{{Short description|American politician and judge (1868–1963)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=February 2023}} {{Infobox officeholder | honorific_prefix = | name = Charles Nelson Pray | honorific_suffix = | image = Charles Nelson Pray (1868–1963).png | alt = | caption = | office = [[Senior status|Senior Judge]] of the [[United States District Court for the District of Montana]] | term_start = April 10, 1957 | term_end = September 12, 1963 | office1 = Chief Judge of the [[United States District Court for the District of Montana]] | term_start1 = 1948 | term_end1 = 1957 | predecessor1 = ''Office established'' | successor1 = [[William Daniel Murray]] | office2 = Judge of the [[United States District Court for the District of Montana]] | term_start2 = February 8, 1924 | term_end2 = April 10, 1957 | nominator2 = | appointer2 = [[List of federal judges appointed by Calvin Coolidge|Calvin Coolidge]] | predecessor2 = ''Seat established by 42 Stat. 837'' | successor2 = [[William James Jameson]] | state3 = [[Montana]] | district3 = [[Montana's at-large congressional district|at-large]] | term_start3 = March 4, 1907 | term_end3 = March 3, 1913 | predecessor3 = [[Joseph M. Dixon]] | successor3 = [[John M. Evans (Montana politician)|John M. Evans]] | pronunciation = | birth_name = Charles Nelson Pray | birth_date = {{Birth date|1868|04|06}} | birth_place = [[Potsdam, New York|Potsdam]], [[New York (state)|New York]] | death_date = {{Death date and age|1963|09|12|1868|04|06}} | death_place = [[Great Falls, Montana|Great Falls]], [[Montana]] | death_cause = | resting_place = Hillcrest Lawn Memorial Cemetery | resting_place_coordinates = | citizenship = | party = [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] | other_party = | height = | spouse = | partner = | relations = | children = | parents = | mother = | father = | relatives = | education = {{nowrap|[[Middlebury College]]<br>[[Chicago-Kent College of Law]] ([[Bachelor of Laws|LL.B.]])}} | alma_mater = | occupation = | profession = | known_for = | salary = | net_worth = | cabinet = | committees = | portfolio = | awards = | signature = | signature_alt = | website = <!--Embedded templates / Footnotes--> | footnotes = }} '''Charles Nelson Pray''' (April 6, 1868 – September 12, 1963) was an American lawyer, jurist, and politician who served as a [[United States representative]] from [[Montana]] and a [[United States federal judge|United States district judge]] of the [[United States District Court for the District of Montana]].
==Education and career==
Born on April 6, 1868, in [[Potsdam, New York|Potsdam]], [[St. Lawrence County, New York|St. Lawrence County]], [[New York (state)|New York]], Pray attended the public schools of [[Salisbury, Vermont|Salisbury]] and [[Middlebury, Vermont|Middlebury]], [[Vermont]], and graduated from [[Middlebury Union High School]].<ref name="auto">{{Biographical Directory of Congress|P000508|author=|noid=y|inline=y}}</ref> He attended [[Middlebury College]] and received a [[Bachelor of Laws]] in 1891 from the [[Chicago College of Law]] (now the [[Chicago-Kent College of Law]]). He was admitted to the bar in 1892 and entered private practice in [[Chicago]], [[Illinois]] from 1893 to 1895. He continued private practice in [[Fort Benton, Montana|Fort Benton]], [[Montana]] from 1896 to 1906.<ref name="papers">{{cite web |title=Charles Nelson Pray Papers, 1878-1963 |url=https://archiveswest.orbiscascade.org/ark:80444/xv17445 |publisher=Orbis Cascade Alliance |access-date=6 September 2023}}</ref> He was an assistant prosecutor for the Twelfth Judicial District in [[Chouteau County, Montana|Chouteau County]], Montana from 1897 to 1898, and Prosecutor for the same district from 1899 to 1906, being elected to that post in 1898, 1900, 1902 and 1904.<ref name="auto1">{{FJC Bio|1932|nid=1386561|name=Charles Nelson Pray<!--(1868–1963)-->}}</ref>
==Congressional service==
Pray was elected as a [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] to the [[United States House of Representatives]] of the [[60th United States Congress|60th]], [[61st United States Congress|61st]] and [[62nd United States Congress]]es, serving from March 4, 1907, to March 3, 1913. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1912 to the [[63rd United States Congress]].
