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Created page with "{{Infobox officeholder |name=Zales Nelson Ecton, Sr. |image=Zales Ecton of MT.jpg |office=United States Senator for Montana |term_start=January 3, 1947 |term_end= Janu..."
{{Infobox officeholder
|name=Zales Nelson Ecton, Sr.
|image=Zales Ecton of MT.jpg
|office=[[United States Senator]] for [[Montana]]
|term_start=January 3, 1947
|term_end= January 3, 1953
|preceded=[[Burton K. Wheeler]]
|succeeded=[[Mike Mansfield]]
|office2=Montana State Senator
|term_start2=1937
|term_end2=1946
|office3=Montana State Representative
|term_start3=1933
|term_end3=1937
|birth_date=April 1, 1898
|birth_place=Weldon, Decatur County<br>
[[Iowa]]
|death_date=March 3, 1961 (aged 62)
|death_place=Bozeman, Montana
|resting_place=Sunset Hills Cemetery in Bozeman
|nationality=[[United States|American]]
|party=[[Republican Party|Republican]]
|spouse=Vera B. Harris Ecton (married 1921-1961, his death)
|children=Eloise Ecton<br>
(full name unavailable)<br>
Zales Ecton, Jr. (both deceased)
|alma_mater=Montana State University at Bozeman
[[University of Chicago]]
|occupation=Rancher
|branch=[[United States Army]]<br>
(Student Army Training Corps)
|battles=[[World War I]]
|service_years=1917-1918}}
'''Zales Nelson Ecton''' (April 1, 1898 – March 3, 1961) was a [[Republican Party|Republican]] [[United States Senator]] for a single term from 1947 to 1953 for [[Montana]].<ref name=findagrave/>
==Background==
Ecton was born in [[rural]] Weldon in Decatur County in southern [[Iowa]], to Aaron Smith Ecton (1863-1937) and the former Mary Delphia McVay (1868-1953).<ref name=Tribune /> In 1907, he moved with his family to Gallatin County, Montana.<ref name=ectonpapers>Kim Allen Scott, “Historical Note.” Zales N. Ecton Papers, 1947-1953, Montana State University, Special Collections and Archival Informatics, 2009.</ref> Ecton attended public schools and enrolled at Montana State University (then College) in Bozeman in Gallatin County. When the country entered [[World War I]], Ecton volunteered for training in the Student Army Training Corps.<ref name=sna>Ecton, Zales N. (Zales Nelson), 1898-1961 - Maybe-Same - Social Networks and Archival Context (snaccooperative.org), accessed July 30, 2021.</ref>
After the war. je He attended the [[University of Chicago]] law school, but it is unclear if he graduated from law school. He did not engage in the practice law.<ref name=Bio>{{cite web|url=https://bioguideretro.congress.gov/Home/MemberDetails?memIndex=e000037|title=Ecton, Zales Nelson|publisher=''The Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress - Retro Member|accessdate=July 30, 2021}}<ref> but in 1921 became a grain [[farmer]] and a [[livestock]] rancher near Amsterdam in Gallatin County.<ref name={{cite web|url=https://www.ourcampaigns.com/CandidateDetail.html?CandidateID=43829|title=Zales N. Ecton
publisher=Our Campaigns|access date=July 30, 2021}}</ref>
In 1921, Ecton married the former Vera B. Harris (1898-1980). The couple had two children, both deceased, Eloise and Zales Ecton, Jr. (1926-2006).<ref name=Tribune>“Former U.S. Senator Zales Ecton, 62, Dies,” ''Great Falls Tribune,'' March 4, 1961.</ref>
==Political career==
In 1932, Ecton was elected in a heavily Democratic year and served for four years in the Montana House of Representatives. He moved up to the state Senate, with duties from 1936 to 1946.<ref name=Tribune/> In 1946, he ran for the Senate seat being vacated by [[isolationist]] [[Democratic Party|Democrat]] [[Burton K. Wheeler]], who had lost the Democratic primary to Montana Supreme Court Justice Leif Erickson. Ecton beat Erickson, 54 to 46 percent. He served in the Senate for one term, having been narrowly defeated for reelection in 1952 by [[U.S. Representative]] [[Mike Mansfield]], a Democratic college professor from Great Falls who was the longest-serving Senate Majority Leader from 1961 to 1977.<ref name=Gazette>Billings Gazette Archives. “U.S. Sen. Zales Ecton.” ''The Billings Gazette,'' September 10, 2015. https://billingsgazette.com/u-s-sen-zales-ecton/image_f73a3ac2-c121-50d2-abc7-638032947042.html. </ref> Mansfield successfully bucked the Republican tide at the top of the [[Dwight Eisenhower|Eisenhower]], who won in Montana in both 1952 and 1956.
While in the Senate, Ecton was assigned to the Senate Appropriations Committee and the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs. He also served on the Post Office and Public Lands committees.<ref name=sna/>
I
==Later years==
Ecton resumed his ranching operation until his death in Bozeman a month before his 63rd birthday. He, his wife, and parents are interred there at Sunset Hills Cemetery. His son is buried in [[Idaho]].<ref>Zales Nelson Ecton (1898-1961) - Find A Grave Memorial, accessed July 31, 2021.</ref> Ecton was the first popularly elected Republican senator for Montana since adoption of the [[17th Amendment]] to the [[United States Constitution]]. A second Republican, [[Conrad Burns]], was not elected to the Senate from Montana until 1988. He served from 1989 to 2007, having been defeated in his bid for a fourth term by the Democrat organic farmer and State Senate President [[Jon Tester]].
