Thomas B. Catron
United States Senator
from New Mexico
In office
March 27, 1912 – March 3, 1917
Preceded byOffice Created
Succeeded byAndrieus A. Jones
13th Mayor of Santa Fe, New Mexico[1]
In office
1906–1908
Preceded byA. R. Gibson
Succeeded byJosé D. Sena
Delegate to the
U.S. House of Representatives
from New Mexico Territory’s at-large district
In office
March 4, 1895 – March 3, 1897
Preceded byAntonio Joseph
Succeeded byHarvey Butler Fergusson
Personal details
Born(1840-10-06)October 6, 1840
near Lexington, Missouri
DiedMay 15, 1921(1921-05-15) (aged 80)
Santa Fe, New Mexico
Political partyRepublican
SpouseJulia Anna Walz Catron (1857–1909)
Children5
ResidenceSanta Fe, New Mexico
Alma materUniversity of Missouri
ProfessionAttorney
Military service
Allegiance Confederate States
Branch/service Confederate Army
Years of service1861-1865
RankFirst lieutenant
Commands3rd Missouri Battery

Thomas Benton Catron (October 6, 1840 – May 15, 1921) was an American politician and lawyer who was influential in the establishment of the U.S. state of New Mexico, and served as one of its first United States Senators. Catron has defenders but enemies have described him as a "greedy land grabber and ruthless politico."[2]

Catron was a native of Missouri and a graduate of the University of Missouri. He was a Confederate States Army veteran of the American Civil War. After the war, he moved to New Mexico Territory, where he learned Spanish, studied law, and attained admission to the bar. A Republican even though most Southerners were Democrats, Catron soon made his mark in both law and politics, including serving as a district attorney, territorial attorney general (1869-1872), and United States Attorney for New Mexico (1872-1878). He later served on the New Mexico Territorial Council (1884, 1888, 1889), as the Territorial Delegate to Congress (1895-1897), President of the New Mexico Bar Association (1895), and Mayor of Santa Fe (1906-1908).

In addition to practicing law Catron was a member of the Santa Fe Ring of prominent attorneys, politicians and land speculators. He used his knowledge of New Mexico's Spanish and Mexican land grants to acquire land from Hispanic settlers unfamiliar with Anglo law and the English language and often not even aware that their ownership of the land where they lived was being challenged. He accumulated title to more than 3,000,000 acres (12,000 km2), making him the largest landholder in the United States.[3] When New Mexico achieved statehood, the legislature elected Catron one of the state's first U.S. Senators. He served from 1912 to 1916, and was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1916. He died in Santa Fe, and was buried in Santa Fe's Fairview Cemetery.

Early life

Catron was born near Lexington, Missouri, on October 6, 1840, a son of John Catron and Mary (Fletcher) Catron, and was named after Missouri Senator Thomas Hart Benton.[4][5] He was educated in Lexington's public schools and at Masonic College in Lexington.[6] He graduated from the University of Missouri in 1860.[7]

Civil War

During the American Civil War Catron joined the Confederate States Army, serving in Hiram M. Bledsoe's Battery, a unit of Sterling Price's command. Catron took part in the battles of Carthage, Wilson's Creek, Second Lexington, and Pea Ridge. By the end of the war Catron was a first lieutenant in command of the 3rd Missouri Battery. In the latter stages of the war he served during combat in Tennessee, Alabama, and Mississippi, before surrendering in Mississippi at the end of the war as part of Richard Taylor's command.[8]

Post-Civil War

Catron returned to Missouri after the war and began to study law. In 1866 he moved to the Territory of New Mexico, living in Las Cruces before settling in Mesilla. He traveled to New Mexico with two wagon loads of flour, which he sold to finance his legal studies, and a Spanish grammar book, which he used to begin to learn the language. (He soon became fluent by living in Spanish speaking communities and speaking only Spanish.) Catron completed his legal studies and was admitted to the bar in 1867.[9][10]

Political career

Unlike most Southerners who had supported the Confederacy, Catron was a Republican. Almost as soon as he began to practice Catron was appointed District Attorney for the Third Judicial District (present day Doña Ana County), and served until 1868.[11]

In 1869 he was appointed Attorney General of the New Mexico Territory.[12] In 1872 he was appointed United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico, an office previously held by his law partner, Civil War colleague and fellow Republican Stephen Benton Elkins, who had been elected to Congress. Catron served as U.S. Attorney until 1878.[13][14]

While holding office as U.S. Attorney Catron moved to Santa Fe. In 1884 Catron was elected to the New Mexico Territorial Council, and he served again in 1888 and 1890. In 1892 Catron ran unsuccessfully for Delegate to Congress. He ran again in 1894 and won, serving one term March 4, 1895, to March 3, 1897. From 1895 to 1896 Catron was President of the New Mexico Bar Association. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection to Congress in 1896, and served on the Territorial Council again in 1899 and 1905.[15][16]

From 1906 to 1908 Catron served as Mayor of Santa Fe.[17]

