John Mellen Thurston (August 21, 1847August 9, 1916) was a United States Senator from

Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...

. Thurston was born in

Montpelier, Vermont Montpelier is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Vermont and the county seat of Washington County, Vermont, Washington County. The site of Government of Vermont, Vermont's state government, it is the Lis ...

, the son of Daniel Sylvester Thurston and Ruth (née Mellen). He moved with his parents to

Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is the List of municipalities in Wisconsin by population, second-most populous city in the state, with a population of 269,840 at the 2020 Uni ...

, in 1854 and two years later to

Beaver Dam, Wisconsin Beaver Dam is a city in Dodge County, Wisconsin, United States, along Beaver Dam Lake (Wisconsin), Beaver Dam Lake and the Beaver Dam River. The population was 16,708 at the 2020 census, making it the largest city primarily located in Dodge Co ...

. He attended the public schools and graduated from Wayland University in Beaver Dam, where he studied law. Thurston was admitted to the bar in 1869 and commenced practice in

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...

. He was a city councilman from 1872 to 1874 and the city attorney of Omaha from 1874 to 1877. Thurston then served in the

Nebraska House of Representatives The Nebraska House of Representatives was the lower house of the Nebraska Legislature during the days when Nebraska was a territory from 1854 to 1867 and then as a state from 1867 to 1936. In 1934, Nebraska voters amended the Nebraska Constitut ...

from 1875 to 1877. He married Martha L. Poland (1849–1898) in 1872. After her death in 1898, he married Leodora "Lola" Purman in 1899. He was appointed assistant attorney of the

Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad is a Railroad classes, Class I freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pacific is the second largest railroad in the United Stat ...

in 1877 and general solicitor in 1888. He was a presidential elector on the Republican ticket in 1880. In 1893, Thurston was an unsuccessful Republican candidate for United States Senator; he was elected as a Republican to the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

two years later and served from March 4, 1895, to March 3, 1901. During his term, Thurston served as the chairman of the

U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs The Senate Committee on Indian Affairs is a committee of the United States Senate charged with oversight in matters related to the American Indian, Native Hawaiian, and Alaska Native peoples. A Committee on Indian Affairs existed from 1820 to 1 ...

(Fifty-sixth Congress). He was not a candidate for reelection in 1901. He was appointed as the United States commissioner to the St. Louis Exposition in 1901. He moved to

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, and resumed the practice of law; then in 1915, Thurston returned to Omaha and joined Edwin T. Morrison and Joseph Crow in the law firm of Thurston, Crow & Morrison. He practiced law in Omaha until his death there on from

heat prostration Heat illness is a spectrum of disorders due to increased body temperature. It can be caused by either environmental conditions or by exertion. It includes minor conditions such as heat cramps, heat syncope, and heat exhaustion as well as the ...

on August 9, 1916. His remains were cremated at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Omaha and the ashes were interred in the Congressional Cemetery, Washington, D.C. Between 1885 and 1890, his portrait was painted in Omaha by artist Herbert A. Collins.Biography of Herbert Alexander Collins, by Alfred W. Collins, February 1975, 4 pages typed, in the possession of Collins' great-great grand-daughter, D. Dahl of Tacoma, WA

Thurston County, Nebraska Thurston County is the northeasternmost county in the U.S. state of Nebraska. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 6,773. Its county seat is Pender. In the Nebraska license plate system, Thurston County is represented by ...

is named after him. File:Martha S. Poland.jpg, Martha S. Poland File:Clarence Luther Thurston.jpg, Clarence Luther Thurston, son of John Mellen Thurston File:Grace and Jean Thurston.jpg, Grace and Jean Thurston, daughters of John Mellen Thurston

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Thurston, John M. 1847 births 1916 deaths Republican Party members of the Nebraska House of Representatives Nebraska city council members Nebraska lawyers Politicians from Madison, Wisconsin Politicians from Montpelier, Vermont Burials at the Congressional Cemetery Politicians from Beaver Dam, Wisconsin Republican Party United States senators from Nebraska Washington, D.C., Republicans 19th-century American lawyers 19th-century United States senators 19th-century members of the Nebraska Legislature

References

Further reading

External links