Biography of Preston A. Thatcher: 17th Mayor of Logan
Dates in Office: 1914-1917, resigned 27 March 1917
Terms in Office: 2
Age when Elected: 41
Preston A. Thatcher was born 24 September 1877 in Logan, Utah, a son of Moses Thatcher Sr. and Lettie Jane Farr.[1]He married Mary Etta Murdock 20 September 1899.[2] they had four children.[3]He died 13 November 1959 and is buried in the Logan Cemetery.[4]
In early life Preston A. Thatcher attended the public schools of Logan and afterward became a student in a business college of Salt Lake.When his textbooks were put aside he started out to provide for his own support and went to Mexico, settling at Chihuahua, where he engaged in the cattle business for a year, after which he returned to Logan, Utah where he entered the banking business as an employee in the Thatcher Brothers Bank.
At the end of that time(nine years) he embarked in business on his own account, organizing the Thatcher Clothing Company, of which he was the principal owner and the president. Through the intervening period his business has prospered and in fact succeeded far beyond his expectations. It is now one of the substantial commercial interests of Logan and Mr. Thatcher still remains the president and principal owner.
While residing in Logan he was also prominent in the public affairs of the city, serving as mayor for two terms, from 1914 until 1918. He gave the city a very businesslike and progressive administration, characterized by needed reforms and improvements. In 1917, however, he resigned on account of being appointed to the position of chairman of the State Industrial Commission and with his family removed to Salt Lake.
He was one of the organizers of the Home Building Society, at Logan, a member of the board of directors and a member of the appraising committee. He was for two years vice president of the Logan Commercial Club. He was a member of the board of directors of Cache Knitting Company at Logan, was a director in Logan Amusement & Investment Company and formerly was a director in the Thatcher Milling & Elevator Company at Logan.[5]
[1] Utah Cemetery Inventory (Ancestry Library Edition)
[2] Family Group Record (FamilySearch Ancestral File v4.19)
[3] Warrum Noble, ed., Utah Since Statehood: Historical and Biographical (Chicago : S.J. Clarke Publishing Company, 1919) 3:679-680
[4] Utah Cemetery Inventory (Ancestry Library Edition)
[5] Warrum Noble, ed., Utah Since Statehood: Historical and Biographical (Chicago : S.J. Clarke Publishing Company, 1919) 3:679-680
