Martin Russell Thayer
Encyclopedia
Martin Russell Thayer was a Republican
member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania
.
, near the city limits of Petersburg, Virginia
. He attended the Mount Pleasant Classical Institute in Amherst, Massachusetts
, and Amherst College
. He moved with his father to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
, in 1837. He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania
at Philadelphia in 1840. He studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1842 and commenced practice in Philadelphia.
and Thirty-ninth
Congresses, during which he served on the committee on the bankrupt law and was the chairman of the United States House Committee on Private Land Claims. He declined to be a candidate for re-election in 1866
, and resumed the practice of law.
Thayer was judge of the district court of Philadelphia from 1867 to 1874, and served as president judge of the court of common pleas of Philadelphia from 1874 until his resignation in 1896. In 1873 he was appointed on the board of visitors to West Point
, and wrote the report. (Some 40 years earlier, his cousin Sylvanus Thayer
had been superintendent of West Point.) He was elected by the judges of the common pleas court prothonotary of Philadelphia in 1896. He also engaged in literary pursuits. He died in Philadelphia in 1906 and is interned in St. James the Less Church Cemetery.
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
.
Early life
Martin Russell Thayer was born in Dinwiddie County, VirginiaDinwiddie County, Virginia
Dinwiddie County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of 2010, the population was 28,001. Its county seat is Dinwiddie.- History :...
, near the city limits of Petersburg, Virginia
Petersburg, Virginia
Petersburg is an independent city in Virginia, United States located on the Appomattox River and south of the state capital city of Richmond. The city's population was 32,420 as of 2010, predominantly of African-American ethnicity...
. He attended the Mount Pleasant Classical Institute in Amherst, Massachusetts
Amherst, Massachusetts
Amherst is a town in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States in the Connecticut River valley. As of the 2010 census, the population was 37,819, making it the largest community in Hampshire County . The town is home to Amherst College, Hampshire College, and the University of Massachusetts...
, and Amherst College
Amherst College
Amherst College is a private liberal arts college located in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. Amherst is an exclusively undergraduate four-year institution and enrolled 1,744 students in the fall of 2009...
. He moved with his father to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, in 1837. He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
at Philadelphia in 1840. He studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1842 and commenced practice in Philadelphia.
Public service
Thayer was a commissioner to revise the revenue laws of Pennsylvania in 1862. He was elected as a Republican to the Thirty-eighth38th United States Congress
-House of Representatives:Before this Congress, the 1860 United States Census and resulting reapportionment changed the size of the House to 241 members...
and Thirty-ninth
39th United States Congress
The Thirty-ninth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1865 to March 4, 1867, during the first month of...
Congresses, during which he served on the committee on the bankrupt law and was the chairman of the United States House Committee on Private Land Claims. He declined to be a candidate for re-election in 1866
United States House election, 1866
Elections to the United States House of Representatives were held in 1866 to elect Representatives to the 40th United States Congress.The elections occurred just one year after the American Civil War ended at Appomattox, in which the Union defeated the Confederacy....
, and resumed the practice of law.
Thayer was judge of the district court of Philadelphia from 1867 to 1874, and served as president judge of the court of common pleas of Philadelphia from 1874 until his resignation in 1896. In 1873 he was appointed on the board of visitors to West Point
United States Military Academy
The United States Military Academy at West Point is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located at West Point, New York. The academy sits on scenic high ground overlooking the Hudson River, north of New York City...
, and wrote the report. (Some 40 years earlier, his cousin Sylvanus Thayer
Sylvanus Thayer
Colonel and Brevet Brigadier General Sylvanus Thayer also known as "the Father of West Point" was an early superintendent of the United States Military Academy at West Point and an early advocate of engineering education in the United States.-Biography:Thayer was born in Braintree, Massachusetts,...
had been superintendent of West Point.) He was elected by the judges of the common pleas court prothonotary of Philadelphia in 1896. He also engaged in literary pursuits. He died in Philadelphia in 1906 and is interned in St. James the Less Church Cemetery.
Works
- The Duties of Citizenship (Philadelphia, 1862)
- The Great Victory: its Cost and Value (1865)
- The Law considered as a Progressive Science (1870)
- On Libraries (1871)
- The Life and Works of Francis LieberFrancis LieberFrancis Lieber , known as Franz Lieber in Germany, was a German-American jurist, gymnast and political philosopher. He edited an Encyclopaedia Americana...
(1873) - The Battle of GermantownBattle of GermantownThe Battle of Germantown, a battle in the Philadelphia campaign of the American Revolutionary War, was fought on October 4, 1777, at Germantown, Pennsylvania between the British army led by Sir William Howe and the American army under George Washington...
(1878)