Newton Booth

Born to Hannah (née Pitts) of North Carolina of Connecticut, Quakers, Booth worked in his father's Terre Haute store, then studied law in the office of attorney William Dickson Griswold (1815–1896). He was admitted to the bar in 1849 and became a partner in Griswold's law firm. == Business career ==

In 1850, Booth traveled to Panama, continuing by ship to San Francisco. Lucius Anson Booth (1820–1906), a cousin and New York native, and Thomas Morton Lindley Sr. (1819–1896), in 1849, began the firm of Lindley & Booth. When Newton Booth arrived in Sacramento, the first cholera epidemic was spreading, and he went to Amador County, where he was sick for some time. In December 1871, business was established in San Francisco in connection with W. W. Dodge. The firm in 1878 was composed of Newton Booth, C. T. Wheeler, Joseph Terry Glover and W. W. Dodge. Newton Booth made his fortune as a saloon keeper. He returned to Terre Haute in 1856 and engaged in the practice of law with future U.S. Congressman Harvey D. Scott. In the summer of 1857 Booth traveled through Europe. == Political career ==

In 1860, Booth returned to Sacramento and the wholesale mercantile business. support of a local option for alcohol, 1870s In 1873, Booth helped to organize the Dolly Vardens, a new, independent, republican, anti-monopoly political party. The "Dolly Vardens" was named for a calico pattern composed of many different colors and figures, alluding to a political party made up of "sore heads from any party or by any name". With their support, he was elected to the U.S. Senate as a member of the Anti-Monopoly Party in December 1873, serving from March 4, 1875, to March 3, 1881. He was not a candidate for reelection in 1880. During his time in the Senate, he served as chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Manufacturers and the U.S. Senate Committee on Patents, both during the 45th Congress. In 1876, the Greenback Party nominated him for Vice President of the United States on the ticket with Peter Cooper. However, Booth declined the nomination and Samuel F. Cary replaced him. As of 2021, Booth remains the only senator from California who served as a member of a third party. After serving in Congress, he returned to his wholesale mercantile business in Sacramento. == Personal life ==

, son of his sister Elizabeth Booth, who was raised in Terre Haute. ==Recognition==

• Sacramento's Newton Booth neighborhood was named for him. • Native Sons of the Golden West historical plaque in front of the Booth Company wholesale grocery Building 1017 Front Street in Old Sacramento. ==Gallery==

File:Newton Booth, oval portrait.jpg|Booth in an undated portrait File:Newton Booth by Bradley & Rulofson.jpg|Booth in an undated portrait File:Governor Elect Newton Booth.jpg|Engraving of Booth in ''Harper's Weekly'', 1871 File:NewtonBooth.jpg|Booth's official gubernatorial portrait ==Further reading==