He was born on January 23, 1831 in Rockingham County, North Carolina, United States, the fourth child of Thomas and Henrietta (Graves) Settle, and a descendant of Josiah Settle who emigrated from England to North Carolina in the middle of the eighteenth century. His father, a member and speaker of the House of Commons, congressman, and judge of long service, was prominent in state affairs.
The younger Thomas graduated from the University of North Carolina in 1850. He studied law under Judge Richmond M. Pearson.
After stidues he was private secretary to his brother-in-law, Gov. David S. Reid, was licensed in 1854, and began practice in Rockingham County.
His father was a Whig, but Settle, in 1852, became a Democrat, and in 1854 began his political career as a member of the House of Commons; he was twice reelected and during his last term served as speaker. In 1856 he was a Buchanan elector, and in 1860 he supported Douglas. When the cotton states seceded, he opposed similar action by North Carolina. In February 1861 he was chosen a delegate to the convention which the people rejected and about the same time was elected solicitor of the fourth judicial circuit.
When the call for troops came, he eagerly volunteered and became a captain in the 3rd North Carolina Regiment. At the close of the year's term of enlistment, however, he did not again volunteer, but resumed the office of solicitor.
In 1865 he was a delegate to the "Johnson" convention where, as chairman of the committee on the abolition of slavery and of that on the state debt, he wrote and offered the ordinances abolishing slavery and repudiating the war debt; he also took a prominent part in every question before the convention. In November he was elected to the state Senate and was chosen speaker. In the campaign he had supported William W. Holden for governor, and he was, at this period, in hearty accord with President Johnson's policy.
At the second session of the convention, however, he gradually identified himself with the group in opposition and favored the ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment.
In April 1868 he was elected associate justice of the supreme court of North Carolina and served until February 1871, when President Grant appointed him minister to Peru. Disliking the position and the climate, early in 1872 he resigned. He was president of the Republican National Convention of 1872 and in the autumn was an unsuccessful candidate for Congress.
In December he was reappointed to the supreme court and served until 1876 when he resigned to accept the Republican nomination for governor. The brilliant campaign carried on by him and his opponent Zebulon B. Vance was one which in character and spirit brought honor to both. Settle gave an excellent account of himself but went down in defeat.
On January 30, 1877, President Grant appointed him district judge for Florida, and he filled that office until his death. He died in 1888, in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Settle was a superbly handsome man with a magnetic personality. He was genial, witty, and affectionate in personal intercourse, and courageous and tolerant in his public relationships. His mind was quick and acute, and he was a well-informed and persuasive debater. He was best fitted for the political arena, but made an excellent though in no sense a great judge. He was impartial, humane, and just, and his judicial opinions were terse, concise, and clear.
He married Mary, the daughter of Tyre Glenn of Surry County, by whom he had six daughters and three sons. One of his was named Thomas Settle.
