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Created page with "{{Infobox officeholder | name=Lee Emmett Thomas | nationality=American | office= Mayor of Shreveport, Louisiana | party=Democratic Party..."
{{Infobox officeholder
| name=Lee Emmett Thomas
| nationality=[[United States|American]]
| office= [[Mayor]] of [[Shreveport]], [[Louisiana]]
| party=[[Democratic Party|Democrat]]
| term_start=1922
| term_end=1930
| preceded=[[John McWilliams Ford]]
| succeeded=J. G. Palmer
|office2=Louisiana State Representative for Caddo Parish
|term_start2=1908
|term_end2=1916
|preceded2=At-large members:<br>
W.H.B. Croon<br>
H.H. Huckaby<br>
Henry Hunsicker<br>
W. Winter
|succeeded2=At-large members:<br>
George Dimick<br>
James Stuart Douglas<br>
John McWilliams Ford<br/>
Perry Keith
|office3=Speaker of the Louisiana House of Representatives
|term_start3=1912
|term_end3=1916
|preceded3=H. Garland Dupré
|succeeded3=Hewitt Leonidas Bouanchaud
| birth_date=September 23, 1866
| birth_place=Marion, Union Parish, Louisiana
| death_date=February 16, 1935 (aged 68)
| death_place=Shreveport, Louisiana
| resting_place=Forest Park Cemetery in Shreveport
| occupation=[[Attorney at law (United States)|Attorney]]; [[Banker]]
| spouse=Florence Smith Thomas
| children=
| religion=[[Baptist]]
| alma_mater=Samford University<br>
Eastman Business College<br/>
[[University of Virginia]]
}}
'''Lee Emmett Thomas''' (September 23, 1866 – February 16, 1935) was an [[attorney]] and [[banker]] who served as the [[mayor]] of [[Shreveport]], [[Louisiana]], from 1922 to 1930. He was from 1912 to 1916 the Speaker of the Louisiana House of Representatives.
==Background==
Thomas was born in tiny Marion in Union Parish north of [[Ruston, Louisiana|Ruston]], a son of B. B. Thomas and the former of Susan S. George of Perry County, [[Alabama]]. Thomas was educated at the former Concord Institute in the community of Shiloh in Union Parish. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree from [[Baptist]]-affiliated Samford University, then known as Howard College in Marion, [[Alabama]], but since located in [[Birmingham, Alabama|Birmingham]], Alabama. Thomas also obtained a Master of Accounts degree, a 14-week course, from the defunct Eastman Business College in Poughkeepsie, [[New York]]. Thereafter for two years he kept the books in his father's mercantile business in Farmerville in Union Parish. In 1889, Thomas procured his law degree from the [[University of Virginia]] at Charlottesville, [[Virginia]].<ref name=lahist>{{cite web|url=https://www.lahistory.org/resources/dictionary-louisiana-biography/dictionary-louisiana-biography-t/|title=Thomas, Lee Emmett|publisher=Louisiana Historical Association: ''A Directory of Louisiana Biography'' (lahistory.org)|accessdate=October 11, 2019}}</ref><ref name=tbio>{{cite web|url=http://files.usgwarchives.org/la/caddo/bios/thomasle.txt|title=LeeEmmett Thomas|publisher=files.usgwarchives.org|accessdate=December 30, 2010}}</ref>
From 1889 to 1896, he practiced law in Farmerville,<ref name=tbio/> where he married the former Florence Smith. Thomas's biographical sketches in ''A Dictionary of Louisiana Biography''<ref name=lahist/> and ''The Chronicles of Shreveport'' does not indicate if the couple had children. In 1896, the Thomases came to Shreveport, where he continued in the practice of law. He was a member of the First [[Southern Baptist|Baptist]] Church of Shreveport.<ref name=tbio/> Thomas also served as president of the Shreveport [[Chamber of Commerce]] and was affiliated with several fraternal orders, including the Masonic lodge, the Shriners, and the Order of the Eastern Star, Knights Templar, and the Knights of Pythias. Thomas worked to establish the Shriner's Hospital for Children in Shreveport, the first of its kind in the [[United States]].<ref name=lahist/><ref>''A Dictionary of Louisiana Biography'' uses information for its biographical sketch on Mayor Thomas from Lilla McLure and J. Ed Howe, ''History of Shreveport and Shreveport Builders'' (1937) and Maude Hearn O'Pry, ''Chronicles of Shreveport'' (1928).</ref> Thomas was also the chairman of the board of the [[Alexandria, Louisiana|Alexandria]] orphanage, the Masonic Home for Children, established c. 1928.<ref name=tbio/>
