Thomas Benjamin Kay (February 28, 1864 – April 29, 1931) was an American politician and businessman in the state of

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

. A native of

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

, he moved to Oregon with his family at the age of one where he later took over the family's woolen mill business. A Republican, he served in both houses of the

Oregon Legislative Assembly The Oregon Legislative Assembly is the State legislature (United States), state legislature for the U.S. state of Oregon. The Legislative Assembly is bicameral, consisting of an upper house, upper and lower chamber: the Oregon State Senate, Sena ...

and four terms as the

Oregon State Treasurer The Oregon state treasurer is a constitutional officer within the executive branch of the government of the U.S. state of Oregon, elected by statewide vote to serve a four-year term. As chief financial officer for the state, the office holder head ...

, the longest of anyone in that office's history.

Early years

Thomas Kay was born on February 28, 1864, in

Trenton, New Jersey Trenton is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County, New Jersey, Mercer County. It was the federal capital, capital of the United States from November 1 until D ...

, to Thomas Lister and Ann (née Slingsbey) Kay.Carey, Charles Henry. (1922). ''History of Oregon''. Pioneer Historical Publishing Co. Vol. 2, pp. 365. His father had already moved to

before the younger Thomas was born.Thomas Kay.
Salem Online History. Salem Public Library. Retrieved on July 24, 2009. After the younger Thomas was born, his mother and the rest of the family immigrated to Oregon via the

Isthmus of Panama The Isthmus of Panama, historically known as the Isthmus of Darien, is the narrow strip of land that lies between the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean, linking North America, North and South America. The country of Panama is located on the i ...

route, arriving in 1864.Chapman Publishing Company. (1903). Portrait and Biographical Record of the Willamette Valley, Oregon: Containing Original Sketches of Many Well Known Citizens of the Past and Present. Chicago: Chapman Pub. p. 587. The whole family settled in Brownsville where the elder Thomas was a partner in a woolen mill. The younger Thomas Kay grew up in Brownsville and attended the local schools. When he was nine years old he started working at his father's mill as a spooler, and remained until age 14. Kay then moved to McMinnville and spent three years studying at the Baptist College (now

Linfield College Linfield University is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college with campuses in McMinnville, Oregon, McMinnville, and Portland, Oregon. Linfield Wildcats athletics participate in the Northwest ...

). He then left college in 1883 and returned to working for the mill, but at the mill's

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: *Portland, Oregon, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon *Portland, Maine, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine *Isle of Portland, a tied island in the English Channel Portland may also r ...

store. Kay returned to McMinnville in 1884 where started working in the apparel business, forming the partnership of Bishop & Kay. Bishop left the partnership after four years and the company became Kay & Todd. Kay was married in McMinnville on January 15, 1888, to Cora M. Wallace, and they had three children.Corning, Howard M. (1989) ''Dictionary of Oregon History''. Binfords & Mort Publishing. p. 132. In 1895, he started working for his father's new woolen mill in

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as a salesperson. He also served for four years in the state militia. In 1897, Kay traveled to

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for the mill, and returned the next year. That year he sold his stake in the clothing company and moved to Salem where he took the position of assistant manager at the mill along with his sales position. In 1900, his father died, and Kay became the president of the Thomas Kay Woolen Mill, a position he would hold until his own death.

Political career

Kay started his political career in local politics in McMinnville where he served on the city council and school board. In 1902, he was elected to the

Oregon House of Representatives The Oregon House of Representatives is the lower house of the Oregon Legislative Assembly, the upper house being the Oregon State Senate. There are 60 members of the House, representing 60 districts across the state, each with a population of ...

as a Republican to a two-year term.Oregon Legislators and Staff Guide: 1903 Regular Session (22nd).
Oregon State Archives. Retrieved on July 24, 2009. He represented district 1 that included Marion County, and was the chairman of the

ways and means committee A ways and means committee is a government body that is charged with reviewing and making recommendations for government budgets. Because the raising of revenue is vital to carrying out governmental operations, such a committee is tasked with fi ...

. Kay was re-elected to a second term in the house in 1904 and served through the 1905 legislative session. During the 1905 session he lost out on being

Speaker of the House The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, is its presiding officer, or the chair. The title was first used in 1377 in England. Usage The title was first recorded in 1377 to describe the role of Thomas de Hung ...

by a single vote to A. L. Mills. In 1906, Kay was elected to a four-year term in the

Oregon State Senate The Oregon State Senate is the upper house of the State legislature (United States), statewide legislature for the US state of Oregon. Along with the lower chamber Oregon House of Representatives it makes up the Oregon Legislative Assembly. Ther ...

. He again represented district 1 as a Republican, and served through the 1909 special session of the

. Kay did not run for re-election to the Senate in 1910, and instead was the Republican nominee for

. He won the November election for a four-year term and took office on January 4, 1911.Carey, Charles Henry. (1922)
''History of Oregon''.
Pioneer Historical Publishing Co. Vol. 1, pp. 901. After re-election in 1914, he served a second full-term, leaving office on January 6, 1919. He was at times mentioned as a candidate for governor as well as 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 ...

. He returned to state politics in 1920 and was elected back to the Oregon House, again representing district 1. Kay served his full two-year term, won re-election in 1922, and served through the 1923 legislative session.Oregon Legislators and Staff Guide: 1923 Regular Session (32nd).
Oregon State Archives. Retrieved on July 24, 2009. In 1924, he was again elected as state treasurer and took office on January 4, 1925.Oregon State Treasury Administrative Overview.
Oregon Secretary of State. Retrieved on July 24, 2009. Kay won re-election to a fourth term in the office in 1928 and served until his death in office in 1931. His 14 years in the office are the longest of any treasurer in Oregon history.

Later years

Kay was a member of several fraternal societies including the Masons as a member of the

Knights Templar The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon, mainly known as the Knights Templar, was a Military order (religious society), military order of the Catholic Church, Catholic faith, and one of the most important military ord ...

, the

Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks (BPOE), commonly known as the Elks Lodge or simply The Elks, is an American fraternal order and charitable organization founded in 1868 in New York City. Originally established as a social club for m ...

, Salem Commercial Club, and the

Woodmen of the World WoodmenLife (officially Woodmen of the World Life Insurance Society) is a not-for-profit fraternal benefit society founded in 1890, based in Omaha, Nebraska, United States, that operates a large privately held insurance company for its members. ...

. Additionally, he was on the board of directors of the

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organisation based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It has nearly 90,000 staff, some 920,000 volunteers and 12,000 branches w ...

, the Illihee Club, the Portland Manufacturers' Association, and at

Willamette University Willamette University is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college with locations in Salem, Oregon, Salem and Portland, Oregon. Founded in 1842, it is the oldest college in the Western United ...

in Salem. He also served as director of Oregon's

chamber of commerce A chamber of commerce, or board of trade, is a form of business network. For example, a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to a ...

and president of the state's

board of trade The Board of Trade is a British government body concerned with commerce and industry, currently within the Department for Business and Trade. Its full title is The Lords of the Committee of the Privy Council appointed for the consideration of ...

. Thomas Benjamin Kay died on April 29, 1931, at the age of 67.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kay, Thomas B. Republican Party Oregon state senators Republican Party members of the Oregon House of Representatives State treasurers of Oregon Politicians from Trenton, New Jersey People from Brownsville, Oregon People from McMinnville, Oregon Politicians from Salem, Oregon Businesspeople from Oregon Willamette University people Linfield University alumni Oregon city council members 1864 births 1931 deaths School board members in Oregon 20th-century Oregon politicians 20th-century members of the Oregon Legislative Assembly