Tom Yon

Tom Yon
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Florida's 3rd district
In office
March 4, 1927 – March 4, 1933
Preceded byJohn H. Smithwick
Succeeded byMillard Caldwell
Personal details
Born
Thomas Alva Yon

(1882-03-14)March 14, 1882
Blountstown, Florida, U.S.
DiedFebruary 16, 1971(1971-02-16) (aged 88)
Tallahassee, Florida, U.S.
Resting placeOakland Cemetery, Tallahassee, Florida, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseDaisy Mullikin
Children1
Parents
  • Higdon Almarin Yon (father)
  • Laura D. Lockey (mother)
EducationLanier Southern Business College

Thomas Alva Yon (March 14, 1882 – February 16, 1971) was an American politician and businessman who served three terms in the United States House of Representatives as a Democrat from Florida from 1927 to 1933.

Life

Thomas Alva Yon was born to Higdon Almarin Yon and Laura D. Lockey near Blountstown, Florida on March 14, 1882.[1] At the age of five, his family moved to a farm in Jackson County, Florida. Yon attended rural schools and graduated from Lanier Southern Business College in Macon, Georgia in 1903. He returned to Blountstown in 1903 and engaged in mercantile pursuits until 1906. He engaged as a traveling salesman in Tallahassee, Florida from 1906 to 1927. He served as delegate to the 1920 Democratic National Convention.

Congress

Yon was elected as a Democrat to the United States House of Representatives in the 1926 elections, and was twice re-elected, serving from March 4, 1927 to March 4, 1933, in the 70th, 71st, and 72nd Congresses. He was an unsuccessful candidate for renomination in 1932.

He was a supporter of the building of Naval Air Station Pensacola. During the 1932 Democratic Party presidential primaries he supported Governor Franklin D. Roosevelt for the nomination.[2]

Later career

Yon served as a special and commercial agent in the Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce of the United States Department of Commerce in Washington, D.C. from 1933 to 1940. He served as assistant investigator in the Division of Investigation of the General Accounting Office from 1941 until his retirement in January 1946.

Retirement and death

Yon engaged in development and sale of his Florida real estate holdings after retirement.

On February 16, 1971 Yon died in Tallahassee, Florida in 1971, and was interred in Oakland Cemetery.[3]

Electoral history

Tom Yon electoral history
1926 Florida's 3rd Congressional District election
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Tom Yon 7,156 86.85% +2.72%
Republican J.H. Drummond 1,084 13.16% −2.72%
Total votes '8,240' '100.00%'
1928 Florida's 3rd Congressional District Democratic primary
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Tom Yon (incumbent) 21,439 44.43%
Democratic W. L. Wilson 16,223 33.62%
Democratic John H. Smithwick 10,592 21.95%
Total votes '48,254' '100.00%'
1928 Florida's 3rd Congressional District election
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Tom Yon (incumbent) 22,167 100.00% +13.15%
Total votes '22,167' '100.00%'
1930 Florida's 3rd Congressional District election
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Tom Yon (incumbent) 11,796 100.00% −/+0.00%
Total votes '22,167' '100.00%'

References

  1. ^ "View Genealogy for Thomas Alva Yon (3/14/1882-2/16/1971)". www.littletownmart.com.
  2. ^ "Tom Yon Calls On Roosevelt". Tallahassee Democrat. November 30, 1931. p. 3. Archived from the original on January 29, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "Ex-Congressman Tom Yon Dead". Tallahassee Democrat. February 16, 1971. p. 10. Archived from the original on January 29, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Florida's 3rd congressional district
1927 – 1933 		Succeeded by

Public Domain This article incorporates public domain material from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress