Thomas Bell Love

Thomas Bell Love
1918 Harris & Ewing portrait of Love
Member of the Texas House of Representatives from the 37th district
In office January 13, 1903 – August 31, 1907 Serving with George B. Griggs Curtis Hancock Joseph Sale Strother
Preceded by	Multi-member district
Succeeded by	Multi-member district
Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives
In office January 8, 1907 – August 31, 1907
Preceded by	Francis William Seabury
Succeeded by	Austin Milton Kennedy
Member of the Texas Senate from the 11th district
In office January 11, 1927 – January 13, 1931
Preceded by	John Davis
Succeeded by	George Clark Purl
Texas Insurance Commissioner
In office 1907–1910
Preceded by	Robert Teague Milner
United States Assistant Secretary of the Treasury
In office December 15, 1917 – January 31, 1919
Preceded by	Russell Cornell Leffingwell
Succeeded by	Albert Rathbone
Personal details
Born	(1870-06-23)June 23, 1870 Webster County, Missouri, US
Died	September 17, 1948(1948-09-17) (aged 78) Dallas, Texas, US
Party	Democratic
Occupation	Politician, lawyer

Thomas Bell Love (June 23, 1870 – September 17, 1948) was an American politician and lawyer. A Democrat, he was a member of both branches of the Texas Legislature, including a term as Speaker of the Texas House. He later was United States Assistant Secretary of the Treasury.

Early life and education

Love was born on June 23, 1870, in Webster County, Missouri, the son of Thomas Calvin Love and Sarah Jane (née Rodgers) Love. Educated at local public schools, he graduated from Drury University in 1891, with a Bachelor of Science. In 1919, he received a law degree from the University of Virginia.

Career

Early law career

While in college, Love read law and was admitted to the bar, after which he began practicing in Springfield, with specialty as an insurance lawyer. From 1892 to 1894, he served as its city attorney, and at one point was a member of a hospital's board of managers.

In 1899, Love moved to Dallas, where he continued practicing law. Also an insurance executive, he was vice-president of the International Travelers Assurance Company, consul and vice-president of the Southwestern Life Insurance Company, and president of the Western Indemnity Company. He later lived in Lancaster.

Electoral politics

Love was a Democrat. From 1896 to 1898, he was secretary of the Missouri Democratic central committee. He was a member of the Texas House of Representatives, from January 13, 1903, to August 31, 1907, representing the 37th district. From January 8, 1907, he was Speaker of the House. In 1905 and 1907, he helped reform Texas's banking and tax codes. He also helped pass the Terrell Election Law.

Love was chairman of the Committee on Private Corporations, as well as a member of the Committees on Constitutional Amendments; on Federal Relations; on Insurance, Statistics and History; on Internal Improvements; on the Judiciary; on Municipal Corporations; on Penitentiaries; on Privileges, Suffrage and Elections; and on Revenue and Taxation.

From 1907, until his resignation in 1910, Love was commissioner of the Texas Department of Insurance, having been appointed by Governor Thomas Mitchell Campbell. After resigning, he practiced law in Dallas and worked with the Southwestern Life Insurance Company and the Western Indemnity Company.

In 1911, Love was a leader in the campaign for Prohibition. He was an alternate delegate to the 1912 Democratic National Convention. An early supporter of President Woodrow Wilson, he was United States Assistant Secretary of the Treasury, from December 15, 1917, to January 31, 1919. From 1920 to 1924, he was a member of the Democratic National Committee, resigning due to his opposition to gubernatorial candidate Miriam A. Ferguson. In 1928, he opposed Presidential candidate Al Smith, instead campaigning for Herbert Hoover.

Love was an unsuccessful candidate in the 1930 Texas gubernatorial election, his loss being pinned on his party disloyalty. He later moved to Washington, D.C., where he practiced law. In 1933, he helped draft the 1933 Banking Act.

Love was a member of the Texas Senate, from January 11, 1927, to January 13, 1931, representing the 11th district. While serving, he was chairman of the Committees on Federal Relations; and on Internal Improvements, as well as vice-chairman of the Committee on Public Printing; and on Military Affairs. He was a member of the Committees on Civil Jurisprudence; on Educational Affairs; on Highways and Motor Traffic; on Privileges and Elections; on Public Buildings and Grounds; on Representative Districts; on Senatorial Districts; and on State Institutions and Departments.

Personal life and death

On June 11, 1892, Love married Mattie Roberta Goode, with whom he had three children. He was a Methodist, as well as a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the Freemasons, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Modern Woodmen of America, and the Woodmen of the World. He died on September 17, 1948, aged 78, in Dallas, from an intracranial hemorrhage and several strokes, beginning on September 15. He was buried at Sparkman-Hillcrest Memorial Park Cemetery, in Dallas.