Thomas S. Drew: Difference between revisions
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In 1832, Drew was elected judge of Lawrence County. In 1835, Drew and Bettis convinced the Arkansas Territorial Legislature to create Randolph County from Lawrence County. In 1836, Drew and Bettis held an infamous free barbecue complete with free liquor for the entire county in Pocahontas (then known as Bettis Bluff). The next day, the grateful attendees chose Pocahontas as the county seat in an upset election over the more populated community of Columbia. That same year, Drew gave the county land in downtown Pocahontas where a courthouse was constructed. |
In 1832, Drew was elected judge of Lawrence County. In 1835, Drew and Bettis convinced the Arkansas Territorial Legislature to create Randolph County from Lawrence County. In 1836, Drew and Bettis held an infamous free barbecue complete with free liquor for the entire county in Pocahontas (then known as Bettis Bluff). The next day, the grateful attendees chose Pocahontas as the county seat in an upset election over the more populated community of Columbia. That same year, Drew gave the county land in downtown Pocahontas where a courthouse was constructed. |
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==Biography== |
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==Political career== |
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Drew was born in [[Wilson County, Tennessee]], and moved with his family to north [[Louisiana]] and then to southern Arkansas in 1818. He worked as a traveling salesman and schoolteacher. Drew settled in [[Clark County, Arkansas|Clark County]] in southern Arkansas. |
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In 1836, Drew was chosen as a delegate to the Arkansas Constitutional Convention. He was elected Governor in 1844 as a [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrat]],<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.nga.org/cms/home/governors/past-governors-bios/page_arkansas/col2-content/main-content-list/title_drew_thomas.html|title=Arkansas Governor Thomas Stevenson Drew|publisher=National Governors Association|accessdate=August 10, 2012}}</ref> having secured the backing of the Conway-Sevier faction that had ruled Arkansas since territorial days. His administration concentrated on the state's financial solvency and attempted to correct the state's bad credit as well as disunity within Democratic ranks. Under Drew, Arkansas became the first southern state to declare [[Thanksgiving Day]] as a state holiday. At his wife's urging, Drew secured passage of legislation protecting a woman's property which she brought into a marriage as her own separate entity, distinct from the husband's holdings. |
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In 1823, Drew was appointed Clark County Clerk. In 1827, he moved to [[Pocahontas, Arkansas|Pocohontas]], Arkansas, where he married Cinderella Bettis, daughter of the properous founder of that town, Ransom Bettis. His father-in-law gave the newlyweds {{convert|800|acre|km2}} of bottomland in Cherokee Bay near the town of Biggers in what is now [[Randolph County, Arkansas|Randolph County]], then [[Lawrence County, Arkansas|Lawrence County]]. The Drews prospered, having a [[plantations in the American South|plantation]] and twenty African American [[slave]]s. |
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Though Drew was the third person to be elected governor, he was the fourth in office because his predecessor, [[Samuel Adams (governor)|Samuel Adams]], had served as acting governor during much of 1844, having gained the office through the previous position as president of the [[Arkansas State Senate]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theus50.com/arkansas/governors.php|title=State of Arkansas Governor|publisher=theus50.com|accessdate=June 11, 2011}}</ref> |
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In 1832, Drew was elected judge of Lawrence County. In 1835, Drew and Bettis convinced the Arkansas Territorial Legislature to create Randolph County from Lawrence County. In 1836, Drew and Bettis held an infamous free barbecue complete with free liquor for the entire county in Pocahontas (then known as Bettis Bluff). The next day, the grateful attendees chose Pocahontas as the county seat in an upset election over the more populated community of Columbia. That same year, Drew gave the county land in downtown Pocahontas where a courthouse was constructed. |
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Drew was re-elected governor in 1848. The next year, he dispatched a [[militia]] to [[Marion County, Arkansas|Marion County]] to suppress the [[Tutt-Everett War]]. Drew only served a year of his second term. He resigned in protest of the $1,500 annual salary, then provided for the governor, was inadequate. He retired from politics and concentrated on his own financial holdings. |
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In 1860, he was living in [[Sebastian County, Arkansas|Sebastian County]] near [[Fort Smith, Arkansas|Fort Smith]] in western Arkansas.<ref>1860 Arkansas Census</ref> He moved to [[Weatherford, Texas|Weatherford]] west of [[Fort Worth, Texas]], and later moved to [[Hood County, Texas|Hood County]], Texas, where he died in the community of [[Lipan, Texas|Lipan]]. |
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==Death and legacy== |
==Death and legacy== |
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Revision as of 20:07, 29 February 2016
Thomas Stevenson Drew | |
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| 3rd Governor of Arkansas | |
| In office November 5, 1844 – January 10, 1849 | |
| Preceded by | Samuel Adams |
| Succeeded by | Richard C. Byrd as Acting Governor |
| Personal details | |
| Born | August 25, 1802 Wilson County, Tennessee |
| Died | January 1879 (aged 76) Lipan, Texas |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Cinderella Bettis |
| Relations | Brother Richard Maxwell Drew Nephew Richard Cleveland Drew |
Thomas Stevenson Drew (August 25, 1802 – January 1879) was the third elected governor of the U.S. state of Arkansas.