=== After Congress === He resumed the practice of law in [[Great Falls, Montana|Great Falls]], [[Cascade County, Montana|Cascade County]], Montana starting January 1, 1914. He was an unsuccessful candidate for election to the [[United States Senate]] in 1916.<ref name="auto"/>
==Federal judicial service==
Pray was nominated by President [[Calvin Coolidge]] on January 21, 1924, to the [[United States District Court for the District of Montana]], to a new seat authorized by 42 Stat. 837. He was confirmed by the [[United States Senate]] on February 8, 1924, and received his commission the same day. He served as Chief Judge from 1948 to 1957. He assumed [[senior status]] on April 10, 1957. His service terminated on September 12, 1963, due to his death in [[Great Falls, Montana|Great Falls]], Montana.<ref name="auto1"/> He was interred in Hillcrest Lawn Memorial Cemetery.<ref name="auto"/>
==Papers==
Pray's papers from his life from 1878 to 1963, including diaries and correspondence, are lodged at the [[University of Montana-Missoula|University of Montana]] in [[Missoula, Montana|Missoula]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://archiveswest.orbiscascade.org/ark:/80444/xv17445|title=Archives West: Charles Nelson Pray Papers, 1878-1963|website=archiveswest.orbiscascade.org}}</ref>
==Honor==
The town of [[Pray, Montana|Pray]], Montana is named for Pray.<ref>Whithorn, Doris (2001) ''Images of America: Paradise Valley on the Yellowstone'', p. 92. Mount Pleasant, SC: Arcadia Publishing, {{ISBN|0-7385-0805-5}}</ref>
==See also== * [[List of United States federal judges by longevity of service]]
==References== {{Reflist}}
==Sources== * {{Biographical Directory of Congress|P000508|author=|noid=y|inline=y}} * {{FJC Bio|1932|nid=1386561|name=Charles Nelson Pray<!--(1868–1963)-->}} * {{Bioguide}}
{{s-start}} {{s-ppo}} {{s-new|first}} {{s-ttl|title={{nowrap|[[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] nominee for [[List of United States senators from Montana|U.S. Senator]] from [[Montana]]}}<br>([[Classes of United States senators|Class 1]])|years=[[1916 United States Senate election in Montana|1916]]}} {{s-aft|after=[[Carl W. Riddick]]}} {{s-par|us-hs}} {{US House succession box |state=Montana |district=AL |before=[[Joseph M. Dixon]] |after=[[John M. Evans (Montana politician)|John M. Evans]] |years=1907–1913}} {{s-legal}} {{s-bef|before=Seat established by 42 Stat. 837}} {{s-ttl|title={{nowrap|Judge of the [[United States District Court for the District of Montana]]}}|years=1924–1957}} {{s-aft|after=[[William James Jameson]]}} {{s-bef|before=Office established}} {{s-ttl|title={{nowrap|Chief Judge of the [[United States District Court for the District of Montana]]}}|years=1948–1957}} {{s-aft|after=[[William Daniel Murray]]}} {{s-end}}
{{MontanaUSRepresentatives}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pray, Charles Nelson}} [[Category:1868 births]] [[Category:1963 deaths]] [[Category:Politicians from Great Falls, Montana]] [[Category:Judges of the United States District Court for the District of Montana]] [[Category:United States district court judges appointed by Calvin Coolidge]] [[Category:Middlebury College alumni]] [[Category:People from Potsdam, New York]] [[Category:Republican Party United States representatives from Montana]] [[Category:People from Fort Benton, Montana]] [[Category:20th-century United States representatives]]