Pray, Charles Nelson, 1868-1963

Charles Pray was born in Potsdam, New York, on April 6, 1868. He attended Middlebury College for two years and later graduated from Chicago College of Law. Pray was admitted to the Montana bar in 1892 and began his Fort Benton, Montana, law practice in 1896. A successful lawyer, he was elected Choteau County Attorney in 1898. After serving four terms as County Attorney, Pray was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1906.

During his time in Congress, Pray authored and secured passage of many bills providing relief to Montana homesteaders, including the Three Year Homestead Act. Other notable bills authored by Pray include a measure for the establishment of a mine rescue service throughout the United States, and a bill to establish Glacier National Park. He served in the House until 1913, being defeated for reelection in the fall of 1912.

Pray then returned to a private practice in Great Falls, Montana, with his law partner, Warren Toole. After an unsuccessful 1916 run for the U.S. Senate, Calvin Coolidge appointed Pray judge of the U.S. District Court for Montana in 1924. He held this position until his retirement in 1957.

In 1910, Pray married his wife, Edith Wackerlin, daughter of Montana pioneer H. J. Wackerlin. The couple shared nearly 50 years of marriage until Edith's death in May of 1951. Charles Pray died in Great Falls on September 12, 1963.

From the guide to the Charles Nelson Pray Papers, 1878-1963, (Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library Archives and Special Collections)