Thomas Jefferson Strait was a U.S. Representative

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...

 from South Carolina

South Carolina

South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...

.

Born in Chester District, South Carolina, Strait attended the common schools of Mayesville, South Carolina

Mayesville, South Carolina

Mayesville is a town in Sumter County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 1,001 at the 2000 census. It is included in the Sumter, South Carolina Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Mayesville is located at ....

, and Cooper Institute, Mississippi.
During the Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

 entered the Confederate States Army

Confederate States Army

The Confederate States Army was the army of the Confederate States of America while the Confederacy existed during the American Civil War. On February 8, 1861, delegates from the seven Deep South states which had already declared their secession from the United States of America adopted the...

 in 1862 and served throughout the war, first in Company A, Sixth Regiment of Infantry, and later as sergeant in Company H, Twenty-fourth Regiment, Gist's brigade.
He engaged in agricultural pursuits.
He taught school in Ebenezer, South Carolina

Ebenezer, South Carolina

Ebenezer or Ebenezerville was a town in northern York County, South Carolina until it was annexed into the city of Rock Hill in the late 1960's. Ebenezer is now a neighbourhood of Rock Hill located at latitude 34.957 and longitude -81.046 on Ebenezer Road in the northern part of the city. The...

, in 1880.
He was graduated from South Carolina Medical College at Charleston in 1885 and practiced medicine.
He served as member of the State senate 1890-1893.

Strait was elected as a Democrat

Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

 to the Fifty-third, Fifty-fourth, and Fifty-fifth Congresses (March 4, 1893-March 3, 1899).
He was an unsuccessful candidate for renomination in 1898 to the Fifty-sixth Congress.
He resumed the practice of his profession in Lancaster, South Carolina

Lancaster, South Carolina

Lancaster is a city in Lancaster County, South Carolina which is in the United States and is located 35 miles south of Charlotte, North Carolina and 20 miles east of Rock Hill, South Carolina. As of the United States Census of 2010, the city population was 10,160. It is the county seat of...

, and died there on April 18, 1924.
He was interred in Westside Cemetery.

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