Thomas+Moonlight


 * Thomas Moonlight **


 * Democrat**
 * Territorial Governor 1887-1889**

Thomas Moonlight was born of Scottish farmer parentage, in Forfarshire, Scotland, on November 10, 1833. He came to America when he was thirteen years old. After Moonlight turned twenty, enlisted in the United States Army and remained in the Army through the Civil War. His last post was Fort Laramie with the Eleventh Kansas Cavalry. After the war, he returned to Kansas and entered into politics. He served as collector of internal revenue and secretary of state. Later, Barber switched parties and made an unsuccessful bid for governor. He was appointed Territorial Governor of Wyoming by President Grover Cleveland in 1887. After his term, he served as minister to Bolivia from 1895 to 1897. Moonlight died in Leavenworth, Kansas on February 7, 1889.

He married Ellen Elizabeth Murry.

The [|Thomas Moonlight Collection]
Governor Thomas Moonlight’s correspondence reflects the issues one would expect a Wyoming Territorial Governor to monitor. Subject matter includes petitions for pardons, appointments, requisitions and extraditions, livestock, an addition to the penitentiary in Laramie, land laws and settlement, Indians, militia, game and fish matters, the university, post offices, and a Fourth of July celebration. Separate series include petitions and correspondence concerning the organization of Natrona County, and a petition for the organization of Sheridan County. Records dealing with the disposition of Fort Sanders military reservation land are also included.

The records from Governor Moonlight's term in office include:
 * General Records
 * Laramie Penitentiary Plans
 * Circulars - Agriculture and Railroads
 * Leasing of University Lands
 * Natrona County Organization
 * Office Inventories
 * Administrative Records
 * Correspondence
 * General Correspondence
 * Post Office Correspondence
 * Hopkins Estate Correspondence
 * Reports
 * Appointment Records
 * Proclamations
 * Petitions And Affidavits
 * Petitions for Pardons
 * Petition for Respite
 * Affidavit to Absence of A.H. Bright
 * Petition for the Organization of Sheridan County
 * Requisitions and Extraditions
 * Request
 * Rewards
 * Indian and Military Affairs
 * Disposition of Fort Sanders Land
 * Legislative Affairs

=Additional Resources=
 * [|Thomas Moonlight Papers], Manuscript Collection 449, Unit ID 40449, Kansas Historical Society. (accessed September 2015)
 * [|"Thomas Moonlight" memorial], FindAGrave.com (accessed September 2015)
 * [|"Thomas Moonlight,"] Kansas Guard Museum (accessed September 2015)
 * [|"General Thomas Moonlight,"] Civil War Days & Those Surnames, by Dennis Segelquist. (accessed September 2015)
 * [|"Thomas Moonlight"], Office of the Historian, US Department of State. (accessed September 2015)
 * [|"Thomas Moonlight,"] Angus Heritage.com (accessed September 2015)
 * [|"Moonlight, Gen. Thomas U.S.A. Col. of 11th Kansas Cav. U.S.A. not in uniform,"] photograph from LC-BH832- 544 [P&P] LOT 4192 (corresponding print), Brady-Handy Photograph Collection, Library of Congress. (accessed September 2015)