Thaddeus Caraway (1871-1931) was a Democratic politician from Arkansas who represented the state first in the U.S. House of Representatives (1913-1921) and then in the U.S. Senate (1921-1931). Caraway was born on a farm near Springhill, Missouri on October 17, 1871, and attended the common schools as a boy. In 1883 he moved with his parents to Clay County, Arkansas; in 1896 he graduated from Dickson College in Tennessee, and taught in country schools until 1899. He studied law, and was admitted to the bar in 1900, beginning practice in Osceola, Arkansas; later that year he moved to Lake City, Arkansas, and in 1901 he moved again, to Jonesboro. Each time he continued his practice. From 1908 to 1912 Caraway served as the prosecuting attorney for the state's second judicial circuit; he was elected to Congress in 1912, taking office as a representative in 1913 and serving until 1921. Rather than seek renomination in 1920, he chose to run for the Senate, and won; he was reelected in 1926. He served until his death, which was due to a blood clot in his coronary artery; he died in Little Rock on November 6, 1931, and lay in state in the Arkansas State Capitol on November 8. He is buried in Jonesboro. His widow, Hattie, was elected to fill out his term, becoming the first woman elected to the Senate and only the second to ever serve as a senator.
