Thomas T. Minor

Thomas Taylor Minor
15th Mayor of Seattle
In office August 1, 1887 – July 30, 1888
Preceded by	William H. Shoudy
Succeeded by	Robert Moran
Personal details
Born	(1844-02-20)February 20, 1844 Manipay, British Ceylon
Died	December 2, 1889(1889-12-02) (aged 45) Camano Island, Washington, United States
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Sarah Montgomery
Children	Elizabeth Montgomery Minor Judith Strong Minor
Parent(s)	Eastman Strong Minor Judith Manchester Taylor
Alma mater	Yale School of Medicine
Occupation	Physician, Mayor of Seattle, Washington and Port Townsend, Washington and founder of the Seattle, Lake Shore and Eastern Railroad.

Thomas T. Minor (February 20, 1844 – December 2, 1889) was a

In July 1851, Minor and his family returned to the United States and settled in New Haven, Connecticut. Thomas T. Minor attended the local New Haven school.

His half brother was Dr.

Education and war years

In 1861, when he was 17, he enlisted in the Union Army as a private in Company G,

Minor married Sarah Montgomery on August 20, 1872, in Oregon. Sarah (born May 21, 1840, in Pennsylvania; died June 11, 1931, in Seattle) was the daughter of William Montgomery and Eliza Moorhead. Thomas and Sarah were the parents of two daughters:

• Elizabeth Montgomery Minor, born on May 14, 1874, in Port Townsend, Washington; died November 24, 1958, in Seattle. She married on January 2, 1900, at Seattle's
  Sir John Pelly, 1st Baronet
  , Pelly was the British vice-consul (later consul) to Seattle. He died on August 10, 1938, in Seattle.
• Judith Strong Minor (born December 2, 1876, Port Townsend; died July 19, 1959, Philadelphia). On April 15, 1909, in Seattle, she married Lyman Roswell Colt (born January 5, 1868, at Orange, New Jersey; died January 9, 1927, at Winter Haven, Florida). Colt was the son of Mary Beekman Borrows and Morgan Gibbs Colt, who was the son of New Jersey businessman Roswell L. Colt (1779–1856) and first cousin of gunmaker Samuel Colt (1814–1862).^[9] Lyman Colt had lived in Alaska and the Yukon and was one of Jack London's acquaintances in Dawson City during the Klondike Gold Rush. He later raised cattle at his small ranch at Chelan in Washington state.

Politics

In 1868, Minor moved from Nebraska to Port Townsend, where he was an owner and partner in the Marine Hospital. In 1880, he was elected mayor of Port Townsend; he was reelected the following year.

In 1883, he moved to Seattle and joined the Chamber of Commerce. On July 11, 1887 he was elected mayor of Seattle by a substantial majority.

He was active in the territorial and national Republican Party.

Death

He died, along with his friend George Morris Haller,^[10] and Haller's brother-in-law Lewis Cox, on or about December 2, 1889, apparently when their canoe overturned in Saratoga Passage near Camano Island. Minor's body was never recovered. The city of Seattle held a memorial service and a procession on Sunday, December 15, 1899.

Descendants

• Thomas Pelly^[11] Republican politician for many years United States Congressman.
• Charles Moriarty, Jr. (1928–1999), Washington State Representative 1957–1959, Washington State Senator 1959–1966.
  political families
  in the United States.

Honors

The names of Seattle's Minor Avenue^[13] and T. T. Minor Elementary School both honor Mayor Thomas Minor.

Notes