Thomas H. Tongue
Encyclopedia
Thomas H. Tongue was an American politician and attorney in the state of Oregon
. Born in England, his family immigrated to Washington County, Oregon
, in 1859. In Oregon, he would serve in the State Senate
from 1889 to 1893 and was the seventh mayor of Hillsboro
. A Republican
, he was chairman of the state party
, and national convention delegate in 1892. Tongue served as Congressman from 1897 to 1903 representing Oregon's 1st congressional district
.
, in the Tualatin Valley
on November 23, 1859. His parents Rebecca and Anthony Tongue had a house west of North Plains
.
In Oregon, Tongue attended the Tualatin Academy
preparatory school in nearby Forest Grove
. He then enrolled at Pacific University
, a college affiliated with Tualatin Academy, and graduated from the school in June 1868. After graduating he moved to Hillsboro
, the county seat
of Washington County, where he studied law. On December 25, 1869, he married Emily Margaret Eagleton, daughter of George Eagleton.
in 1870 and began private legal practice in Hillsboro. While practicing law he was also a farmer and raised livestock while a member of the Knights of Pythias
and Odd Fellows
. Also a member of the Masonic Order
, he served as a grand master
in that organization. Tongue started his political career as mayor
of Hillsboro, serving two terms. He was elected in 1882 as the seventh person to hold that office, serving from December 13, 1882, to December 10, 1883. He would serve a second term three years later from December 13, 1886 to December 9, 1887.
In 1884, he purchased the former fairgrounds where the Washington County Fair had been held for approximately 15 years. The 50 acres (202,343 m²) were south of First Avenue and Baseline in present day downtown Hillsboro, with Tongue using the land for his hobby farm. In 1888, Tongue was elected to a four-year term in the Oregon State Senate
. Serving in both the 1889 and 1891 sessions, the Republican
represented District 27 and Washington County. While in the State Senate he was selected as the chairperson of the judiciary committee. He replaced William D. Hare
as both mayor and state senator.
A Republican Party official, Tongue served on the party's state central committee
from 1886 to 1896. In 1890, he was elected to the post of chairman for the Republican state convention and followed that position as president of the state party from 1892 to 1894. In 1892, Oregon received a second congressional district
, and Tongue served as the Republican party's chairman for the district until 1896. Also in 1892, Tongue served as a delegate to the Republican National Convention
held in Minneapolis, Minnesota
, and served as the vice president of the Oregon
delegation to the convention in 1894.
from Oregon's 1st congressional district
. Replacing Binger Hermann
, Tongue won by a total of 63 votes over his opponents. He was re-elected three times and served in the 56th
and 57th United States Congress
es. Tongue also won re-election in 1902 to the 58th Congress
, but died before that session began. In the 1898 campaign he defeated three opponents led by Fusion Party
candidate R. M. Veatch, winning by 2,037 votes over Veatch. Tongue won by 3,100 votes in 1900 and by 7,318 votes in the 1902 campaign.
On March 4, 1897, he began serving in the United States House of Representatives
and remained until his death in Washington, D.C.
, on January 11, 1903, before the start of what would have been a fourth term. In Congress, Tongue was chairman of the Committee on Irrigation of Arid Lands during both the 56th and 57th Congresses. He served alongside William R. Ellis
and Malcolm Adelbert Moody as Oregon's House delegates. While in Congress, Tongue advocated for the creation of a national park
for Crater Lake
in Southern Oregon
. He introduced bills to create the park in 1898, 1899, and finally in 1901 when the bill was passed by Congress. In May 1902, Crater Lake National Park
became the United States' fifth national park when President Theodore Roosevelt
signed the bill into law. After Tongue's death, Binger Hermann, who Tongue succeeded in Congress, was elected to complete Tongue's term. Thomas Brackett Reed
, Speaker of the House
during Tongue's first two terms, considered Tongue "one of the seven ablest men in the House."
, who would serve in the United States Senate
. Thomas Tongue, Jr. and Edmund both became lawyers, with the older Edmund forming a legal partnership with his father in 1897. Congressman Tongue was buried in Hillsboro, Oregon
, at the family's private plot next to the Masonic Cemetery (now Pioneer Cemetery
). Tongue was the grandfather of Thomas H. Tongue III
(1912 – 1994), who served as an associate justice on the Oregon Supreme Court
.
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
. Born in England, his family immigrated to Washington County, Oregon
Washington County, Oregon
- Major highways :* Interstate 5* Interstate 205* U.S. Route 26* Oregon Route 6* Oregon Route 8* Oregon Route 10* Oregon Route 47* Oregon Route 99W* Oregon Route 210* Oregon Route 217* Oregon Route 219-Demographics:...
