Thomas M. Browne

For other people named Thomas Browne, see Thomas Browne (disambiguation).

Thomas Browne
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Indiana
In office 1881–1891
Preceded by	William R. Myers
Succeeded by	Henry U. Johnson
Constituency	6th district
In office 1877–1881
Preceded by	William S. Holman
Succeeded by	Courtland C. Matson
Constituency	5th district
United States Attorney for the District of Indiana
In office April 1869 – August 1, 1872
Preceded by	Alfred Kilgore
Succeeded by	Nelson Trusler
Member of the Indiana Senate
In office 1863
Personal details
Born	Thomas McLelland Browne April 19, 1829 New Paris, Ohio, U.S.
Died	July 17, 1891 (aged 62) Winchester, Indiana, U.S.
Resting place	Fountain Park Cemetery
Political party	Republican
Military service
Branch/service	Union Army
Unit	7th Indiana Cavalry Regiment
Battles/wars	American Civil War

Thomas McLelland Browne (April 19, 1829 – July 17, 1891) was an American attorney, Civil War veteran and politician who served seven terms as a U.S. representative for Indiana's 5th and 6th congressional district in the late 19th Century. He was a Republican.

Early life and education

Born in New Paris, Ohio. His mother died in 1843. Browne moved to Indiana in January 1844. He attended the common schools. He was apprenticed to a Ralph M. Pomeroy in Spartanburg. He moved to Winchester, Indiana, in 1848 to study law.

Career

He studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1849 and commenced practice in Winchester. Browne was elected prosecuting attorney for the thirteenth judicial circuit in 1855 and was reelected in 1857 and 1859. He was named secretary of the Indiana Senate in 1861 and served as a member in 1863.

Civil War

Browne assisted in organizing the 7th Indiana Cavalry Regiment of the Union Army, and went to the field with that regiment as captain of Company B on August 28, 1863. He was commissioned lieutenant colonel on October 1, 1863. He was promoted to colonel on October 10, 1865, and subsequently brevetted a brigadier general to date from March 13, 1865. After the war, he mustered out of the Army on February 18, 1866.

Early political career

He was appointed United States attorney for the District of Indiana in April 1869 and served until his resignation August 1, 1872. In 1872 he ran against Benjamin Harrison for the Republican nomination for governor of Indiana. He won the nomination but was defeated in the general election by the Democratic candidate, Thomas A. Hendricks. He served as a delegate to the 1876 Republican National Convention.

Congress

Browne was elected as a Republican to the House of Representatives, where he served from March 4, 1877, to March 3, 1891. He served as chairman of the Committee on Invalid Pensions (Forty-seventh Congress), Committee on Revision of the Laws (Fifty-first Congress). He was not a candidate for renomination in 1890.

Death

Browne died in Winchester, Indiana, on July 17, 1891. He was interred in Fountain Park Cemetery.

References

• United States Congress. "Thomas M. Browne (id: B000958)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.

 This article incorporates public domain material from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress