Thomas B. Kay

Thomas Kay was born on February 28, 1864, in Trenton, New Jersey, to Thomas Lister and Ann (née Slingsbey) Kay.[1] His father had already moved to Oregon before the younger Thomas was born.[2] 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.[3] The whole family settled in Brownsville where the elder Thomas was a partner in a woolen mill.[3]

The younger Thomas Kay grew up in Brownsville and attended the local schools.[1] When he was nine years old he started working at his father's mill as a spooler, and remained until age 14.[3] Kay then moved to McMinnville and spent three years studying at the Baptist College (now Linfield College).[3] He then left college in 1883 and returned to working for the mill, but at the mill's Portland store.[3]

Kay returned to McMinnville in 1884 where started working in the apparel business, forming the partnership of Bishop & Kay.[3] Bishop left the partnership after four years and the company became Kay & Todd.[3] Kay was married in McMinnville on January 15, 1888, to Cora M. Wallace, and they had three children.[3][4] In 1895, he started working for his father's new woolen mill in Salem as a salesperson.[2][3] He also served for four years in the state militia.[5]

In 1897, Kay traveled to New York City for the mill, and returned the next year.[3] 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.[3] 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.[1][2]

Kay started his political career in local politics in McMinnville where he served on the city council and school board.[1] In 1902, he was elected to the Oregon House of Representatives as a Republican to a two-year term.[6] He represented district 1 that included Marion County, and was the chairman of the ways and means committee.[1][6] Kay was re-elected to a second term in the house in 1904 and served through the 1905 legislative session.[7] During the 1905 session he lost out on being Speaker of the House by a single vote to A. L. Mills.[1] In 1906, Kay was elected to a four-year term in the Oregon State Senate.[8] He again represented district 1 as a Republican, and served through the 1909 special session of the Oregon Legislative Assembly.[9]

Kay did not run for re-election to the Senate in 1910, and instead was the Republican nominee for Oregon State Treasurer.[5] He won the November election for a four-year term and took office on January 4, 1911.[10] After re-election in 1914, he served a second full-term, leaving office on January 6, 1919.[10] He was at times mentioned as a candidate for governor as well as the United States Senate.[1]

He returned to state politics in 1920 and was elected back to the Oregon House, again representing district 1.[11] Kay served his full two-year term, won re-election in 1922, and served through the 1923 legislative session.[12] In 1924, he was again elected as state treasurer and took office on January 4, 1925.[13] Kay won re-election to a fourth term in the office in 1928 and served until his death in office in 1931.[13] His 14 years in the office are the longest of any treasurer in Oregon history.[13]

Kay was a member of several fraternal societies including the Masons as a member of the Knights Templar,[5] the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, Salem Commercial Club, and the Woodmen of the World.[1][3] Additionally, he was on the board of directors of the YMCA, the Illihee Club, the Portland Manufacturers' Association, and at Willamette University in Salem.[1][3] He also served as director of Oregon's chamber of commerce and president of the state's board of trade.[1] Thomas Benjamin Kay died on April 29, 1931, at the age of 67.[4]