, in 1859. In Oregon, he would serve in the State Senate
Oregon State Senate
The Oregon State Senate is the upper house of the state-wide legislature for the U.S. state of Oregon. Along with the lower chamber Oregon House of Representatives it makes up the Oregon Legislative Assembly. There are 30 members of the State Senate, representing 30 districts across the state,...
from 1889 to 1893 and was the seventh mayor of Hillsboro
Hillsboro, Oregon
Hillsboro is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon and is the county seat of Washington County. Lying in the Tualatin Valley on the west side of the Portland metropolitan area, the city is home to many high-technology companies, such as Intel, that compose what has become known as the...
. A Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
, he was chairman of the state party
Oregon Republican Party
The Oregon Republican Party is the state affiliate of the United States Republican Party in Oregon, headquartered in Lake Oswego. The first state party convention was held in Salem on April 21, 1859, and its first nominee for Congress, Portland attorney David Logan...
, and national convention delegate in 1892. Tongue served as Congressman from 1897 to 1903 representing Oregon's 1st congressional district
Oregon's 1st congressional district
Oregon's 1st congressional district consists of the northwest corner of Oregon. It includes Clatsop, Columbia, Washington, and Yamhill counties, and southwest Portland, part of Multnomah County, which belonged to the 3rd district before the 2002 redistricting....
.
Early life
Thomas H. Tongue was born in Lincolnshire, England, on June 23, 1844. He attended the public schools of England before immigrating to the United States with his parents. The family settled in Washington County, OregonWashington County, Oregon
- Major highways :* Interstate 5* Interstate 205* U.S. Route 26* Oregon Route 6* Oregon Route 8* Oregon Route 10* Oregon Route 47* Oregon Route 99W* Oregon Route 210* Oregon Route 217* Oregon Route 219-Demographics:...
, in the Tualatin Valley
Tualatin Valley
The Tualatin Valley is a farming and suburban region southwest of Portland, Oregon in the United States. The valley is formed by the meandering Tualatin River, a tributary of the Willamette River at the northwest corner of the Willamette Valley, east of the Northern Oregon Coast Range...
on November 23, 1859. His parents Rebecca and Anthony Tongue had a house west of North Plains
North Plains, Oregon
North Plains is a city in Washington County, Oregon, United States, off U.S. 26 on the northwest outskirts of the Portland metropolitan area. The population was 1,605 at the 2000 census; by July 2007 the population was estimated to be 1,813.-Geography:...
.
In Oregon, Tongue attended the Tualatin Academy
Tualatin Academy
Tualatin Academy was a secondary school in the U.S. state of Oregon that eventually became Pacific University. Tualatin Academy also refers to the National Register of Historic Places-listed college building constructed in 1850 to house the academy, also known as Old College Hall...
preparatory school in nearby Forest Grove
Forest Grove, Oregon
Forest Grove is a city in Washington County, Oregon, United States, west of Portland. Originally a small farm town, it is now primarily a bedroom suburb of Portland. Settled in the 1840s, the town was platted in 1850 and then incorporated in 1872 and was the first city in Washington County...
. He then enrolled at Pacific University
Pacific University
Pacific University is a private university located in Oregon, United States. The first campus began more than 160 years ago and is located about 38 km west of Portland in Forest Grove...
, a college affiliated with Tualatin Academy, and graduated from the school in June 1868. After graduating he moved to Hillsboro
Hillsboro, Oregon
Hillsboro is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon and is the county seat of Washington County. Lying in the Tualatin Valley on the west side of the Portland metropolitan area, the city is home to many high-technology companies, such as Intel, that compose what has become known as the...
, the county seat
County seat
A county seat is an administrative center, or seat of government, for a county or civil parish. The term is primarily used in the United States....
of Washington County, where he studied law. On December 25, 1869, he married Emily Margaret Eagleton, daughter of George Eagleton.
Career
Tongue was admitted to the Oregon State BarOregon State Bar
The Oregon State Bar is a government agency in the U.S. state of Oregon. Founded in 1890 as the private Oregon Bar Association, it became a public entity in 1935 that regulates the legal profession. The public corporation is part of the Oregon Judicial Department...
in 1870 and began private legal practice in Hillsboro. While practicing law he was also a farmer and raised livestock while a member of the Knights of Pythias
Knights of Pythias
The Knights of Pythias is a fraternal organization and secret society founded at Washington, DC, on 19 February 1864.The Knights of Pythias was the first fraternal organization to receive a charter under an act of the United States Congress. It was founded by Justus H. Rathbone, who had been...
and Odd Fellows
Independent Order of Odd Fellows
The Independent Order of Odd Fellows , also known as the Three Link Fraternity, is an altruistic and benevolent fraternal organization derived from the similar British Oddfellows service organizations which came into being during the 18th century, at a time when altruistic and charitable acts were...
