected prosecuting attorney for Second Judicial Circuit on October 14, 1878,[6] Following the death of circuit judgeJames Frierson, Cate was appointed circuit judge byGovernor of ArkansasJames H. Berry on March 17, 1884 to fill the remainer of the term. Judge Cate won election to a full term on the bench September 1, 1884.[7] He organized the Bank of Jonesboro in 1887.[3] He also served as a member of the Board of Visitors of the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville.
In 1888, Cate ran as a Democrat for a seat in theU.S. Congress againstLewis Featherstone, a candidate of the Union Labor party. Cate won the election by slightly less than 1,000 votes.[3]
Cate subsequently presented credentials as aDemocratic member-elect to theFifty-first Congress where he served from March 4, 1889 until March 5, 1890.
Cate was removed from his seat following a House investigation.[3]Featherstone had contested the election after having been put up as a candidate to oppose Cate byThe Agricultural Wheel. In an agreement betweenThe Wheel and theRepublican Party, the Republicans in control of Congress agreed to support Featherstone against Cate. In return "The Wheel" agreed to supportJohn M. Clayton againstClifton R. Breckinridge. TheHouse Committee on Elections decided in favor of Featherstone, ruling that he won by 86 votes.[8]
Cate was appointed to return as 2nd Circuit judge following the resignation ofJ. E. Riddick on October 30, 1890, filling the remainder of the term.[9]
Cate again challenged Featherstone in the 1890 election, winning by a vote of 15,437 to 14,834. Featherstone did not contest the results.[3] With his victory, Cate was elected to theFifty-second Congress which ran from March 4, 1891 until March 3, 1893.[10]
Cate served on the Railways and Canals Committee, introducing bills to build a railroad bridge across theBlack River, and to construct a levee on the nearbyMississippi River.[3]
He declined to be a candidate for renomination in 1892 to theFifty-third Congress.
He later resumed the practice of law inJonesboro, Arkansas.[3]
While on a visit inToledo, Ohio, Cate died of cancer on August 23, 1899 (age 59 years, 285 days). He isinterred at the City Cemetery inJonesboro, Arkansas.[11]
This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
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| Preceded by | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromArkansas's 1st congressional district 1889–1890 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromArkansas's 1st congressional district 1891–1893 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