==Biography Drew was born in Wilson County, Tennessee, and moved with his family to north Louisiana and then to southern Arkansas in 1818. He worked as a traveling salesman and schoolteacher. Drew settled in Clark County in southern Arkansas.
In 1823, Drew was appointed Clark County Clerk. In 1827, he moved to Pocohontas, Arkansas, where he married Cinderella Bettis, daughter of the properous founder of that town, Ransom Bettis. His father-in-law gave the newlyweds 800 acres (3.2 km2) of bottomland in Cherokee Bay near the town of Biggers in what is now Randolph County, then Lawrence County. The Drews prospered, having a plantation and twenty African American slaves.
In 1832, Drew was elected judge of Lawrence County. In 1835, Drew and Bettis convinced the Arkansas Territorial Legislature to create Randolph County from Lawrence County. In 1836, Drew and Bettis held an infamous free barbecue complete with free liquor for the entire county in Pocahontas (then known as Bettis Bluff). The next day, the grateful attendees chose Pocahontas as the county seat in an upset election over the more populated community of Columbia. That same year, Drew gave the county land in downtown Pocahontas where a courthouse was constructed.
Biography
Drew was born in Wilson County, Tennessee, and moved with his family to north Louisiana and then to southern Arkansas in 1818. He worked as a traveling salesman and schoolteacher. Drew settled in Clark County in southern Arkansas.
In 1823, Drew was appointed Clark County Clerk. In 1827, he moved to Pocohontas, Arkansas, where he married Cinderella Bettis, daughter of the properous founder of that town, Ransom Bettis. His father-in-law gave the newlyweds 800 acres (3.2 km2) of bottomland in Cherokee Bay near the town of Biggers in what is now Randolph County, then Lawrence County. The Drews prospered, having a plantation and twenty African American slaves.
In 1832, Drew was elected judge of Lawrence County. In 1835, Drew and Bettis convinced the Arkansas Territorial Legislature to create Randolph County from Lawrence County. In 1836, Drew and Bettis held an infamous free barbecue complete with free liquor for the entire county in Pocahontas (then known as Bettis Bluff). The next day, the grateful attendees chose Pocahontas as the county seat in an upset election over the more populated community of Columbia. That same year, Drew gave the county land in downtown Pocahontas where a courthouse was constructed.
Death and legacy
Drew was originally buried in the Old Baptist Cemetery in Lipan. In 1923, his remains were exhumed and reburied at the Masonic Cemetery in Pocahontas, Arkansas, alongside the graves of Bettis, Cinderella, and several of the Drew children.[1]
One of Drew's brothers, Richard Maxwell Drew, held several public offices in Claiborne Parish, Louisiana, including that of state representative from 1848 until his death in 1850 at the age of twenty-eight.[2] Richard Cleveland Drew, R. M. Drew's son and hence a nephew of Thomas Drew, was a circuit court judge from Webster Parish, which was created in 1871 from neighboring Claiborne Parish.[3]
Drew County in southern Arkansas is named for Thomas S. Drew.[4]
See also
References
- ^ "Thomas Stevenson Drew". Find A Grave. Retrieved August 10, 2012.
- ^ "Membership in the Louisiana House of Representatives, 1812-2012" (PDF). house.louisiana.gov. Retrieved June 5, 2011.
- ^ "Descendants of William Caldwell". familytreemaker.genealolgy.com. Retrieved June 5, 2011.
- ^ Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. Govt. Print. Off. p. 109.
External links
| Territorial (1819–1836) |  | |
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| State (from 1836) |
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| International | |
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| National | |
| Other | |
- Governors of Arkansas
- Arkansas Democrats
- 1802 births
- 1879 deaths
- People from Wilson County, Tennessee
- People from Randolph County, Arkansas
- People from Clark County, Arkansas
- People from Sebastian County, Arkansas
- People from Weatherford, Texas
- People from Hood County, Texas
- American planters
- American businesspeople
- American schoolteachers
- Democratic Party state governors of the United States