. Also a member of the Masonic Order
Freemasonry
Freemasonry is a fraternal organisation that arose from obscure origins in the late 16th to early 17th century. Freemasonry now exists in various forms all over the world, with a membership estimated at around six million, including approximately 150,000 under the jurisdictions of the Grand Lodge...
, he served as a grand master
Grand Master (Masonic)
In Freemasonry a Grand Master is the leader of the lodges within his Masonic jurisdiction. He presides over a Grand Lodge, and has certain rights in the constituent lodges that form his jurisdiction....
in that organization. Tongue started his political career as mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
of Hillsboro, serving two terms. He was elected in 1882 as the seventh person to hold that office, serving from December 13, 1882, to December 10, 1883. He would serve a second term three years later from December 13, 1886 to December 9, 1887.
In 1884, he purchased the former fairgrounds where the Washington County Fair had been held for approximately 15 years. The 50 acres (202,343 m²) were south of First Avenue and Baseline in present day downtown Hillsboro, with Tongue using the land for his hobby farm. In 1888, Tongue was elected to a four-year term in the Oregon State Senate
Oregon State Senate
The Oregon State Senate is the upper house of the state-wide legislature for the U.S. state of Oregon. Along with the lower chamber Oregon House of Representatives it makes up the Oregon Legislative Assembly. There are 30 members of the State Senate, representing 30 districts across the state,...
. Serving in both the 1889 and 1891 sessions, the Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
represented District 27 and Washington County. While in the State Senate he was selected as the chairperson of the judiciary committee. He replaced William D. Hare
William D. Hare
William Davenport Hare was an American politician in Oregon. He served as a Republican member of the Oregon Legislature and the 8th mayor of Hillsboro, Oregon. His other duties included those of customs collector and presidential elector...
as both mayor and state senator.
A Republican Party official, Tongue served on the party's state central committee
Central Committee
Central Committee was the common designation of a standing administrative body of communist parties, analogous to a board of directors, whether ruling or non-ruling in the twentieth century and of the surviving, mostly Trotskyist, states in the early twenty first. In such party organizations the...
from 1886 to 1896. In 1890, he was elected to the post of chairman for the Republican state convention and followed that position as president of the state party from 1892 to 1894. In 1892, Oregon received a second congressional district
Congressional district
A congressional district is “a geographical division of a state from which one member of the House of Representatives is elected.”Congressional Districts are made up of three main components, a representative, constituents, and the specific land area that both the representative and the...
, and Tongue served as the Republican party's chairman for the district until 1896. Also in 1892, Tongue served as a delegate to the Republican National Convention
Republican National Convention
The Republican National Convention is the presidential nominating convention of the Republican Party of the United States. Convened by the Republican National Committee, the stated purpose of the convocation is to nominate an official candidate in an upcoming U.S...
held in Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis , nicknamed "City of Lakes" and the "Mill City," is the county seat of Hennepin County, the largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota, and the 48th largest in the United States...
, and served as the vice president of the Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
delegation to the convention in 1894.
Congress
Thomas Tongue was elected in 1896 as a Republican to the 55th Congress55th United States Congress
-House of Representatives:* Republican: 206 * Democratic: 124* Populist: 22* Silver Republican: 3* Silver: 1* Independent Republican: 1TOTAL members: 357-Leadership:-Senate:* President: Garret Hobart * President pro tempore: William P...
from Oregon's 1st congressional district
Oregon's 1st congressional district
Oregon's 1st congressional district consists of the northwest corner of Oregon. It includes Clatsop, Columbia, Washington, and Yamhill counties, and southwest Portland, part of Multnomah County, which belonged to the 3rd district before the 2002 redistricting....
. Replacing Binger Hermann
Binger Hermann
Binger Hermann was an American attorney and politician in Oregon. A native of Maryland, he immigrated to the Oregon Territory with his parents as part of the Baltimore Colony. Hermann would serve in both houses of the Oregon Legislative Assembly and as a Republican in the United States Congress...
, Tongue won by a total of 63 votes over his opponents. He was re-elected three times and served in the 56th
56th United States Congress
-House of Representatives:- Leadership :- Senate :* President: Garret Hobart , until November 21, 1899 , vacant thereafter.* President pro tempore: William P. Frye * Democratic Caucus Chairman: James K. Jones...
and 57th United States Congress
57th United States Congress
-House of Representatives:*Democratic: 151*Republican: 200 *Populist: 5*Silver : 1TOTAL members: 357-Leadership:-Senate:* President: Theodore Roosevelt , until September 14, 1901, vacant thereafter....
es. Tongue also won re-election in 1902 to the 58th Congress
58th United States Congress
- House of Representatives :* Republican : 209 * Democratic : 176* Silver Republican : 1TOTAL members: 386-Senate:* President: Vacant* President pro tempore: William P. Frye -Members:...
, but died before that session began. In the 1898 campaign he defeated three opponents led by Fusion Party
Fusion Party
Fusion Party is a term that may have a variety of meanings in the political history of the United States.The Fusion Party was the original name of the Republican Party in the state of Ohio. In 1854, anti-slavery parties were forming in many northern states in opposition to the Kansas Nebraska Act...
candidate R. M. Veatch, winning by 2,037 votes over Veatch. Tongue won by 3,100 votes in 1900 and by 7,318 votes in the 1902 campaign.
On March 4, 1897, he began serving in the United States House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
and remained until his death in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, on January 11, 1903, before the start of what would have been a fourth term. In Congress, Tongue was chairman of the Committee on Irrigation of Arid Lands during both the 56th and 57th Congresses. He served alongside William R. Ellis
William R. Ellis
William Russell Ellis was an American educator, attorney and politician in the state of Oregon. A native of Indiana, he grew up in Iowa before moving to Oregon where he worked as a school superintendent and district attorney. A Republican, he served as U.S...
and Malcolm Adelbert Moody as Oregon's House delegates. While in Congress, Tongue advocated for the creation of a national park
National park
A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individual nations designate their own national parks differently A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or...
for Crater Lake
Crater Lake
Crater Lake is a caldera lake located in the south-central region of the U.S. state of Oregon. It is the main feature of Crater Lake National Park and famous for its deep blue color and water clarity. The lake partly fills a nearly deep caldera that was formed around 7,700 years agoby the...
in Southern Oregon
Southern Oregon
Southern Oregon is a region of the U.S. state of Oregon south of Lane County and generally west of the Cascade Range, excluding the southern Oregon Coast. Counties include Douglas, Jackson, Klamath, and Josephine. It includes the Southern Oregon American Viticultural Area, which consists of the...
. He introduced bills to create the park in 1898, 1899, and finally in 1901 when the bill was passed by Congress. In May 1902, Crater Lake National Park
Crater Lake National Park
Crater Lake National Park is a United States National Park located in southern Oregon. Established in 1902, Crater Lake National Park is the sixth oldest national park in the United States and the only one in the state of Oregon...
became the United States' fifth national park when President Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...
signed the bill into law. After Tongue's death, Binger Hermann, who Tongue succeeded in Congress, was elected to complete Tongue's term. Thomas Brackett Reed
Thomas Brackett Reed
Thomas Brackett Reed, , occasionally ridiculed as Czar Reed, was a U.S. Representative from Maine, and Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1889–1891 and from 1895–1899...
, Speaker of the House
Speaker of the United States House of Representatives
The Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, or Speaker of the House, is the presiding officer of the United States House of Representatives...
during Tongue's first two terms, considered Tongue "one of the seven ablest men in the House."
Family
Tongue and his wife, the former Margarite Eagleton, had eight children: Edmund Burke Tongue, Edwin Tongue, Mary G. Lombard, Thomas H. Tongue, Jr., Elizabeth Fey, Florence Munger, Bertha Rebecca Tongue, and Edith. Edith married Alfred E. ReamesAlfred E. Reames
Alfred Evan Reames was an American attorney and politician from the state of Oregon. A native Oregonian, he served as a United States Senator for nine months in 1938. A Democrat, he practiced law in Portland, Eugene, and Jacksonville.-Early life:Alfred Reames was born in Jacksonville, Oregon, as...
, who would serve in the United States Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
. Thomas Tongue, Jr. and Edmund both became lawyers, with the older Edmund forming a legal partnership with his father in 1897. Congressman Tongue was buried in Hillsboro, Oregon
Hillsboro, Oregon
Hillsboro is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon and is the county seat of Washington County. Lying in the Tualatin Valley on the west side of the Portland metropolitan area, the city is home to many high-technology companies, such as Intel, that compose what has become known as the...
, at the family's private plot next to the Masonic Cemetery (now Pioneer Cemetery
Hillsboro Pioneer Cemetery
The Hillsboro Pioneer Cemetery is in Hillsboro, Oregon, United States. Located at the west end of the town along the Tualatin Valley Highway and adjacent to Dairy Creek. The cemetery comprises three formerly private cemeteries...
). Tongue was the grandfather of Thomas H. Tongue III
Thomas Tongue
Thomas H. Tongue III was an American jurist in the state of Oregon. A native of the state, he served as the 75th associate justice of the Oregon Supreme Court, serving 13 years on the state's highest court. Tongue is the grandson of U.S. Representative Thomas H...
(1912 – 1994), who served as an associate justice on the Oregon Supreme Court
Oregon Supreme Court
The Oregon Supreme Court is the highest state court in the U.S. state of Oregon. The only court that may reverse or modify a decision of the Oregon Supreme Court is the Supreme Court of the United States. The OSC holds court at the Oregon Supreme Court Building in Salem, Oregon, near the capitol...
.