==Public career==
In 1903, Thomas was appointed state banking commissioner by [[Governor]] William Wright Heard, who like Thomas was a Union Parish native. Thomas served as banking commissioner until 1906, when he formed Continental Bank and Trust Company, of which he served as president until 1917.<ref name=lahist/>
In 1908, Thomas, an active [[Democratic Party|Democrat]], was elected to the Louisiana House of Representatives. Reelected in 1912, he served his second term in the House as the Speaker. In his second term, he served with David B. Samuel, Perry Keith, and Joseph E. Johnston, Jr., no relation to the [[Confederate States of America|Confederate]] general [[Joseph E. Johnston]]. One of his at-large successors in the House, [[John McWilliams Ford]], was also Thomas' predecessor as mayor. Ford also served from 1930 until his death in 1965 as the municipal finance commissioner, a position which no longer exists.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.legis.state.la.us/members/h1812-2012.pdf|title=Membership in the Louisiana House of Representatives, 1812–2012|publisher=legis.state.la.us|accessdate=December 29, 2010}}</ref>
From 1916–1920, Thomas was the chairman of the Louisiana Democratic Central Committee, an influential body in a one-party state at the time. He also served on the [[Democratic National Committee]] through his role as the party's Louisiana national committeeman. Thomas was chairman of the Louisiana Tax Commission from 1917 to 1919 under Governor Ruffin G. Pleasant, of Shreveport and like Heard and Thomas a Union Parish native. Thomas was again the state banking commissioner from 1919 to 1922,<ref name=tbio/> under the Pleasant and successor John M. Parker administrations. In 1924, Thomas ran unsuccessfully for the [[United States Senate]], losing the Democratic nomination to [[incumbent]] Joseph Ransdell].<ref name=lahist/> Ransdell polled 104,312 votes (54.9 percent) to Thomas' 85,547 ballots (45.1 percent).<ref>State of Louisiana, Louisiana Secretary of State, U.S. Senate election returns, 1924.</ref> In 1930, Ransdell was unseated in the primary by Governor [[Huey Long|Huey Pierce Long, Jr.]], who did not immediately take his seat in the chamber.
===Shreveport mayor===
As the Shreveport mayor for two four-year terms, Thomas promoted the construction of the Shreveport Municipal Auditorium,<ref name=lahist/> originally a memorial to [[World War I]] service personnel, which was restored in 1994.<ref>[[Eric Brock]], "Municipal Auditorium Now Being Restored," ''The Shreveport Times,'' September 17, 1994.</ref> From 1948 to 1960, the auditorium staged the Louisiana Hayride [[Country music]] program. [[Elvis Presley]] performed at the auditorium on several occasions between 1954 and 1956. While Thomas was mayor, W. K. Henderson launched KWKH [[Radio]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.caddohistory.com/louisiana_hayride.html|title=LouisianaHayride|publisher=caddohistory.com|accessdate=December 24, 2010}}</ref> Thomas was active too in building the viaduct on Market Street, the Cross Lake Reservoir (the city's principal water supply), and the construction of ten parks and playgrounds.Thomas worked for the purchase of Barksdale Field.<ref name=lahist/>
Thomas died in Shreveport at the age of sixty-eight and is interred there at Forest Park Cemetery.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/thomas6.html#1WG0OKAD9|title=Index to Politicians: Thomas, K to N|publisher=politicalgraveyard.com|accessdate=December 29, 2010}}</ref>
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Lee Emmett}}
[[Category:Louisiana People]]
[[Category:Attorneys]]
