Researching Thomas Lynch

Thomas Lynch (November 21, 1844 – May 4, 1898) was a U.S. Representative from Wisconsin.

Born in Granville (which later merged with Milwaukee) in the Wisconsin Territory, Lynch moved to Chilton, Wisconsin in 1864 where he taught school and farmed. In 1875, he graduated from University of Wisconsin Law School and was admitted to the bar. While still in Chilton, Lynch served as district attorney of Calumet County, Wisconsin. He moved to Antigo, Wisconsin in 1883 where he served as mayor in 1885 and 1888. Thomas Lynch also served in the Wisconsin State Assembly in 1873 as an independent and then in 1883 and 1884. He elected as a member of the Democratic Party to the Fifty-second and Fifty-third Congresses (March 4, 1891 – March 3, 1895). He represented Wisconsin's 9th congressional district.He died in Antigo and was buried there.

He was a founding member of the Mental Health Association of Ireland (now Mental Health Ireland) in 1966 and served on a number of boards including The National Drugs Advisory Board, The National Rehabilitation Board, the Central Remedial Clinic and the Eastern Health Board.

In 1946 Lynch had been named to the Honor Rolls of Baseball by the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Lynch's sole appearance in a major league game occurred on August 5, 1884, when he pitched seven innings against the Cleveland Blues. He allowed four runs (two earned) on seven hits, while striking out two batters and walking three batters. He also played part of the game as the first baseman. Offensively, he had four at bats without recording a hit.

An uncorroborated letter to the editor in 1990 stated that Lynch was deaf (resulting in the nickname "Dummy") and attended Gallaudet University. A 1910 newspaper article recounted a past incident involving pitcher "Dummy" Lynch playing for a team from Danville, Illinois, along with John Grim. Grim was a contemporary of Thomas Lynch, adding some support to the 1990 letter.

A younger brother of Henry Blosse Lynch (b. 1807), Thomas was born at Partry House, Ballinrobe (then in County Galway but now in County Mayo) to Major Henry Blosse Lynch (1778-1823). The major had served in the 73rd Regiment and had an estate of fifteen hundred acres north of Ballinrobe. The Lynch family were one of The Tribes of Galway, been descended from Sir Henry Lynch, 1st Baronet who died in 1635.

In 1837 he joined his brother Henry, who commanded an expedition up the river Tigris to Baghdad, a previously unaccomplished voyage.Thomas went on to establish a steamer service on the Tigris linking Baghdad with India. In the 1850s, Thomas, who had by then travelled extensively throughout Mesopotamia and Persia, was appointed Consul-General for Persia in London. He was made a Knight of the Order of the Lion and the Sun.

Thomas Kerr Lynch died in London in 1891.