Thomas Stevenson Drew

Infobox Governor
name = Thomas Stevenson Drew


order = 3rd
office = Governor of Arkansas
term_start = 1844
term_end = 1849
lieutenant =
predecessor = Samuel Adams
successor = Richard C. Byrd
birth_date = birth date|1802|8|25|mf=y
birth_place = Wilson County, Tennessee
death_date = January 1879
death_place = Lapin, Texas
party = Democrat
spouse =
profession =
religion =

Thomas Stevenson Drew (25 August 1802ndash January 1879) was a Democratic Governor of the U.S. state of Arkansas. He was born in Wilson County, Tennessee. Drew moved with his family to Louisiana and then in 1818 to Arkansas. He worked as a traveling salesman and school teacher. Drew settled in the area around Batesville, Arkansas.

In 1824 Drew was appointed county clerk. In 1836 he was chosen as a delegate to the Arkansas constitutional convention. He was elected Governor in 1844, where his administration concentrated on the state's financial solvency and attempted to repair the state's credit. Drew was reelected in 1848, and in 1849 he dispatched a militia to Marion County to put down the Tutt-Everett War. Drew only served a year of his second term before resigning due to the low salary provided for the governor. He retired from politics and worked to try and recover from financial losses. He moved to Weatherford, Texas and later moved to Hood County, Texas. Drew died in January 1879 at Lapin, Texas.

Drew was originally buried in the Old Baptist Cemetery in Lapin, Texas but his body was removed in 1923 by Arkansas officials and moved to the Masonic Cemetery in Pocahontas, Arkansas.

Drew County, Arkansas was named after Thomas S. Drew.

External links

* Encyclopedia of Arkansas History & Culture entry: [http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?entryID=100 Thomas Stevenson Drew]