Carey, Thomas E., -1944

Carey, the discoverer of placer gold in Gold Run Gulch, Dakota Territory, was elected recorder of the mining district.

From the guide to the Gold Run Gulch first record book, 1876, (L. Tom Perry Special Collections)

Thomas E. Carey was born in Livingston, Montana, on October 15, 1882. The family later moved to Philipsburg. Carey filed on a homestead southwest of Philipsburg about 1907 and also leased land from the state beginning about 1903. In 1916 he went to work for the smelter in Anaconda, and served as president of the International Union of Mine, Mill and Smelter Workers local there. He moved to Helena in the early 1920s and worked as a janitor at Carroll College and as a laborer for the Northern Pacific Railway. In 1932 he was elected to the Montana Board of Railroad Commissioners and Public Service Commission. He served as chairman until 1937. In 1940 he was elected State Treasurer and served until his death in 1944.

In December 1935 Carey was arrested for alleged abuse of young boys. He was acquitted of the charge on May 21, 1935, partially due to his attorneys Lester Loble and Wellington Rankin's defense that the charge was brought at the behest of the Montana Power Company in an attempt to remove Carey from the Public Service Commission. A few legislators attempted impeachment proceedings, but no impeachment occurred.

From the description of Thomas E. Carey papers, 1901-1938. (Montana Historical Society Library). WorldCat record id: 649720608