Thomas Settle (January 23, 1831 – December 1, 1888) was a United States Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to Peru, an associate justice of the Supreme Court of North Carolina and a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida.
Thomas Settle | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida | |
| In office January 30, 1877 – December 1, 1888 | |
| Appointed by | Ulysses S. Grant |
| Preceded by | Philip Fraser |
| Succeeded by | Charles Swayne |
| United States Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to Peru | |
| In office May 13, 1871 – November 22, 1871 | |
| President | Ulysses S. Grant |
| Preceded by | Alvin Peterson Hovey |
| Succeeded by | Francis Thomas |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Thomas Settle January 23, 1831 Rockingham County, North Carolina, U.S. |
| Died | December 1, 1888 (aged 57) Raleigh, North Carolina, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Other political affiliations | Democratic |
| Spouse | Mary Glen |
| Children | Thomas Settle |
| Parent |
|
| Relatives | David Settle Reid |
| Residence | Mulberry Island Plantation |
| Education | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (A.B.) read law |
Education and career
editBorn on January 23, 1831, in Rockingham County, North Carolina,[1] Settle received an Artium Baccalaureus degree in 1850 from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and read law[1] at Richmond Hill Law School[citation needed] in 1854.[1] He was private secretary to Governor of North Carolina David Settle Reid from 1850 to 1854.[1] He entered private practice in Rockingham County in 1854.[1]
As a member of the Democratic Party, Settle was elected as a member of the North Carolina House of Commons (now the North Carolina House of Representatives) from 1854 to 1859, serving as Speaker from 1858 to 1859.[1] He resumed private practice in North Carolina from 1860 to 1861.[1] He was solicitor for the Fourth Judicial Circuit of North Carolina in 1861, and from 1862 to 1868.[1] He was a Captain in the Confederate States Army from 1861 to 1862.[1]
After the war ended, he was elected as a member of the North Carolina Senate and was speaker of that body.[1] A supporter of Gov. William W. Holden, Settle helped Holden found the North Carolina Republican Party.[2] He was an associate justice of the Supreme Court of North Carolina from 1868 to 1871, and from 1872 to 1876.[1] He wrote the opinion for a unanimous court in State v. Linkhaw, reversing the criminal conviction of a man who sang so badly in church that he was found guilty of disturbing a religious congregation.[3] In between his stints on the court, he served as United States Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to Peru in 1871.[1]
Settle resigned from the Supreme Court in 1876 to accept the Republican nomination for governor. He lost the election to former Gov. Zebulon B. Vance.[2]
Federal judicial service
editSettle was nominated by President Ulysses S. Grant on January 26, 1877, to a seat on the United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida vacated by Judge Philip Fraser.[1] He was confirmed by the United States Senate on January 30, 1877, and received his commission the same day.[1] His service terminated on December 1, 1888, due to his death in Raleigh, North Carolina.[1]
Family
editSettle's father was also named Thomas Settle, as was his son, Thomas Settle.[citation needed] Both his father and his son served in the United States Congress.[citation needed]. He was the cousin of North Carolina Governor David Settle Reid, under whom he had served as private secretary.[citation needed] He was married to Mary Glen of Yadkin County and lived at Mulberry Island Plantation.[4]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Thomas Settle at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
- ^ a b NCpedia biography of Thomas Settle, Jr.
- ^ State v. Linkhaw, 69 N.C. 214, 215 (N.C. 1873)
- ^ http://files.usgwarchives.net/nc/rockingham/history/other/dan1.txt [bare URL plain text file]
Sources
edit- "Index to Politicians: Serr to Sewak". The Political Graveyard. 2005-03-10. Retrieved 2007-08-23.
- "Documenting the American South: Settle, Thomas" (bio). University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. 2005. Retrieved 2007-08-23. [dead link]
- Thomas Settle at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.