Thomas J. Brady
Encyclopedia
Thomas Jefferson Brady was an American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

 General and politician.

Early life

Brady was born in Muncie, Indiana
Muncie, Indiana
Muncie is a city in Center Township, Delaware County in east central Indiana, best known as the home of Ball State University and the birthplace of the Ball Corporation. It is the principal city of the Muncie, Indiana, Metropolitan Statistical Area, which has a population of 118,769...

 in 1839, the son of John Brady
John Brady
John Brady may refer to:* Johnny Brady , Irish Fianna Fáil politician from Meath* John F. Brady Delaware Politician* John Brady , Australian rules footballer with North Melbourne* Jon Brady, Australian soccer player...

, the first mayor of Muncie, and his wife, Mary Wright Brady. After graduating from Asbury College (now DePauw University
DePauw University
DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana, USA, is a private, national liberal arts college with an enrollment of approximately 2,400 students. The school has a Methodist heritage and was originally known as Indiana Asbury University. DePauw is a member of both the Great Lakes Colleges Association...

), Brady taught school for several years before studying law and being admitted to the bar
Bar (law)
Bar in a legal context has three possible meanings: the division of a courtroom between its working and public areas; the process of qualifying to practice law; and the legal profession.-Courtroom division:...

 in 1860. At the outbreak of the Civil War, he joined the Union Army as a captain in the 8th Indiana Volunteer Infantry. Brady served with that regiment until 1863, when he was promoted to colonel of the 140th Indiana Volunteer Infantry. He was promoted to brevet brigadier general just before the end of the war, in March 1865, in recognition of his "long and meritorious service." During the war, in 1864, Brady was married to Emeline Wolfe. They would have three children: Arthur, Elizabeth, and Winfield.

Political career

After the war, Brady resumed his law practice in Muncie, forming a partnership with Arthur C. Mellette
Arthur C. Mellette
Arthur Calvin Mellette was the last Governor of the Dakota Territory and was the first Governor of the State of South Dakota.-Biography:...

. Brady also purchased the Muncie Weekly Times in 1868. In 1870, he was appointed consul to St. Thomas, then a part of the Danish Virgin Islands, where he served until 1875. He was appointed commissioner of internal revenue for Ohio and Indiana that year. The following year, President Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant was the 18th President of the United States as well as military commander during the Civil War and post-war Reconstruction periods. Under Grant's command, the Union Army defeated the Confederate military and ended the Confederate States of America...

 appointed Brady second assistant postmaster-general.

In his position with the postal service, Brady became embroiled in the star route scandal
Star route scandal
The Star Route scandal involved a lucrative nineteenth century scheme whereby United States postal officials received bribes in exchange for awarding postal delivery contracts in southern and western areas. On March 3, 1845 Congress had created inland mail routes, eventually known as "Star...

. Brady was alleged to have illegally profited in a scheme in which postal officials received bribes in exchange for awarding postal delivery contracts in southern and western areas. President Rutherford B. Hayes
Rutherford B. Hayes
Rutherford Birchard Hayes was the 19th President of the United States . As president, he oversaw the end of Reconstruction and the United States' entry into the Second Industrial Revolution...

 sustained Brady in office, but he resigned in 1881. Brady was indicted for conspiracy to defraud the government in 1882. A jury found him guilty, but the judge set aside the verdict. At a second trial the following year, Brady and his co-defendants were found not guilty.

Brady moved to Jersey City, New Jersey
Jersey City, New Jersey
Jersey City is the seat of Hudson County, New Jersey, United States.Part of the New York metropolitan area, Jersey City lies between the Hudson River and Upper New York Bay across from Lower Manhattan and the Hackensack River and Newark Bay...

, where his son, Arthur, was president of the Union Traction Company
Union Traction Company
The Union Traction Company was a trolley line that ran from Hackensack through Carlstadt to Rutherford, New Jersey. The line was conceived by Delos E. Culver. Originally the line was to run from Hackensack to Kearny, New Jersey but the company became insolvent and was merged into other trolley...

. He died there in 1904.

Sources

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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