Thomas Settle (judge)

For other persons of the same name, see Thomas Settle.

Thomas Settle

Thomas Settle (1831-1888) was an American judge and politician in North Carolina. Settle was born in Rockingham County, North Carolina and served in the North Carolina General Assembly before and after the American Civil War. His father was also named Thomas Settle, as was his son, Thomas Settle. Both his father and his son served in the U.S. Congress.

In 1858–1859, Settle served as Speaker of the North Carolina House of Commons, like his father before him. Before the outbreak of the Civil War, Settle was a pro-Union, pro-Stephen A. Douglas Democrat. During the Civil War, Settle served in the Confederate army.

In 1865–1866, Settle, who became one of the founders of the state's Republican party, served as Speaker of the North Carolina Senate. From 1868 to 1871, Settle served as an Associate Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court, before he was appointed U.S. Minister to Peru. In 1872, he returned to the state supreme court, and he presided over the 1872 Republican National Convention. In 1876, he was the unsuccessful Republican candidate for Governor of North Carolina, losing to former Governor Zebulon B. Vance. President Ulysses S. Grant appointed Settle to a federal judgeship in Florida in 1877, which he held until his death in 1888.