Thomas J. Clunie
Thomas Jefferson Clunie was an American lawyer and politician who served one term as a U.S. Representative from California from 1889 to 1891.
Clunie was born in St. John's, Newfoundland on March 25, 1852, while his parents were on a visit there from Massachusetts. He moved with his parents to California in 1854, then to Maine, and then back to California in 1861. He attended public schools in Sacramento, and upon graduation studied law under the tutelage of a Harvard College graduate. He was admitted to the bar in 1868, before the age of majority, under a special act of the legislature. He began his law practice in Sacramento in 1870.
Political career
Clunie served as a member of the California State Assembly from 1875 to 1877, one of three members from a district based in Sacramento County. At just 23 years old, he was the second-youngest member of the Legislature, behind James G. Maguire. Clunie served as delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1884. He served in the State Senate from 1887 to 1889. He served in the state militia, commanding the 4th Brigade, National Guard of California, before he retired as brigadier general.
Clunie was elected as a Democrat to the Fifty-first Congress. He served from March 4, 1889 to March 3, 1891. He was unsuccessful running for reelection in 1890 to the Fifty-second Congress. He resumed the practice of his profession.
Death
Clunie died in San Francisco, California, on June 30, 1903. He was interred in the Sacramento Historic City Cemetery.