Land acquisition

As a lawyer familiar with the intricacies of old Mexican land grants, Catron gained an interest in or clear title to 34 grants totaling 3,000,000 acres (12,000 km2). As a member of the group of land speculators known as "Santa Fe Ring," he became by 1894[18] the largest landowner in the United States.[19][20]

After annexing New Mexico in 1848, the U.S. required that Spanish and Mexican land grants be "confirmed" by the U.S. courts and Congress. Hispanic claimants of land in the land grants often did not speak English and were suspicious of and unfamiliar with the American legal system -- so different from the Hispanic. Many of the claimants were poor and unable to pursue the lengthy and expensive legal process of getting a claim confirmed. Moreover, the Surveyors General appointed by the U.S. had little knowledge of Hispanic land practices and customs. "The situation was ripe for fraud.[21][22]The results were "large grants owned by speculators were erroneously confirmed; other grants which should have been confirmed were not...[and]...some valid grants were confirmed, but to the wrong people." The Santa Fe Ring of lawyers and politicians, often in league with the Surveyors General, abused the adjudication system for their own benefit.[23]

Among Catron's acquisitions was the 600,000 acres (2,400 km2) Tierra Amarilla Land Grant. Disputes about ownership have continued into the 21st century and erupted into violence on at least one occasion, a 1967 raid on the Rio Arriba County courthouse by Reies Tijerina and Hispanic claimants to grant land.[24]

United States Senator

Catron was an early advocate for New Mexico statehood, and in the early 1900s marshaled the territorial Republican Party to lobby Republicans at the national level for New Mexico's admission to the Union.[25][26][27]

When New Mexico was admitted as the 47th state in 1912, the New Mexico State Legislature elected Catron as one of the state's first U.S. Senators. Catron won the "long term" (four years), while Albert B. Fall won the "short term" (one year). Catron took office on March 27, 1912.[28]

To win election to the Senate, Catron made a personal alliance with Fall (later to be involved in the Teapot Dome scandal), ensuring that each of them would be elected. This alliance antagonized New Mexicans of Spanish heritage, who had hoped that one of their own would become a Senator.[29]

At the start of his Senate career Catron served as Chairman of the Committee on Expenditures in the Interior Department. In 1916 he was a candidate for reelection, but lost the Republican nomination to Frank A. Hubbell.[30] Hubbell went on to lose the general election to Andrieus A. Jones.[31]

After leaving the Senate Catron returned to Santa Fe, where he resumed his law practice and business interests, and served in local offices including President of the Board of Education.[32]

Catron was mentioned as a Senate candidate in 1918 if Fall did not run for reelection, but Fall decided to run, received the Republican nomination, and won another term.[33][34]

Retirement, death and burial

After leaving the Senate, Catron attempted unsuccessfully to receive an appointment as Ambassador to Chile.[35][36] In retirement Catron continued to reside in Santa Fe. He died in Santa Fe on May 15, 1921, and was interred in a mausoleum at Fairview Cemetery.[37]

Family

Julia Anna Walz

In 1878 Catron married Julia Anna Walz (March 28, 1857 – November 8, 1909), a native of Ohio. She had lived in Mankato, Minnesota, was a graduate of Oberlin College, and was teaching school when she met Catron. They had five children, four of whom lived to adulthood: John Walz; Charles Christopher; Thomas Benton II; and Fletcher Arthur[38]

Awards and honors

Catron received an honorary Master of Arts degree from the University of Missouri in 1868, and in 1920 the University of Missouri awarded him an honorary LL.D.[39][40]

Catron County, New Mexico, is named in his honor.[41]

See also

References

  1. ↑ City of Santa Fe, Former Mayors of Santa Fe, 2014
  2. ↑ Westphal, Victor (1988). "Thomas Benton Catron: A Historical Defense". New Mexico Historical Defense. 63 (1): 43.
  3. ↑ Gonzales, Phillip B. (2003). "Struggle for Survival: The Hispanic Land Grants of New Mexico, 1848-1901". Agricultural History. 77 (2): 302.
  4. ↑ William A. Keleher, Violence in Lincoln County, 1869-1881: Facsimile of 1957 Edition, 2007, page 57
  5. ↑ David Correia, Properties of Violence, 2013, Chapter 2
  6. ↑ Victor Westphall, Thomas Benton Catron and His Era, 1973, page 6
  7. ↑ Herbert Oliver Brayer, Alianza Federal de las Mercedes, Spanish and Mexican Land Grants, 1923, page 167
  8. ↑ Ralph Emerson Twitchell, The Leading Facts of New Mexican History, Volume 2, 1912, pages 519-520
  9. ↑ Richard W. Etulain, New Mexican Lives: Profiles and Historical Stories, 2002, page 197
  10. ↑ William A. Keleher, The Fabulous Frontier, 1846-1912, pages 117-118
  11. ↑ C. R. Caldwell, Dead Right: The Lincoln County War, 2008, page 304
  12. ↑ Donald R. Lavash, Sheriff William Brady, Tragic Hero of the Lincoln County War, 1986, page 32
  13. ↑ Rubén Darío Sálaz, New Mexico: A Brief Multi-History, 1999, page 299
  14. ↑ David L. Caffey, Chasing the Santa Fe Ring: Power and Privilege in Territorial New Mexico, 2014, page 92
  15. ↑ Ralph Emerson Twitchell, Old Santa Fe: Facsimile of Number 281 of the Original 1925 Edition, 2007, page 429
  16. ↑ C. R. Caldwell, Dead Right: The Lincoln County War, 2008, page 304
  17. ↑ Sunstone Press, All Trails Lead to Santa Fe: An Anthology Commemorating the 400th Anniversary of the Founding of Santa Fe, New Mexico in 1610, 2010, page 427
  18. ↑ Butler, Charles (1977). "History of the Tierra Amarilla Grant". New Mexico Geological Society Guidebooke: 91.
  19. ↑ William W. Dunmire, New Mexico's Spanish Livestock Heritage, 2013, Chapter 9
  20. ↑ Gonzales 1003, p. 302.
  21. ↑ "History: Land Grants". Albuquerque Historical Society. Retrieved 14 May 2023.
  22. ↑ Lamar, Howard R. (December 1962). "Land Policy in the Spanish Southwest: 1846-1891". The Journal of Economic History. 22 (4): 502–504. doi:10.1017/S0022050700066717. S2CID 154377195. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
  23. ↑ Gomez, Placido (1985). "The History and Adjudication of the Common Lands of Spanish and Mexican Land Grants". Natural Resources Journal. 25 (4): 1039, 1070–1071. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
  24. ↑ Prieskop, Victoria. "Fresh Dispute over Historic New Mexico Land Grant". Courthouse News. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
  25. ↑ Prince, Le Baron Bradford (1910). New Mexico's Struggle for Statehood. p. 91.
  26. ↑ Larson, Robert W. (15 August 2013). New Mexico's Quest for Statehood, 1846-1912. p. 98. ISBN 9780826329479.
  27. ↑ McCord, Richard (2009). Santa Fe Living Treasures: Our Elders, Our Hearts. p. 52. ISBN 9780865347205.
  28. ↑ Dodd, Mead And Company, The New International Year Book, 1913, page 466
  29. ↑ New York Times, New Mexico Natives Bitter Over Defeat, April 7, 1912
  30. ↑ Texas History Online, El Paso Herald, Catron After Fall's Job, September 30, 1916
  31. ↑ Chicago Daily News, Almanac and Year Book for 1918, 1918, page 302
  32. ↑ New Mexico Department of Education, New Mexico Educational Directory, 1916, page 23
  33. ↑ Newspapers.com, Deming Headlight, August 23, 1918
  34. ↑ Calvin Alexander Roberts, Susan A. Roberts, New Mexico, 2006, page 162
  35. ↑ David L. Caffey, Chasing the Santa Fe Ring: Power and Privilege in Territorial New Mexico, 2014, page 203
  36. ↑ William A. Keleher, The Fabulous Frontier, 1846-1912, 2008, page 117
  37. ↑ Mark Grossman, Political Corruption in America: An Encyclopedia of Scandals, Power, and Greed, 2003, pages 48-49
  38. ↑ Old Santa Fe: A Brief Review of History 1536-1912, 1912, James B Raciti, page 429
  39. ↑ Columbia Missourian, Catron Says Wood is Choice of West, April 23, 1919
  40. ↑ Victor Westphall, Thomas Benton Catron and His Era, 1973, page 7
  41. ↑ Robert Hixson Julyan, The Place Names of New Mexico, 1996, page 68

Further reading

  • Caffey, David L. Chasing the Santa Fe Ring (2014).
  • Duran, Tobias (1984) "Francisco Chavez, Thomas B. Catron, and Organized Political Violence in Santa Fe in the 1890s." New Mexico Historical Review 59: pp. 291–310.
  • Garraty, John A. and Carnes, Mark C. (eds.) (1999) American National Biography. Oxford University Press, New York, ISBN 0-19-520635-5.
  • Jacobsen, Joel K (1993) "An Excess of Law in Lincoln County: Thomas Catron, Samuel Axtell, and the Lincoln County War." New Mexico Historical Review 68: pp. 133–51.
  • Lamar, Howard R. (ed.) (1998) The New Encyclopedia of the American West. Yale University Press, New Haven, CT, ISBN 0-300-07088-8.
  • Taylor, Michael L. “The Library of Thomas B. Catron and the Transformation of New Mexico,” Libraries: Culture, History, and Society v. 2, no. 1 (2018): 1-23.
  • Westphall, Victor (1988) "Thomas Benton Catron: A Historical Defense." New Mexico Historical Review 63: pp. 43–57.
  • Westphall, Victor (1973) Thomas Benton Catron and His Era. University of Arizona Press, Tucson, ISBN 0-8165-0341-9.
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