Senator Thomas Benton Catron

Thomas Benton Catron served as a Senator from New Mexico in the United States Congress from 1895 to 1917. A member of the Republican Party, Thomas Benton Catron contributed to the legislative process during 2 terms in office.

Thomas Benton Catron’s service in Congress occurred during a significant period in American history. As a member of the Senate, Thomas Benton Catron participated in the democratic process and represented the interests of constituents.

Thomas Benton Catron (October 6, 1840 – May 15, 1921) was an American politician and lawyer who was influential in the establishment of the U.S. state of New Mexico, and served as one of its first United States Senators. Catron has defenders but enemies have described him as a “greedy land grabber and ruthless politico.” Catron was a native of Missouri and a graduate of the University of Missouri. He was a Confederate States Army veteran of the American Civil War. After the war, he moved to New Mexico Territory, where he learned Spanish, studied law, and attained admission to the bar. A Republican even though most Southerners were Democrats, Catron soon made his mark in both law and politics, including serving as a district attorney, territorial attorney general (1869–1872), and United States Attorney for New Mexico (1872–1878). He later served on the New Mexico Territorial Council (1884, 1888, 1889), as the Territorial Delegate to Congress (1895–1897), President of the New Mexico Bar Association (1895), and Mayor of Santa Fe (1906–1908). In addition to practicing law Catron was a member of the Santa Fe Ring of prominent attorneys, politicians and land speculators. He used his knowledge of New Mexico’s Spanish and Mexican land grants to acquire land from Hispanic settlers unfamiliar with Anglo law and the English language and often not even aware that their ownership of the land where they lived was being challenged. He accumulated title to more than 3,000,000 acres (12,000 km2), possibly making him the largest landholder in the United States. When New Mexico achieved statehood, the legislature elected Catron one of the state’s first U.S. Senators. He served from 1912 to 1916, and was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1916. He died in Santa Fe, and was buried in Santa Fe’s Fairview Cemetery.