Thomas J. Halsey

Thomas Jefferson Halsey (May 4, 1863 – March 17, 1951) was an American politician. He was a member of the United States House of Representatives from Missouri.

Halsey was born on May 4, 1863, in Dover, New Jersey, to T. J. Halsey and Sarah Burt Halsey.^[1] He was presumably named for President Thomas Jefferson.^[2] In 1878, he and his family moved onto a grain farm near Holden, Missouri. He was educated at public and private schools, and studied at the University of Missouri and the State Normal School.^[3] He worked as an educator between 1880 and 1881, and as a merchant in 1882.^[4]

A Republican, Halsey was a member of the Missouri Republican Committee from 1896 to 1898, and a delegate to the Missouri Republican Convention in 1896, 1908, and 1912. From 1902 to 1904, he served as mayor of Holden; he moved to Sedalia after serving as mayor, where he worked as a businessman. Between 1906 and 1910, he was a member of the Missouri State Roads Commission. He lived in Glendale, California in 1910, then returned, after which he joined the Holden Board of Education, which he worked as until 1912. From 1928 to 1932, he was a member of the State Normal School board of regents.^[3] A candidate from Missouri's 6th congressional district, he served in the United States House of Representatives from March 4, 1929, to March 3, 1931.^[4] Congress was the only elected office he ever held.^[5] As a Congressman, he was noted for his agricultural policy, with him conferencing with the United States Department of Agriculture.^[6] His views skewed toward the benefit of consumers, such as in 1929, when he voted against an agricultural tariff,^[7] and in 1930, when he investigated margarine manufacturers.^[8]

After serving in Congress, Halsey resumed his work as a businessman, in Holden. He died on March 17, 1951, aged 87, in Westfield, New Jersey,^[4] where he had lived with his son since 1948.^[9] He is buried at the Holden Cemetery.^[4]