Thomas C. Catchings

Thomas Clendinen Catchings (January 11, 1847 – December 24, 1927) was a U.S. Representative from Mississippi.

Thomas C. Catchings
1893
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Mississippi's 3rd district
In office
March 4, 1885 – March 3, 1901
Preceded byElza Jeffords
Succeeded byPatrick S. Henry
17th Attorney General of Mississippi
In office
1878–1885
Preceded byGeorge E. Harris
Succeeded byThomas S. Ford
Mississippi State Senate
In office
1875–1877
Personal details
Born
Thomas Clendinen Catchings

(1847-01-11)January 11, 1847
Brownsville, Mississippi
DiedDecember 24, 1927(1927-12-24) (aged 80)
Vicksburg, Mississippi
Resting placeCedar Hill Cemetery[1]
Vicksburg, Mississippi
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse(s)Florence Shearer
Alma materUniversity of Mississippi at Oxford
OccupationLawyer
Military service
Allegiance Confederate States
Branch/service Confederate States Army
RankPrivate
Unit 18th Mississippi Infantry,
11th Mississippi Cavalry
Battles/warsAmerican Civil War

Early life

Born near Brownsville, Mississippi, Catchings was tutored at home. He attended the University of Mississippi at Oxford in 1859, where he was a member of St. Anthony Hall.[2] He studied law at Oakland College and graduated in 1861.

He entered the Confederate States Army in 1861 and served as a private in Company K, Eighteenth Mississippi Infantry, and subsequently in Company C, Eleventh Mississippi Cavalry.[3]

Career

He was admitted to the bar in 1866 and commenced practice in Vicksburg. Catchings was elected to the Mississippi State Senate in 1875 but resigned in 1877. Catchings was elected Mississippi Attorney General in 1877. He was reelected in 1881 and served until February 16, 1885.

Catchings, a Democrat, was elected to the Forty-ninth and to the seven succeeding Congresses (March 4, 1885–March 3, 1901) after winning a disputed election against Cornelius J. Jones, an African American lawyer and state legislator. He served as chairman of the Committee on Levees and Improvements of the Mississippi River (Fiftieth Congress), Committee on Railways and Canals (Fifty-second and Fifty-third Congresses), Committee on Rivers and Harbors (Fifty-third Congress). He first introduced a bill for Vicksburg National Military Park in January 1896. When it failed to pass, although favorably reported by committee, he re-introduced the bill in the next Congress in December 1897.[4]

He resumed the practice of law. He also served as division counsel for the Southern Railway Co. He served as member of the Mississippi Code Commission by appointment of Governor Vardaman.

Personal

He died in Vicksburg, Mississippi, December 24, 1927.He was interred in Cedar Hill Cemetery.

Notes
  1. "Thomas Clendinen Catchings". Find A Grave. Retrieved 9 January 2018.
  2. Negus, W. H. (1900). "Delta Psi". In Maxwell, W. J. (ed.). Greek Lettermen of Washington. New York, New York: The Umbdenstock Publishing Co. pp. 231–234
  3. Giambrone, Jeff (2012). Remembering Mississippi's Confederates. Arcadia Publishing. p. 94.
  4. "The First Battlefield Parks". National Park Service. Retrieved 9 January 2018.

References


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