Thomas Child Jr.

Thomas Child Jr. (March 18, 1818 – March 9, 1869) was an American lawyer and politician. Originally from Bakersfield, Vermont, he graduated from the University of Vermont in 1838 and became an attorney in Berkshire, Vermont. Child later relocated to New York City, and he was a longtime resident of Staten Island.

Originally a Whig, he served one term as in the United States House of Representatives, March 4, 1855 to March 3, 1857. After the end of the Whig Party, Child became a Democrat, but joined the Republican Party because of his stance in favor of the Union during the American Civil War. He went on to serve as town supervisor of Northfield, New York from 1863 to 1864, and a member of the New York State Assembly in 1866.

Life
Thomas Child Jr. was born in Bakersfield, Vermont on March 18, 1818, a son of attorney Thomas Child (1779-1862) and Lydia Adams Child (1780-1853). Child attended the common schools and entered the University of Vermont at the age of fourteen. He graduated in 1838, and served the same year as a member of the State constitutional convention.

Legal career
Child studied law with his father, was admitted to the bar in September 1839, and commenced practice in Berkshire, Vermont. He was a partner of Homer E. Royce, who had also studied with Timothy Child Sr., and served as a justice of the peace beginning in 1840. He moved to New York City in 1848 and engaged in the distilling business.

Congress
Child was elected as a Whig to the 34th United States Congress, for the term beginning on March 4, 1855, but never took his seat due to illness. On March 3, 1857, the last day of the session, the House resolved that his salary be paid to him from August 18, 1856 to March 3, 1857, as "though he had been in regular attendance at the sittings of the House".

Later career
He moved to Port Richmond on Staten Island, in 1857 and retired from active business. After the demise of the Whigs, Child became a Democrat, but his pro-Union position during the American Civil War caused him to identify with the Republican Party. He was Town Supervisor of Northfield from 1863 to 1864. He was a member of the New York State Assembly (Richmond County) in 1866.

Death and burial
Child died in Port Richmond on March 9, 1869. He was buried at Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn.