Thomas Charles POWER, Congress, MT (1839-1923)

POWER, Thomas Charles, a Senator from Montana; born near Dubuque, Dubuque County, Iowa, May 22, 1839; attended the common schools and studied civil engineering at Sinsiniwa College, Wisconsin; practiced engineering and taught school three years; employed as a surveyor in Dakota in 1860; engaged in trade on the Missouri River 1861-1867; president of a line of steamers; moved to Fort Benton, Mont.; settled in Helena in 1876; engaged in mercantile pursuits and in banking; member of the first constitutional convention of Montana in 1883; unsuccessful candidate for governor of Montana in 1889; upon the admission of Montana as a State into the Union was elected as a Republican to the United States Senate and served from January 2, 1890, to March 3, 1895; was not a candidate for renomination; chairman, Committee to Examine Branches of the Civil Service (Fifty-second Congress); engaged in banking, stock raising, and mercantile pursuits; died in Helena, Mont., February 16, 1923; interment in Resurrection Cemetery.

Source: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1771-Present