==References==
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ecton, Zales}}
[[Category:Montana]]
[[Category:Iowa]]
[[Category:Farmers]]
[[Category:Ranchers]]
[[Category:Former United States Senators]]
[[Category:State Senators]]
[[Category:State Representatives]]
[[Category:Republicans]]
[[Category:World War I]]
|name=Zales Nelson Ecton, Sr.
|image=Zales Ecton of MT.jpg
|office=[[United States Senator]] for [[Montana]]
|term_start=January 3, 1947
|term_end= January 3, 1953
|preceded=[[Burton K. Wheeler]]
|succeeded=[[Mike Mansfield]]
|office2=Montana State Senator
|term_start2=1937
|term_end2=1946
|office3=Montana State Representative
|term_start3=1933
|term_end3=1937
|birth_date=April 1, 1898
|birth_place=Weldon, Decatur County<br>
[[Iowa]]
|death_date=March 3, 1961 (aged 62)
|death_place=Bozeman, Montana
|resting_place=Sunset Hills Cemetery in Bozeman
|nationality=[[United States|American]]
|party=[[Republican Party|Republican]]
|spouse=Vera B. Harris Ecton (married 1921-1961, his death)
|children=Eloise Ecton<br>
(full name unavailable)<br>
Zales Ecton, Jr. (both deceased)
|alma_mater=Montana State University at Bozeman
[[University of Chicago]]
|occupation=Rancher
|branch=[[United States Army]]<br>
(Student Army Training Corps)
|battles=[[World War I]]
|service_years=1917-1918}}
'''Zales Nelson Ecton''' (April 1, 1898 – March 3, 1961) was a [[Republican Party|Republican]] [[United States Senator]] for a single term from 1947 to 1953 for [[Montana]].<ref name=findagrave/>
==Background==
Ecton was born in [[rural]] Weldon in Decatur County in southern [[Iowa]], to Aaron Smith Ecton (1863-1937) and the former Mary Delphia McVay (1868-1953).<ref name=Tribune /> In 1907, he moved with his family to Gallatin County, Montana.<ref name=ectonpapers>Kim Allen Scott, “Historical Note.” Zales N. Ecton Papers, 1947-1953, Montana State University, Special Collections and Archival Informatics, 2009.</ref> Ecton attended public schools and enrolled at Montana State University (then College) in Bozeman in Gallatin County. When the country entered [[World War I]], Ecton volunteered for training in the Student Army Training Corps.<ref name=sna>Ecton, Zales N. (Zales Nelson), 1898-1961 - Maybe-Same - Social Networks and Archival Context (snaccooperative.org), accessed July 30, 2021.</ref>
After the war. je He attended the [[University of Chicago]] law school, but it is unclear if he graduated from law school. He did not engage in the practice law.<ref name=Bio>{{cite web|url=https://bioguideretro.congress.gov/Home/MemberDetails?memIndex=e000037|title=Ecton, Zales Nelson|publisher=''The Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress - Retro Member|accessdate=July 30, 2021}}<ref> but in 1921 became a grain [[farmer]] and a [[livestock]] rancher near Amsterdam in Gallatin County.<ref name={{cite web|url=https://www.ourcampaigns.com/CandidateDetail.html?CandidateID=43829|title=Zales N. Ecton
publisher=Our Campaigns|access date=July 30, 2021}}</ref>
In 1921, Ecton married the former Vera B. Harris (1898-1980). The couple had two children, both deceased, Eloise and Zales Ecton, Jr. (1926-2006).<ref name=Tribune>“Former U.S. Senator Zales Ecton, 62, Dies,” ''Great Falls Tribune,'' March 4, 1961.</ref>
==Political career==
In 1932, Ecton was elected in a heavily Democratic year and served for four years in the Montana House of Representatives. He moved up to the state Senate, with duties from 1936 to 1946.<ref name=Tribune/> In 1946, he ran for the Senate seat being vacated by [[isolationist]] [[Democratic Party|Democrat]] [[Burton K. Wheeler]], who had lost the Democratic primary to Montana Supreme Court Justice Leif Erickson. Ecton beat Erickson, 54 to 46 percent. He served in the Senate for one term, having been narrowly defeated for reelection in 1952 by [[U.S. Representative]] [[Mike Mansfield]], a Democratic college professor from Great Falls who was the longest-serving Senate Majority Leader from 1961 to 1977.<ref name=Gazette>Billings Gazette Archives. “U.S. Sen. Zales Ecton.” ''The Billings Gazette,'' September 10, 2015. https://billingsgazette.com/u-s-sen-zales-ecton/image_f73a3ac2-c121-50d2-abc7-638032947042.html. </ref> Mansfield successfully bucked the Republican tide at the top of the [[Dwight Eisenhower|Eisenhower]], who won in Montana in both 1952 and 1956.
While in the Senate, Ecton was assigned to the Senate Appropriations Committee and the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs. He also served on the Post Office and Public Lands committees.<ref name=sna/>
I
==Later years==
Ecton resumed his ranching operation until his death in Bozeman a month before his 63rd birthday. He, his wife, and parents are interred there at Sunset Hills Cemetery. His son is buried in [[Idaho]].<ref>Zales Nelson Ecton (1898-1961) - Find A Grave Memorial, accessed July 31, 2021.</ref> Ecton was the first popularly elected Republican senator for Montana since adoption of the [[17th Amendment]] to the [[United States Constitution]]. A second Republican, [[Conrad Burns]], was not elected to the Senate from Montana until 1988. He served from 1989 to 2007, having been defeated in his bid for a fourth term by the Democrat organic farmer and State Senate President [[Jon Tester]].
==References==
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ecton, Zales}}
[[Category:Montana]]
[[Category:Iowa]]
[[Category:Farmers]]
[[Category:Ranchers]]
[[Category:Former United States Senators]]
[[Category:State Senators]]
[[Category:State Representatives]]
[[Category:Republicans]]
[[Category:World War I]]