Emmet Thomas

Emmet Thomas
1904
Speaker of the Mississippi House of Representatives
In office January 5, 1904 – January 1908
Preceded by	A. J. Russell
Succeeded by	Hugh M. Street
Member of the Mississippi House of Representatives from the Washington County district
In office January 1890 – January 1908
Preceded by	R. B. Campbell John T. Casey W. H. Harris
Personal details
Born	Emmet Nicholson Thomas (1855-06-10)June 10, 1855 Gonzales, Texas
Died	September 15, 1932(1932-09-15) (aged 77)
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Martha H. Shackleford ​ ​ (m. 1884)​
Children	3

Emmet Nicholson Thomas (June 10, 1855 - September 15, 1932) was an American politician. He was the speaker of the Mississippi House of Representatives from 1904 to 1908.

Early life and career

Emmet Nicholson Thomas was born on June 10, 1855, in Gonzales, Texas.[1][2][3] He was the son of William Thomas, a probate judge in Texas during the Civil War, and his wife Ann (Rogers) Thomas; both of whom were of Scottish descent.[1][2] Thomas attended public schools, and he graduated from Mississippi College with a B. A. degree in 1876.[1][2] Thomas then read law and was admitted to the bar in 1880.[1][2] He then began practicing law in Washington County, Mississippi.[2]

Political career

Thomas was elected to represent Washington County as a Democrat in the Mississippi House of Representatives in 1889.[1][2][4] He was re-elected in 1895, 1899, and 1903.[1][2] On June 3, 1903, he officiated at the laying of the cornerstone of Mississippi's new State Capitol.[1] On January 5, 1904, Thomas was elected by the other representatives to be the office of the Speaker of the House.[1][2]

Later life

Thomas died on September 15, 1932.[3]

Personal life

Thomas was a Presbyterian.[1][2] He was a Grand Master of the Masonic Grand Lodge of Mississippi.[1][2][3] In 1884, he married Martha H. Shackleford; they had three children together.[1][2]

References

1. Mississippi Official and Statistical Register. 1904. p. 568.
2. Rowland, Dunbar (1907). Mississippi: Comprising Sketches of Counties, Towns, Events, Institutions, and Persons, Arranged in Cyclopedic Form. Southern Historical Publishing Association. p. 803. ISBN 978-0-87152-223-8.
3. Commandery (Mich.), Knights Templar (Masonic order) Grand (1933). Annual Conclave. Grand Commandery. p. 77.
4. Lowry, Robert; McCardle, William H. (1891). A History of Mississippi: From the Discovery of the Great River by Hernando DeSoto, Including the Earliest Settlement Made by the French Under Iberville, to the Death of Jefferson Davis. AMS Press. p. 601. ISBN 978-0-404-04610-1.