Thomas Cage
Thomas Cage | |
|---|---|
.png) | |
| Louisiana State Senate | |
| In office 1872–1880 | |
| Louisiana House of Representatives | |
| In office 1884–1888 | |
| Louisiana State Senate | |
| In office 1888–1892 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | c. 1845 Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana |
| Died | December 10, 1896 (aged 50–51) |
| Political party | Republican |
Thomas A. Cage (c. 1845 – December 10, 1896) was a state legislator who served in the Louisiana State Senate during the Reconstruction era and the Louisiana House of Representatives and again the Louisiana State Senate post reconstruction.[1]
Biography[edit]
Cage was born as a slave in Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana in 1845 and was freed during the American Civil War by the Union Army.[2] His father was Euro-American and his mother was a plantation slave of African descent. He took the name Cage from the sugar plantation's owner Jim Cage.[3]
After the war he moved north from Louisiana and gained an education before returning to Louisiana in 1869.[1] During the reconstruction era he was the editor of the Terrebonne Republican and had acquired a plantation,[1] which he was still successfully running in 1883.[4]
Cage was also a member of the board of trustees of the Southern University at New Orleans appointed in February 1883.[5]
Political career[edit]
In 1870 he was elected as a justice of the peace for Houma, Louisiana[1] and in 1871 he was appointed to the position of parish assessor and tax collector by governor Henry C. Warmoth.[6]
He represented Terrebonne as a delegate at the Republican State Convention held in New Orleans in August 1871[7] where he served on the Committee on Address whose job was to "draft resolutions and an address to the people of Louisiana".[8]
Cage was first elected to the legislature in 1872 to serve in the Louisiana State Senate for the 8th district.[9] He was re-elected in 1876,[10] but Isaiah D. Moore later challenged the result but lost the challenge in a ruling in March 1878.[11] He served from 1872 until 1880 when he was ousted due to the constitution reform of 1879.[3]
He then ran for sheriff for Terrebonne Parish in 1880 and won the position with over 60% of the votes[12] and served four years in the role.[3]
Next Cage was elected to serve in the Louisiana House of Representatives, representing Terrebonne along with G. W. Lyons,[13] and served from 1884 until 1888.
In 1888 Cage again ran for the senate now after the new constitution for a seat serving three parishes, he was duly elected and served one term from 1888 until 1892.[3] During this term he relocated to New Orleans after labor issues caused troubles in Terrebonne Parish.[3]
Cage served as the Republican state central committee chairman during the 1880s and 1890s and remained active in politics until his death at the end of the nineteenth century.[1]
Death[edit]
He died at his home on Cypress Street in New Orleans December 10, 1896 after suffering an illness that his doctors gave up on and his death was not unexpected.[3] Although he handled much money during his career he died a relatively poor man, but he did own a store on the corner of Cypress and Derbingy streets where he lived with his family.[3] He was not a religious man with a negative view of many preachers and he was buried in Girod cemetery.[3]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ a b c d e Foner, Eric (1 August 1996). Freedom's Lawmakers: A Directory of Black Officeholders During Reconstruction. LSU Press. p. 34. ISBN 978-0-8071-2082-8. Retrieved October 1, 2022.
- ^ Vincent, Charles (28 January 2011). "Black Legislators in Louisiana during Reconstruction". SIU Press. p. 149. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Thomas A. Cage - The Remarkable Negro Leader Passes Away Yesterday". The Times-Picayune. 11 December 1896. p. 12. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
- ^ "Ashland Plantation - Thomas A. Cage - 1883". The Times-Picayune. 10 January 1883. p. 6. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
- ^ "Appointments by the Governor - The Red Cross - Celebration of the Firemen". The Times-Picayune. 23 February 1883. p. 1. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
- ^ "Governor Warmoth appointments". New Orleans Republican. 12 February 1871. p. 4. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
- ^ "Republican State Convention". New Orleans Republican. 9 August 1871. p. 5. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
- ^ "Republican State Convention: Report on the Committee on Address". New Orleans Republican. 13 August 1871. p. 1. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
- ^ "Official Notices - Elected Senators". New Orleans Republican. 9 December 1872. p. 5. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
- ^ "Official Notices - State Senators". New Orleans Republican. 7 December 1876. p. 4. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
- ^ "Among the Law-Makers: Isaiah D. Moore fails in his senatorial contest". The Times-Picayune. 4 March 1878. p. 1. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
- ^ "Terrebonne - Elections". The Times-Picayune. 4 January 1880. p. 12. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
- ^ "The Next Legislature". The Lake Charles Echo. 3 May 1884. p. 2. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
- 1840s births
- 1896 deaths
- 19th-century American newspaper editors
- African-American politicians during the Reconstruction Era
- Republican Party Louisiana state senators
- Republican Party members of the Louisiana House of Representatives
- Politicians from New Orleans
- People from Houma, Louisiana
- American justices of the peace
- Editors of Louisiana newspapers
- Tax collectors
- Louisiana sheriffs
- Burials at Girod Street Cemetery