Thomas Rosabaum Carskadon (May 17, 1837 – January 21, 1905) from Keyser,

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...

U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

had a national reputation as a

Prohibition Party The Prohibition Party (PRO) is a political party in the United States known for its historic opposition to the sale or consumption of alcoholic beverages and as an integral part of the temperance movement. It is the oldest existing third party ...

leader. He was the Prohibition candidate for

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

of West Virginia in 1884 and again in 1888. He was an influential Mineral County farmer and political leader. Born on 17 May 1837, Carskadon was a prominent anti-slavery advocate and opponent of

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

's secession from the

Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

. In 1861 he was a member of the West Virginia Constitutional Convention, voting in favor of forming West Virginia, where he is thought to have been the youngest member. During that constitutional convention, a Mr. Lamb of Ohio County and Carskadon claimed that in Hampshire County, out of 195 votes only 39 were cast by citizens of the state; the rest were cast illegally by Union soldiers. He briefly fled to

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during the war.

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...

appointed Carskadon Assistant United States Assessor for West Virginia in 1864, during which he worked towards the establishment of Mineral County in 1866. He was briefly appointed Assessor for the Second District of West Virginia by

Andrew Johnson Andrew Johnson (December 29, 1808July 31, 1875) was the 17th president of the United States, serving from 1865 to 1869. He assumed the presidency as he was vice president at the time of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Johnson was a Dem ...

before being removed in 1866. Carskadon campaigned for the selection of Keyser as the county seat. He soon became active in local and state Republican politics, being on the West Virginia Republican Party Central Committee from 1866 to 1879, serving as a

presidential elector The United States Electoral College is the group of presidential electors required by the Constitution to form every four years for the sole purpose of appointing the president and vice president. Each state and the District of Columbia appo ...

in the

1868 Events January–March * January 2 – British Expedition to Abyssinia: Robert Napier leads an expedition to free captive British officials and missionaries. * January 3 – The 15-year-old Mutsuhito, Emperor Meiji of Jap ...

and

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elections, voting for

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and

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. He was also a member of the Mineral County Court. Carskadon at one time had been a leading Republican in Hampshire County. He and his wife were strong supporters of the Methodist Church in Keyser; their contributions made it possible for the congregation to build New Creek Station Methodist Episcopal Church. Between 1889 and 1896 he served on the Mineral County Board of Commissioners. Between 1890 and 1895 he served on the Keyser Town School Board. Carskadon was a shareholder of the Keyser Land and Improvement Company that sold the plots that would become much of downtown Keyser. In 1888, Carskadon ran for

Governor of West Virginia A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political r ...

on the

ticket. A newspaper article described his pro-

temperance Temperance may refer to: Moderation *Temperance movement, movement to reduce the amount of alcohol consumed *Temperance (virtue), habitual moderation in the indulgence of a natural appetite or passion Culture *Temperance (group), Canadian danc ...

views as unpopular yet voters liked to listen to his "characteristic, sound, humorous, eloquent, and happy speeches, which held his audience spellbound to the close." In 1898, he was nominated as the Prohibition Party candidate for the state senate in the twelfth senatorial district. In 1900, Carskadon put his name in the mix for Vice President on the Prohibition ticket but failed to win the nomination at the national convention. Later that year, he ran again for Governor of West Virginia. After his unsuccessful political bids, he retired to personal life, patenting several designs; among them a collapsible building, a hat, a roofing device, a vehicle standard and a dumping wagon. He also wrote widely on the design of silos and other agricultural reforms. Carskadon was instrumental in the creation of South Keyser, serving as its first mayor before his death in 1905. The Thomas R. Carskadon House is listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Carskadon, Thomas 1837 births 1906 deaths People from Keyser, West Virginia Farmers from West Virginia 19th-century American farmers West Virginia state senators Methodists from West Virginia Delegates of the 1861 Wheeling Convention West Virginia Prohibitionists