Thomas B. Kay
| Thomas B. Kay | |
|---|---|
Kay circa 1903
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| Oregon State Treasurer | |
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In office January 4, 1911– January 6, 1919 January 4, 1925– April 29, 1931 |
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| Preceded by |
George A. Steel Jefferson Myers |
| Succeeded by |
O. P. Hoff Rufus C. Holman |
| Oregon State Senator | |
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In office 1907 – 1911 |
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| Constituency | Marion County |
| Member of the Oregon House of Representatives | |
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In office 1903 – 1907 1921 – 1925 |
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| Constituency | Marion County |
| Personal details | |
| Born | February 28, 1864 Trenton, New Jersey |
| Died | April 29, 1931 (aged 67) Salem, Oregon |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Cora M. Wallace |
| Children | 3 |
| Alma mater | Baptist College |
| Occupation | Businessman |
Thomas Benjamin Kay (February 28, 1864 – April 29, 1931) was an American politician and businessman in the state of Oregon. A native of New Jersey, 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 and four terms as the Oregon State Treasurer, the longest of anyone in that office’s history.
Thomas Kay was born on February 28, 1864, in Trenton, New Jersey, to Thomas Lister and Ann (née Slingsbey) Kay. His father had already moved to Oregon before the younger Thomas was born. After the younger Thomas was born, his mother and the rest of the family immigrated to Oregon via the Isthmus of Panama route, arriving in 1864. 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). He then left college in 1883 and returned to working for the mill, but at the mill’s Portland 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. In 1895, he started working for his father’s new woolen mill in Salem as a salesperson. He also served for four years in the state militia.
In 1897, Kay traveled to New York City 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.
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