Thomas Updegraff

Who was Thomas Updegraff?

Thomas Updegraff was an attorney and five-term Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from northeastern Iowa. His two periods of service were separated by ten years out of Congress.

Updegraff, descendant of the German Op den Graeff family, was born in Tioga County, Pennsylvania. He attended the University of Notre Dame, then moved to Iowa.

He was the clerk of the district court of Clayton County, Iowa, from 1856 to 1860. After studying law, he was admitted to the bar in 1860 and commenced practice in McGregor, Iowa.

In 1878 he began to serve as a member of the Iowa House of Representatives. In November of the same year, he was elected as a Republican to the United States House of Representatives from Iowa's 3rd congressional district, which was then made up of the seven counties in Iowa's northeastern corner. Two years later, he was re-elected to a second term. One year later, the Iowa General Assembly reapportioned the congressional districts to accommodate the addition of two additional seats, placing Updegraff's home county in a reconfigured 4th congressional district. He won the Republican Party's nomination in 1882.