Cracked BuckeyeCracked Buckeye

Notable people · Governor · Senator · Cabinet

Thomas Corwin

Kentucky-born, raised in Lebanon, Ohio from 1798. 15th governor of Ohio (1840-1842), US representative and senator, Treasury Secretary under Fillmore, and minister to Mexico.

At a glance

Born
1794-07-29
Died
1865-12-18
Education
Read law under Joshua Collett, Lebanon, OH, 1815-1817, admitted to bar
Known as
Governor, Senator, Cabinet

Life story

Thomas Corwin was born in Bourbon County, Kentucky, in 1794, and his family moved to Lebanon, Ohio, when he was a small child. He read law there in his early twenties and was admitted to the bar in 1817.

He served as Warren County prosecutor for a decade and sat in the Ohio House before winning a seat in the U.S. House in 1830. He stayed in Congress until 1840, when he was elected governor of Ohio.

After a term as governor (1840-1842) he went to the U.S. Senate in 1845. He opposed the Mexican War, and that stand made him a leading antiwar Whig. President Fillmore named him Treasury Secretary in 1850.

He returned to the House in 1859, then served as Lincoln's minister to Mexico from 1861 to 1864. He died in Washington in 1865 and was buried in Lebanon.

A revenue cutter, an Ohio town and a company town carry his name.

Timeline

  • 1817: Admitted to the bar (Lebanon, OH) source
  • 1818: Begins ten years as Warren County prosecutor (Lebanon, OH) source
  • 1822-11-13: Marries Sarah Ross (Ohio) source
  • 1831-03-04: Takes seat in U.S. House (Washington, D.C.) source
  • 1840-12-16: Becomes governor of Ohio (Columbus, OH) source
  • 1845-03-04: Takes seat in U.S. Senate (Washington, D.C.) source
  • 1850-07-23: Becomes Secretary of the Treasury (Washington, D.C.) source
  • 1859-03-04: Returns to U.S. House (Washington, D.C.) source
  • 1861-05-21: Becomes minister to Mexico (Mexico City) source
  • 1865-12-18: Dies (Washington, D.C.) source

What Thomas is known for

  • Governor Dec 1840 - Dec 1842
  • Opposed the Mexican War (1847 speech)
  • Treasury Secretary under Fillmore

Honors and things named for them

  • U.S. Revenue Cutter Thomas Corwin (1876)
  • Corwin, Ohio (Warren County, named 1898)
  • Tom Corwin, a company town in Ohio

Family

  • father: Matthias Corwin
  • mother: Patience Halleck
  • wife: Sarah Ross

Places in Ohio to see

Ohio places

Where Thomas Corwin was born, lived, worked and is remembered, with the ZIP code, town and county pages for each.

Further reading

Sources

Confidence. Medium: the main facts were confirmed, but some details (often an address or ZIP code) were not.

Correct this page · hello@crackedbuckeye.com