Thomas W. Bartley

Thomas Welles Bartley ( born February 11, 1812 Jefferson County, Ohio, † June 20 1885 in Washington DC) was an American lawyer and politician, and in 1844 the 17th Governor of the state of Ohio.

Early years

Thomas Bartley attended until 1831, the Jefferson College in Pennsylvania. After a subsequent law degree, he started working in his new profession in Richland County, Ohio. There he soon became district attorney.

Political Rise and Governor of Ohio

In contrast to his father, Mordecai Bartley, a member of the Whigs was, Thomas Bartley was a member of the Democratic Party. Between 1839 and 1841 he was a member of the House of Representatives from Ohio, from 1841 to 1845 he was in the state Senate. He was President of the House since 1844 and in that capacity according to the state constitution also deputy governor.

Following the resignation of Governor Wilson Shannon in April 1844 it fell to the governorship. Thomas Bartley officiated between 15 April and 3 December 1844. Thus he ended his predecessor's term of office. He tried to re-election and was defeated only just one internal party opposition candidate. In order for a campaign between father and son Bartley was avoided as the Whigs Mordecai Bartley had appointed its candidate in the gubernatorial elections of 1844. After his election victory he was on December 3, 1844 as the successor of his son Thomas. This constellation has remained unique in the state of Ohio today.

Further CV

After the end of his term was appointed United States Attorney for the Northern Ohio Thomas Bartley of U.S. President James K. Polk. He remained in this position until 1849. Between 1852 and 1859 he was a judge of the Supreme Court of Ohio, where he spent three years as Chief Judge of that court. Subsequently, he worked until his death as a lawyer in Cincinnati and Washington. Thomas Bartley died in 1885. He was married three times and had several children. One of his wives was Susan Sherman, sister of General William T. Sherman and Senator John Sherman.