Indiana
Gov. Warren T. McCray
- January 10, 1921 - April 30, 1924
- Republican
- February 4, 1865
- December 19, 1938
- Indiana
- Married Ella M. Ade; three children
- Resigned
About
WARREN T. MC CRAY, Indiana’s thirtieth governor, was born near Kentland, Indiana, on February 4, 1865. At the age of fifteen, McCray finished his education and went on to work as a clerk in his father’s bank, the Discount and Deposit Bank. He became a successful businessman, with interests in grain elevators, grocery stores, and Hereford cattle breeding. McCray entered public service in 1904, serving on the board of trustees for the Northern Hospital for the Insane, a position he held until 1912. He also served on the Indiana Board of Agriculture from 1912 to 1916, was chairman of the Food Conservation Committee of Indiana during World War I, and served as a trustee of Purdue University from 1917 to 1918. McCray won the 1920 Republican gubernatorial nomination and was sworn into the governor’s office on January 10, 1921. During his tenure, 87 public buildings were launched, a budget law that affected both the state and local governments was passed, the reformatory at Pendleton was initiated, and a two-cent gasoline tax was enacted with proceeds going to road maintenance and highway construction. McCray was convicted of mail fraud and resigned from office on April 29, 1924. After serving three years in federal prison, McCray returned to his Orchard Lake Farm and worked on rebuilding his reputation and reestablishing his stock farm. Governor Warren T. McCray, who was pardoned by Herbert Hoover in 1930, passed away on December 19, 1938. He was buried at the Fair Lawn Cemetery in Kentland, Indiana.
Source
Sobel, Robert, and John Raimo, eds. Biographical Directory of the Governors of the United States, 1789-1978, Vol. 1, Westport, Conn.; Meckler Books, 1978. 4 vols.
