Thomas H. Armstrong Explained

Thomas Henry Armstrong
Order:5th
Office:Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota
Term Start:January 8, 1866
Term End:January 7, 1870
Governor:William Rainey Marshall
Predecessor:Charles D. Sherwood
Successor:William H. Yale
Order2:7th
Office2:Speaker of the Minnesota House of Representatives
Term Start2:1864?
Term End2:1865
Predecessor2:Jared Benson
Successor2:James B. Wakefield
Birth Date:February 6, 1829
Birth Place:Milan, Ohio
Death Place:Albert Lea, Minnesota
Party:Republican
Profession:banker, lawyer, legislator
Spouse:Elizabeth M. Burgess Butman

Thomas Henry Armstrong (February 6, 1829  - December 29, 1891) was a Minnesota banker, lawyer, legislator, and the fifth Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota. He became Lieutenant Governor under Governor William Rainey Marshall from January 8, 1866, to January 7, 1870. Armstrong served in the Minnesota Constitutional Convention and both houses of the Minnesota State Legislature. He died in 1891 in Albert Lea, Minnesota.[1] [2]

Biography

Thomas Henry Armstrong was born in Milan, Ohio, on February 6, 1829, the son of Augustus Armstrong (1790-1862) and Phebe Higby (1805-1864).

His father was born in Rhode Island but later moved to Milan, Ohio, where he married Phebe Higby. Following this, he settled down and became a farmer.

Thomas studied in Milan, Ohio for a couple of years before moving to Minnesota in 1855, where he settled in High Forest, Minnesota. Before the outbreak of the Civil war, he was originally a Douglas Democrat, but when the war broke out, he became a staunch Republican He stayed in High Forest until he moved to Albert Lea in April 1875.

Political career

In the autumn of 1874, he ran as an independent for the State Senate, an endeavor in which he was successful.

Notes and References

  1. http://www.mnhs.org/people/governors/lt_gov/ltgov_04.htm Minnesota Historical Society
  2. http://www.leg.state.mn.us/legdb/fulldetail.asp?ID=11016 Minnesota Legislators Past and Present