Thomas Carter
Carter in 1910
United States Senator fromMontana
In office March 4, 1905 – March 3, 1911
Preceded by	Paris Gibson
Succeeded by	Henry L. Myers
In office March 4, 1895 – March 3, 1901
Preceded by	Thomas Power
Succeeded by	William Clark
Chair of theRepublican National Committee
In office July 16, 1892 – June 18, 1896
Preceded by	William Campbell
Succeeded by	Mark Hanna
Commissioner of the General Land Office
In office March 31, 1891 – November 18, 1892
President	Benjamin Harrison
Preceded by	Lewis Groff
Succeeded by	William M. Stone
Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromMontana'sat-large district
In office November 8, 1889 – March 3, 1891
Preceded by	Himself (Delegate)
Succeeded by	William W. Dixon
Delegate to theU.S. House of Representatives fromMontana'sat-large district
In office March 4, 1889 – November 8, 1889
Preceded by	Joseph Toole
Succeeded by	Himself (Representative)
Personal details
Born	Thomas Henry Carter (1854-10-30)October 30, 1854 Junior Furnace, Ohio, U.S.
Died	September 17, 1911(1911-09-17) (aged 56) Washington, D.C., U.S.
Party	Republican
Spouse	Ellen Galen ​ (m. 1886)​
Signature

Thomas Henry Carter (October 30, 1854 – September 17, 1911) was an American politician, who served asterritorial delegate, aUnited States representative, and aU.S. Senator fromMontana. Carter was born inJunior Furnace, Ohio, on October 30, 1854. Born to an Irish immigrant family, he spent most of his childhood in on small farms in the Midwest. In 1882, he moved toHelena, Montana to begin his law career there. He entered then politics, and was elected Montana's territorial delegate in 1888. Following Montana's admission into the union as a state, Carter represented the state inU.S. House of Representatives. He ran for re-election in 1890, but was narrowly defeated by DemocratWilliam W. Dixon in the general election.

Following his failed re-election bid, PresidentBenjamin Harrison appointed Carter as theCommissioner of the General Land Office in 1891. He served as commissioner until 1892, when he was elected chairman of theRepublican National Committee, the firstCatholic to do so.

Carter was born toIrish immigrant parents on October 30, 1854, in a small village known asJunior Furnace, nearPortsmouth,Scioto County, Ohio.^[1] His parents, Edward and Margaret (Byrnes) Carter, came to the United States in 1849 or 1850 following theGreat Famine. They were married inWheeling, West Virginia, shortly after their arrival in the U.S., Edward converting to Catholicism from theAnglican Church due to Margaret's influence. The Carters settled in Junior Furnace, Ohio by 1852 when their first son, Richard, was born. Shortly after Thomas' birth in 1854 the family moved to a farm a few miles from Junior Furnace.

Following the end of the Civil War in 1865, the Carters used their savings and moved toPana, Illinois, where young Tommy Carter attended the common schools and worked on his parents' farm.^[1] Edward Carter instilled in his children a love for reading and with it a love of learning.^[2] Early in his adult life, following his family's loss of their farm due to a lightning-caused fire burning their barn and killing their farm animals, Thomas Carter engaged in railroad work and school teaching.^[3][4]

For several years, Carter worked as a travelling salesman for a book publisher based inBurlington, Iowa. After the premature death of his mother topneumonia in March 1879, Carter moved his two younger sisters, Julia and Margaret, and a younger brother, Edward Jr., to be with him in Burlington, Iowa, where he now worked as head of the sales department of the publishing company, while their father worked in Kentucky.^[5] Thomas and his sisters formed a particular bond in these years in Burlington as he supported them and cared for them as a father.^[6] After many long years of studying the law, Carter finally passed thebar examination in Nebraska while there on a business trip (likely in 1881, though the record is unclear).^[7]

In May 1882, at the advice of friends, he moved from Burlington toHelena, Montana, ostensibly to begin his law career there.^[8] After a brief stint selling books again, he formed a law partnership with Helena lawyer, John B. Clayton.^[7] Within a year of arriving in Helena, Carter sent for his sisters and brother in Burlington to join him. From his childhood Carter nurtured a close relationship with theCatholic Church, and upon his arrival in Helena this relationship continued and even strengthened.^[9] On January 27, 1886, Carter married Ellen Lillian Galen, the daughter of Montana pioneers, Hugh F. Galen and Matilda Gillogly Galen, at the cathedral inSt. Paul, Minnesota.^[10]

Carter's first foray into public office in Montana was in the role of public administrator forLewis and Clark County.^[10] In 1888, he was nominated as theRepublican candidate for the position of Territorial Delegate to Congress. In the general election in November he facedButtecopper king andDemocrat William Clark, making his first of numerous attempts at federal office. Carter upset Clark by winning the three largely Democratic counties ofSilver Bow,Deer Lodge, andMissoula, likely with the assistance ofMarcus Daly, another influential Montana Democratic copper king and enemy of Clark. Montana's Irish voters, who disliked Clark, also likely helped Carter to victory.^[11] This particular election is said to have initiated the famous "War of the Copper Kings."^[12] Nonetheless, Carter was elected as a Delegate to Congress and served a short term from March 4, 1889, to November 7, 1889, when theTerritory of Montana was admitted as a state into the Union.^[13]

The people of Montana again elected Carter as their first Representative to Congress on October 1, 1889, when he defeated long-time territorial delegate and leading Montana DemocratMartin Maginnis, and he served from November 8, 1889, to March 3, 1891.^[13] Importantly, Carter served as chairman of the Committee on Mines and Mining, a remarkable achievement for a freshman legislator in the House of Representatives, and, as one historian suggested, due to his friendship with legendarySpeaker of the HouseThomas B. Reid ofMaine.^[14] Carter was an unsuccessful candidate in 1890 for reelection, losing a close election to Butte lawyer and DemocratWilliam W. Dixon by 283 votes, or less than 1% of the total votes cast.^[15] PresidentBenjamin Harrison appointed Carter as theCommissioner of the General Land Office from 1891 to 1892, when he was elected chairman of theRepublican National Committee.^[16] He was the first Catholic to be the chairman of the Republican Party.^[17]

Carter was elected as aRepublican to the United States Senate and served from March 4, 1895, until March 3, 1901. As a Senator he was chairman of the Committee on Relations with Canada (Fifty-fourth Congress), the Committee on the Census (Fifty-fifth and Fifty-sixth Congresses). PresidentWilliam McKinley appointed him a member of the board of commissioners of theLouisiana Purchase Exposition and he served as its president. Carter was elected again as a Republican to the United States Senate and served from March 4, 1905, to March 3, 1911. He was not a candidate for reelection. He died from alung infarction while at home inWashington, D.C., on September 17, 1911. His funeral was held at St. Paul's Roman Catholic Church, and he was interred atMount Olivet Cemetery in the city.^[18]

InGlacier National Park, two natural features are named for Thomas H. Carter: aglacier and apeak.^[19] Two towns in Montana named for Carter areCarter inChouteau County, andCartersville inRosebud County.Carter County, Montana was also named in his honor in 1917.^[19][20]

• Thomas H. Carter Papers at the Library of Congress
• Thomas Carter Correspondence Selections and Related Material (1901–1971), Merrill G. Burlingame Special Collections Library,Montana State UniversityCollection website

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• 1854 births
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• Carter County, Montana
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