Thomas Jefferson Busby (July 26, 1884 – October 18, 1964) was an American lawyer and politician who served six terms as a

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

from

Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...

from 1923 to 1935.

Biography

Born near Short, Mississippi, Busby attended the common schools of his native city, Oakland College,

Yale, Mississippi Yale is a ghost town in Itawamba County, Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the e ...

, and

Iuka Normal Institute Iuka Normal Institute (also called Iuka Normal School) was a normal school founded in Iuka, Mississippi in 1882, reportedly the first normal school built south of the Mason–Dixon line. It operated as a day school and boarding school, offering cl ...

. He then taught in the public schools of Tishomingo, Alcorn, and

Chickasaw The Chickasaw ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Southeastern Woodlands, United States. Their traditional territory was in northern Mississippi, northwestern and northern Alabama, western Tennessee and southwestern Kentucky. Their language is ...

counties in Mississippi from 1903 to 1908.

Legal career

He graduated from the Georgie Robertson Christian College in

Henderson, Tennessee Henderson is a city in and the county seat of Chester County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 6,309 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census, up from 5,670 at the 2000 census. History Henderson was platted in 1857, when the r ...

, in 1905 and from the law department of the

University of Mississippi at Oxford The University of Mississippi (byname Ole Miss) is a public research university in University, near Oxford, Mississippi, United States, with a medical center in Jackson. It is Mississippi's oldest public university and is the state's largest b ...

in 1909. He was admitted to the bar in 1909 and began practicing at

Houston, Mississippi Houston is a city and one of two county seats of Chickasaw County, in northeastern Mississippi, United States. The population was 3,623 at the 2010 census. History Native American groups had long used the future Chickasaw County for millennia ...

. He served as prosecuting attorney of Chickasaw County from 1912 to 1920.

Congress

Busby was elected as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

to the sixty-eighth and to the five succeeding Congresses (March 4, 1923 – January 3, 1935). During his time in Congress, Busby pitched the idea of the

Natchez Trace Parkway The Natchez Trace Parkway is a limited-access national parkway in the Southeastern United States that commemorates the historic Natchez Trace and preserves sections of that original trail. Its central feature is a two-lane road that extends 44 ...

. His motivation was to create jobs for locals who were suffering from poverty during the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

until other work became available. He also believed that the project would be of interest to the people surrounding the

Natchez Trace The Natchez Trace, also known as the Old Natchez Trace, is a historic forest trail within the United States which extends roughly from Nashville, Tennessee, to Natchez, Mississippi, linking the Cumberland River, Cumberland, Tennessee River, ...

, and would impact multiple counties along the proposed 450 mile roadway. After its run through Congress and President

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

, the project was given $50,000 to survey the Natchez Trace Trail and evaluate the possibility of Busby's Natchez Trace Parkway. He was an unsuccessful candidate for renomination in 1934.

After Congress

He remained in Washington DC practicing law with his son Jeff Busby until 1958. He then returned to Houston, Mississippi where he practiced law.

Death and burial

He died in Houston, Mississippi on October 18, 1964. He was interred in Houston Cemetery.

References

External links

*
Jeff Busby Park
{{DEFAULTSORT:Busby, Thomas Jefferson 1884 births 1964 deaths University of Mississippi School of Law alumni Freed–Hardeman University alumni Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Mississippi People from Tishomingo County, Mississippi People from Houston, Mississippi 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives