Thomas J. Anderson (March 4, 1837 – April 13, 1910) was a justice of the Territorial

Utah Supreme Court The Utah Supreme Court is the supreme court of the state of Utah, United States. It has final authority of interpretation of the Utah Constitution. The Utah Supreme Court is composed of five members: a chief justice, an associate chief justice ...

from 1889 to 1893.Clifford L. Ashton,
Utah: The Territorial and District Courts
, chapter 5 in James K. Logan, ''The Federal Courts of the Tenth Circuit: A History'' (1992), p. 158-60. Born in

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

,"Our New Justice", ''The Salt Lake Herald'' (March 21, 1889), p. 5. and descended from "an early Virginia family composed of French Hugenots and English", Anderson moved with his family to Iowa in 1853, and received his education there. While working as a school teacher, he

read law Reading law was the primary method used in common law countries, particularly the United States, for people to prepare for and enter the legal profession before the advent of law schools. It consisted of an extended internship or apprenticeship un ...

to gain

admission to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

in 1860, and began practicing in

Knoxville, Iowa Knoxville is a city in and the county seat of Marion County, Iowa, United States. The population was 7,595 at the time of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, an increase from 7,313 in the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. Knoxville ...

. He was also an editor of the newspaper, the ''Democratic Standard''. On August 15, 1862, he joined the Union Army to serve in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

, achieving the rank of major and serving as a judge advocate general. He was described as being "considered a self-made man". At various points in the 1870s and 1880s, he ran for judicial, legislative, and executive positions, including being the Democratic nominee for governor in the

1887 Iowa gubernatorial election Events January * January 11 – Louis Pasteur's anti-rabies treatment is defended in the Académie Nationale de Médecine, by Dr. Joseph Grancher. * January 20 ** The United States Senate allows the United States Navy to lease Pearl Harb ...

, and for the United States Senate in the

1888 United States Senate election in Iowa The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...

. After obtaining an appointment to the office of the assistant commissioner of the general land, Anderson was appointed to the Utah Supreme Court by President

Grover Cleveland Stephen Grover Cleveland (March 18, 1837June 24, 1908) was the 22nd and 24th president of the United States, serving from 1885 to 1889 and from 1893 to 1897. He was the first U.S. president to serve nonconsecutive terms and the first Hist ...

on January 14, 1889, on the recommendation of the entire Democratic and Republican delegation of Iowa.

Benjamin Harrison Benjamin Harrison (August 20, 1833March 13, 1901) was the 23rd president of the United States, serving from 1889 to 1893. He was a member of the Harrison family of Virginia—a grandson of the ninth president, William Henry Harrison, and a ...

took office in March of that year, he replaced two other Cleveland-appointed judges, but did not replace Anderson. In November 1889, Anderson denied citizenship applications sought by a number of immigrants to the United States "simply because they were members of the Mormon church", a controversial decision. Anderson remained on the court until 1893, when Harrison appointed George Washington Barch to succeed him. Anderson remained in Utah until 1906, when he went to live in the Soldier's Home in

Sawtelle, California Sawtelle is a neighborhood in West Los Angeles, on the Westside (Los Angeles County), Westside of Los Angeles, California. The short-lived City of Sawtelle grew around the Pacific Branch of the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers, la ...

, where he died at the age of 73."T. J. Anderson Dead", ''The Salt Lake Herald'' (April 14, 1910), p. 10.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson, Thomas J. 1837 births 1910 deaths U.S. state supreme court judges admitted to the practice of law by reading law Union army officers People from Utah Territory Justices of the Utah Supreme Court United States Article I federal judges appointed by Grover Cleveland