Thomas LaFayette Rider

Thomas LaFayette Rider (April 12, 1856 – September 20, 1932) was a Cherokee politician who served in the Oklahoma House of Representatives and Oklahoma Senate.

Biography Thomas LaFayette Rider was born on April 12, 1856, in the Going Snake District of the Cherokee Nation, Indian Territory, to Charles Augustus Rider and Mary Bigbey. Charles Rider served on the Cherokee National Council. Thomas Rider attended the Cherokee National Male Seminary in Tahlequah starting in 1870. He married Josephine Pace in 1879. At 29, he became a Methodist preacher. He served in the Oklahoma House of Representatives from 1907 to 1910 and 1912 to 1914. He also served in the Oklahoma Senate between 1916 and 1920. He was a member of the Democratic Party. He died on September 20, 1932.