John W. Thomas (Wisconsin politician)

This article is about the early 20th century Wisconsin politician from Chippewa County. For others of the same name, see John Thomas.

John W. Thomas
Member of the Wisconsin Senate from the 24th district
In office January 4, 1909 – January 6, 1913
Preceded by	James H. Noble
Succeeded by	Robert W. Monk
8th Railroad Commissioner of Wisconsin
In office January 5, 1903 – January 7, 1907
Preceded by	Graham L. Rice
Succeeded by	Office abolished
Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly from the Chippewa 2nd district
In office January 7, 1895 – January 5, 1903
Preceded by	Henry Lebeis
Succeeded by	William B. Bartlett
Treasurer of Chippewa County, Wisconsin
In office January 1, 1885 – January 1, 1887
Preceded by	E. P. Hastings
Succeeded by	A. J. McDonald
Personal details
Born	(1846-03-31)March 31, 1846 Wales, UK
Died	March 8, 1925(1925-03-08) (aged 78) Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, U.S.
Resting place	Copp Cemetery, Anson, Wisconsin
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Marcella M. Fuller ​ ​ (m. 1868⁠–⁠1925)​
Children	Mildred S. Thomas (b. 1869; died 1873) Clarence Thomas (b. 1873; died 1874) Laura Thomas (b. 1876; died 1876) Sarah (Hartzell) (b. 1880; died 1940) Albert H. Thomas (b. 1884; died 1906)
Occupation	Farmer, politician
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch/service	United States Volunteers
Years of service	1864–1865
Rank	Private
Unit	36th Reg. Wis. Vol. Infantry
Battles/wars	American Civil War Overland Campaign Siege of Petersburg Appomattox Campaign

John W. Thomas (March 31, 1846 – March 8, 1925) was a Welsh American immigrant, dairy farmer, and progressive Republican politician. He was the 8th Wisconsin railroad commissioner—at the time a statewide elected office. He also served four years in the Wisconsin State Senate (1909–1912) and eight years in the State Assembly (1895–1902), representing Chippewa County.

Early life and war service

Thomas was born on March 31, 1846, in Wales. At age 3, he emigrated to the United States with his parents. They settled in Tioga County, Pennsylvania, but he was orphaned at age 7. From then, he lived with a family of neighbors, and, at age 11, he accompanied that family west to Chippewa County, Wisconsin. They settled in the town of Anson, Wisconsin, where he was educated in the common schools.

Just before his 18th birthday, he volunteered for service in the Union Army, in the 4th year of the American Civil War. He was enrolled as a private in Company K in the newly-organized 36th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment, and served with that regiment through the end of the war. The 36th Wisconsin Infantry mustered into federal service in March 1864 and went immediately to the eastern theater of the war. They arrived in time to join Grant's Overland Campaign, which would grind through Virginia over the Spring of 1864, and would spend the next year in the trenches in the Siege of Petersburg. They then participated in the Appomattox campaign which culminated in Lee's surrender.

Thomas returned to Anson after the war and settled a farm, where he maintained a herd of dairy cows, producing award-winning butter products.

Political career

Thomas became deeply involved in local politics in Anson; he was elected town clerk for seven years, was secretary of the school board for three years, was town treasurer for four years, and was a member of the town board for nine years, serving seven years as chairman. He was also elected to the Chippewa County board of supervisors, was chairman for two years, and was elected to one term as county treasurer in 1884.

He was also active in the Chippewa County Agricultural Society, was secretary for eight years, and was president in 1883. He was also a director of the Eagle Point Insurance Company for more than 20 years, and was treasurer of the company for two years. He was appointed to the State Board of Agriculture in 1897, and reappointed in 1899.

He was elected to his first state office in 1894, when he ran for Wisconsin State Assembly in Chippewa County's 2nd Assembly district. The 2nd district comprised almost all of the county, except for the more densely-populated southwest corner. He was re-elected in 1896, 1898, and 1900. During his years in the Assembly, he was always a member of the committee on railroads and was chairman during the 1899 and 1901 sessions.

In 1902, rather than running for another term in the Assembly, he was the Republican nominee for state railroad commissioner. He won the 1902 election with 53% of the vote in a five-way race. He went on to win re-election in 1904. During the 1905 Wisconsin legislative session, the Legislature decided to abolish the position of railroad commissioner and replace it with a board of commissioners appointed by the governor.

In the 1906 election, Thomas sought the Republican nomination for State Treasurer of Wisconsin, but he lost the Republican primary to Andrew H. Dahl.

In 1908, Thomas returned to elected office when he was elected to the Wisconsin State Senate in the 24th State Senate district—then-comprising all of Chippewa, Eau Claire, and Gates counties. He did not run for another term in 1912 and never held another elected office, but remained active for much of the rest of his life supporting Republican candidates and attending Republican conventions.

Personal life and family

John W. Thomas married Marcella Fuller in 1868. They had five children together, though three died in infancy and a fourth child died young.

John Thomas died in Chippewa Falls on March 8, 1925. He was survived by his wife and one daughter.

Electoral history

Wisconsin Railroad Commissioner (1902, 1904)

Wisconsin Railroad Commissioner Election, 1902

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
General Election, November 4, 1902
	Republican	John W. Thomas	189,905	53.42%	-6.42%
	Democratic	W. A. Redner	138,119	38.85%	+2.57%
	Social Democratic	Oscar L. Lowry	17,197	4.84%	+3.33%
	Prohibition	John W. Evans	9,428	2.65%	+0.40%
	Socialist Labor	August Simons	866	0.24%	+0.13%
Plurality			51,786	14.57%	-8.99%
Total votes			355,515	100.0%	-19.34%
	Republican hold

Wisconsin Railroad Commissioner Election, 1904

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
General Election, November 8, 1904
	Republican	John W. Thomas (incumbent)	248,499	55.71%	+2.30%
	Democratic	Ed L. Hanton	148,887	33.38%	-5.47%
	Social Democratic	Harry E. Briggs	27,509	6.17%	+1.33%
	Republican	Fred O. Tarbox	11,285	2.53%
	Prohibition	David Wood	9,581	2.15%
	Socialist Labor	Carl Gross	266	0.06%
Plurality			99,612	22.33%	+7.77%
Total votes			446,027	100.0%	+25.46%
	Republican hold

Wisconsin Treasurer (1906)

Wisconsin State Treasurer Election, 1906

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
Republican Primary, September 4, 1906
	Republican	Andrew H. Dahl	44,797	29.95%
	Republican	John J. Kempf	41,886	28.00%
	Republican	John W. Thomas	28,617	19.13%
	Republican	Julius Howland	21,771	14.56%
	Republican	Henry D. James	12,505	8.36%
Plurality			2,911	1.95%
Total votes			149,576	100.0%

Wisconsin Senate (1908)

Wisconsin Senate, 24th District Election, 1908

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
General Election, November 3, 1908
	Republican	John W. Thomas	7,901	58.86%	+0.50%
	Democratic	W. H. Frawley	5,522	41.14%	+2.98%
Plurality			2,379	17.72%	-2.48%
Total votes			13,423	100.0%	+3.20%
	Republican hold

External links

• John W. Thomas at Find a Grave
• The Political Graveyard