Luther H. Cary

Luther Harvey Cary Jr. (June 28, 1823 – September 16, 1888) was an American medical doctor, Republican politician, and pioneer of Wisconsin and California. He served two years in the Wisconsin Senate (1861, 1862) and two years in the Wisconsin State Assembly, representing Sheboygan County and (1867). After moving to California, he also served two years in the California State Assembly (1883, 1884). During the American Civil War, he served as a Union Army surgeon with the 12th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment.

Biography Luther Cary was born Luther Harvey Cary in Erie County, New York, in 1824. In 1863, Cary was detailed to serve as medical inspector for XVI Corps, where he remained until mustering out in June 1863.

He was subsequently elected as a delegate to the 1864 Republican National Convention.

After the war, Cary moved to Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin, and was elected to another term in the Wisconsin State Assembly in 1866, representing part of the city of .

In 1868, Cary moved west to San Jose, California, where he established a medical practice. In 1873, however, he received a federal appointment from U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant, and served as inspector of the San Francisco Revenue District. He moved to Oakland, California, to accept that role, and remained there for the rest of his life. During his time in Oakland, he also served as city health officer and surgeon of San Quentin State Prison.

Cary traveled to Chicago with the California delegation to the 1888 Republican National Convention, though he was not a formal delegate. He became ill on his return trip, and never recovered. He died on September 16, 1888, at his home in Oakland.

Personal life and family Luther H. Cary Jr. was the 2nd of at least 8 children born to Luther H. Cary Sr. (1800–1874) and Lucy ( Doolittle; 1794–1870). Aside from his brother, Amzi, who served with him and died of disease in the Civil War, another of Cary's younger brothers, Eugene Cary, also served as an officer in the Civil War and went on to a notable career as a lawyer, politician, and judge in Wisconsin, Tennessee, and finally Chicago.

The Cary family were descendants of the colonist John Cary, who emigrated from England to the Plymouth Colony in the 1630s and was possibly the first Latin school teacher in the colony. John Cary was a member of the Cary family of English aristocrats. Luther Cary's Wisconsin contemporary John W. Cary was a second-cousin once-removed, with their last common ancestor being Jabez Cary (1691–1760).

Luther Cary married Arvilla Ferguson at Boston, New York, in September 1846. They had three children together, though their first son died in childhood.