[[Category:Business People]]
[[Category:Politicians]]
[[Category:Mayors]]
[[Category:Democrats]]
[[Category:Southern Baptists]]
| name=Lee Emmett Thomas
| nationality=[[United States|American]]
| office= [[Mayor]] of [[Shreveport]], [[Louisiana]]
| party=[[Democratic Party|Democrat]]
| term_start=1922
| term_end=1930
| preceded=[[John McWilliams Ford]]
| succeeded=J. G. Palmer
|office2=Louisiana State Representative for Caddo Parish
|term_start2=1908
|term_end2=1916
|preceded2=At-large members:<br>
W.H.B. Croon<br>
H.H. Huckaby<br>
Henry Hunsicker<br>
W. Winter
|succeeded2=At-large members:<br>
George Dimick<br>
James Stuart Douglas<br>
John McWilliams Ford<br/>
Perry Keith
|office3=Speaker of the Louisiana House of Representatives
|term_start3=1912
|term_end3=1916
|preceded3=H. Garland Dupré
|succeeded3=Hewitt Leonidas Bouanchaud
| birth_date=September 23, 1866
| birth_place=Marion, Union Parish, Louisiana
| death_date=February 16, 1935 (aged 68)
| death_place=Shreveport, Louisiana
| resting_place=Forest Park Cemetery in Shreveport
| occupation=[[Attorney at law (United States)|Attorney]]; [[Banker]]
| spouse=Florence Smith Thomas
| children=
| religion=[[Baptist]]
| alma_mater=Samford University<br>
Eastman Business College<br/>
[[University of Virginia]]
}}
'''Lee Emmett Thomas''' (September 23, 1866 – February 16, 1935) was an [[attorney]] and [[banker]] who served as the [[mayor]] of [[Shreveport]], [[Louisiana]], from 1922 to 1930. He was from 1912 to 1916 the Speaker of the Louisiana House of Representatives.
==Background==
Thomas was born in tiny Marion in Union Parish north of [[Ruston, Louisiana|Ruston]], a son of B. B. Thomas and the former of Susan S. George of Perry County, [[Alabama]]. Thomas was educated at the former Concord Institute in the community of Shiloh in Union Parish. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree from [[Baptist]]-affiliated Samford University, then known as Howard College in Marion, [[Alabama]], but since located in [[Birmingham, Alabama|Birmingham]], Alabama. Thomas also obtained a Master of Accounts degree, a 14-week course, from the defunct Eastman Business College in Poughkeepsie, [[New York]]. Thereafter for two years he kept the books in his father's mercantile business in Farmerville in Union Parish. In 1889, Thomas procured his law degree from the [[University of Virginia]] at Charlottesville, [[Virginia]].<ref name=lahist>{{cite web|url=https://www.lahistory.org/resources/dictionary-louisiana-biography/dictionary-louisiana-biography-t/|title=Thomas, Lee Emmett|publisher=Louisiana Historical Association: ''A Directory of Louisiana Biography'' (lahistory.org)|accessdate=October 11, 2019}}</ref><ref name=tbio>{{cite web|url=http://files.usgwarchives.org/la/caddo/bios/thomasle.txt|title=LeeEmmett Thomas|publisher=files.usgwarchives.org|accessdate=December 30, 2010}}</ref>
From 1889 to 1896, he practiced law in Farmerville,<ref name=tbio/> where he married the former Florence Smith. Thomas's biographical sketches in ''A Dictionary of Louisiana Biography''<ref name=lahist/> and ''The Chronicles of Shreveport'' does not indicate if the couple had children. In 1896, the Thomases came to Shreveport, where he continued in the practice of law. He was a member of the First [[Southern Baptist|Baptist]] Church of Shreveport.<ref name=tbio/> Thomas also served as president of the Shreveport [[Chamber of Commerce]] and was affiliated with several fraternal orders, including the Masonic lodge, the Shriners, and the Order of the Eastern Star, Knights Templar, and the Knights of Pythias. Thomas worked to establish the Shriner's Hospital for Children in Shreveport, the first of its kind in the [[United States]].<ref name=lahist/><ref>''A Dictionary of Louisiana Biography'' uses information for its biographical sketch on Mayor Thomas from Lilla McLure and J. Ed Howe, ''History of Shreveport and Shreveport Builders'' (1937) and Maude Hearn O'Pry, ''Chronicles of Shreveport'' (1928).</ref> Thomas was also the chairman of the board of the [[Alexandria, Louisiana|Alexandria]] orphanage, the Masonic Home for Children, established c. 1928.<ref name=tbio/>
