Thomas W. Bartley

(Redirected from Thomas Welles Bartley)

Thomas Welles Bartley (February 11, 1812 – June 20, 1885) was an American Democratic politician from the U.S. state of Ohio. He served as the 17th governor of Ohio. Bartley was succeeded in office by his father, Mordecai Bartley, one of only a few instances of this occurring in high elected office in the United States.

Thomas Welles Bartley
17th Governor of Ohio
In office
April 15, 1844 – December 3, 1844
Preceded byWilson Shannon
Succeeded byMordecai Bartley
28th Speaker of the Ohio Senate
In office
December 4, 1843 – December 1, 1844
Preceded byWilson Shannon
Succeeded byMordecai Bartley
Associate Justice of the Ohio Supreme Court
In office
February 2, 1852 – February 9, 1859
Preceded byRufus Paine Spalding
Succeeded byWilliam Virgil Peck
Member of the Ohio House of Representatives from Richland County
In office
1839–1841
Preceded byJames Comings
Succeeded byR. W. Cahill
James P. Henderson
Member of the Ohio Senate from Richland County
In office
1841–1845
Preceded byWilliam McLaughlin
Succeeded byJoseph Newman
Personal details
Born(1812-02-11)February 11, 1812
Jefferson County, Ohio, U.S.
DiedJune 20, 1885(1885-06-20) (aged 73)
Washington, D.C., U.S.
Resting placeGlenwood Cemetery, Washington, D.C.
Political partyDemocratic
Spouses
  • Julia Maria Larwill
  • Susan D. Sherman
  • Ellen McCoy
Alma materJefferson College

Biography

edit

Bartley was born in Jefferson County, Ohio on February 11, 1812. As a child, he moved to Mansfield, Ohio with his family. Bartley attended Jefferson College and graduated in 1829. He studied law with Jacob Parker in Mansfield, Ohio, and studied law with Elijah Hayward in Washington, D.C.. Bartley was admitted to the bar in 1833, and began practice in Mansfield.[1]

Career

edit

Bartley served in the Ohio House of Representatives from 1839 to 1841 and then in the Ohio State Senate from 1841 to 1845. He was elected Speaker of the Senate in 1843.[2]

When Wilson Shannon resigned as governor on April 15, 1844, to take a diplomatic appointment as United States ambassador to Mexico, Bartley became Governor while concurrently remaining in the Senate. He served out the remainder of Shannon's term until December 3.[3] Bartley sought renomination under the Democratic Party, but lost at the state convention by a single vote - avoiding a contest against his father, who accepted the Whig nomination.[4] Bartley later served a contentious term on the Ohio State Supreme Court from 1852 to 1859.

Bartley lived in Mansfield, Ohio, and moved to Cincinnati, Ohio to practice law in 1863, and in 1867 to Washington, D.C., where he died in 1885.[1] He was interred at Glenwood Cemetery.

Family life

edit
 
Grave of Thomas W. Bartley.

On October 9, 1837, Bartley married his first wife, Julia Maria Larwill, in Wooster, Ohio. Bartley married his second wife, Susan D. Sherman (October 10, 1825– January 10, 1876), sister of John Sherman and General William Tecumseh Sherman, on November 7, 1848,. Ellen McCoy, widow of one of General Sherman's staff officers, was his third wife.[1][5]

Death

edit

Bartley was buried at Glenwood Cemetery in Washington, D.C.[6]

References

edit
  1. ^ a b c "Thomas Welles Bartley". The Supreme Court of Ohio & The Ohio Judicial System. Retrieved 2011-08-29.
  2. ^ "Ohio Governor Thomas Welles Bartley". National Governors Association. Retrieved July 12, 2012.
  3. ^ "Thomas W. Bartley". Ohio History Central. Retrieved July 12, 2012.
  4. ^ "THOMAS W. BARTLEY". The Ohio Historical Society. Archived from the original on May 13, 2012. Retrieved July 11, 2012.
  5. ^ Kerr, William Tecumseh Sherman: A Family Chronicle 102 (1984)
  6. ^ Baughman, A. J., ed. (1901). A Centennial biographical history of Richland County, Ohio. Chicago: Lewis Publishing Company. p. 75.