==Public career==
In 1903, Thomas was appointed state banking commissioner by [[Governor]] William Wright Heard, who like Thomas was a Union Parish native. Thomas served as banking commissioner until 1906, when he formed Continental Bank and Trust Company, of which he served as president until 1917.<ref name=lahist/>
In 1908, Thomas, an active [[Democratic Party|Democrat]], was elected to the Louisiana House of Representatives. Reelected in 1912, he served his second term in the House as the Speaker. In his second term, he served with David B. Samuel, Perry Keith, and Joseph E. Johnston, Jr., no relation to the [[Confederate States of America|Confederate]] general [[Joseph E. Johnston]]. One of his at-large successors in the House, [[John McWilliams Ford]], was also Thomas' predecessor as mayor. Ford also served from 1930 until his death in 1965 as the municipal finance commissioner, a position which no longer exists.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.legis.state.la.us/members/h1812-2012.pdf|title=Membership in the Louisiana House of Representatives, 1812–2012|publisher=legis.state.la.us|accessdate=December 29, 2010}}</ref>
From 1916–1920, Thomas was the chairman of the Louisiana Democratic Central Committee, an influential body in a one-party state at the time. He also served on the [[Democratic National Committee]] through his role as the party's Louisiana national committeeman. Thomas was chairman of the Louisiana Tax Commission from 1917 to 1919 under Governor Ruffin G. Pleasant, of Shreveport and like Heard and Thomas a Union Parish native. Thomas was again the state banking commissioner from 1919 to 1922,<ref name=tbio/> under the Pleasant and successor John M. Parker administrations. In 1924, Thomas ran unsuccessfully for the [[United States Senate]], losing the Democratic nomination to [[incumbent]] Joseph Ransdell].<ref name=lahist/> Ransdell polled 104,312 votes (54.9 percent) to Thomas' 85,547 ballots (45.1 percent).<ref>State of Louisiana, Louisiana Secretary of State, U.S. Senate election returns, 1924.</ref> In 1930, Ransdell was unseated in the primary by Governor [[Huey Long|Huey Pierce Long, Jr.]], who did not immediately take his seat in the chamber.
===Shreveport mayor===
As the Shreveport mayor for two four-year terms, Thomas promoted the construction of the Shreveport Municipal Auditorium,<ref name=lahist/> originally a memorial to [[World War I]] service personnel, which was restored in 1994.<ref>[[Eric Brock]], "Municipal Auditorium Now Being Restored," ''The Shreveport Times,'' September 17, 1994.</ref> From 1948 to 1960, the auditorium staged the Louisiana Hayride [[Country music]] program. [[Elvis Presley]] performed at the auditorium on several occasions between 1954 and 1956. While Thomas was mayor, W. K. Henderson launched KWKH [[Radio]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.caddohistory.com/louisiana_hayride.html|title=LouisianaHayride|publisher=caddohistory.com|accessdate=December 24, 2010}}</ref> Thomas was active too in building the viaduct on Market Street, the Cross Lake Reservoir (the city's principal water supply), and the construction of ten parks and playgrounds.Thomas worked for the purchase of Barksdale Field.<ref name=lahist/>
Thomas died in Shreveport at the age of sixty-eight and is interred there at Forest Park Cemetery.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/thomas6.html#1WG0OKAD9|title=Index to Politicians: Thomas, K to N|publisher=politicalgraveyard.com|accessdate=December 29, 2010}}</ref>
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Lee Emmett}}
[[Category:Louisiana People]]
[[Category:Attorneys]]
[[Category:Business People]]
[[Category:Politicians]]
[[Category:Mayors]]
[[Category:Democrats]]
[[Category:Southern Baptists]]