Thomas Jefferson Drake (April 18, 1797 – April 20, 1875) was an American lawyer and politician in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

. He served as justice of Utah Territorial Supreme Court and as the third

lieutenant governor of Michigan The lieutenant governor of Michigan is the second-ranking official in U.S. state of Michigan, behind the governor. The current lieutenant governor by default is Garlin Gilchrist, a Democrat, who has held the office since January 1, 2019. Proce ...

Biography

Drake was born in

Scipio, New York Scipio is a town in Cayuga County, New York, United States. The population was 1,713 at the 2010 census. Scipio is centrally located in the southern half of the county, south of Auburn. History Scipio was part of the Central New York Military T ...

, the son of Elijah Drake and Abigail (Stoddard) Drake. In 1822 he moved to

Pontiac Pontiac may refer to: *Pontiac (automobile), a car brand *Pontiac (Ottawa leader) ( – 1769), a Native American war chief Places and jurisdictions Canada *Pontiac, Quebec, a municipality ** Apostolic Vicariate of Pontiac, now the Roman Catholic D ...

in the

Michigan Territory The Territory of Michigan was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from June 30, 1805, until January 26, 1837, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Michigan. Detroit w ...

. He was a member

Michigan Territorial Council The Michigan Territorial Council, known formally as the Legislative Council of the Territory of Michigan, was the legislative body of the Territory of Michigan from 1824 to 1835, when it was succeeded by the Michigan Legislature in anticipation o ...

from 1828 to 1831, and a member of Michigan Territorial Senate in 1834. From 1839 to 1841 he served as a member of the

Michigan Senate The Michigan Senate is the upper house of the Michigan Legislature. Along with the Michigan House of Representatives, it composes the state legislature, which has powers, roles and duties defined by Article IV of the Michigan Constitution, ado ...

representing the 3rd District. In 1840 he was Presidential Elector for Michigan to elect

William Henry Harrison William Henry Harrison (February 9, 1773April 4, 1841) was an American military officer and politician who served as the ninth president of the United States. Harrison died just 31 days after his inauguration in 1841, and had the shortest pres ...

. While serving as president pro tempore of the Michigan Senate, Drake served as the third Lieutenant Governor of Michigan from February 23, 1841, to January 3, 1842, under

James Wright Gordon James Wright Gordon (1809 – December 1853), usually referred to as J. Wright Gordon, was a Whig politician from the U.S. state of Michigan. Life and politics in Michigan Gordon was born in Plainfield, Connecticut and studied law at Harv ...

after the resignation of

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 ...

William Woodbridge William Woodbridge (August 20, 1780October 20, 1861) was a U.S. statesman in the states of Ohio and Michigan and in the Michigan Territory prior to statehood. He served as the second Governor of Michigan and a United States Senator from Michi ...

. Under the 1835 constitution, the lieutenant governor had no specifically defined duties other than presiding over the senate and as filling in as acting governor. He was also a Whig candidate for

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

from Michigan’s 3rd congressional district in 1843, losing to

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

James B. Hunt. Drake was later a delegate to

Republican National Convention The Republican National Convention (RNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1856 by the United States Republican Party. They are administered by the Republican National Committee. The goal of the Repu ...

from Michigan in 1856, and Presidential Elector to elect John C. Fremont, who lost to

James Buchanan James Buchanan Jr. ( ; April 23, 1791June 1, 1868) was an American lawyer, diplomat and politician who served as the 15th president of the United States from 1857 to 1861. He previously served as secretary of state from 1845 to 1849 and repr ...

. He served as justice of Utah Territorial Supreme Court from 1862 to 1869. Drake died in

Pontiac, Michigan Pontiac ( ') is a city in and the county seat of Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 61,606. A northern suburb of Metro Detroit, Pontiac is about northwest of Detroit. Founde ...

on April 20, 1875, two days after his 78th birthday. He is interred in Oak Hill Cemetery in Pontiac.

Family life

Drake married his first wife, Martha Minot Baldwin, on December 17, 1826. He married his second wife, Evelina H. Talbot, on April 19, 1843.

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Drake, Thomas J. 1797 births 1875 deaths Lieutenant Governors of Michigan Michigan state senators Members of the Michigan Territorial Legislature Utah Territorial judges Michigan Republicans Utah Republicans Burials in Michigan Michigan Whigs People from Scipio, New York Politicians from Pontiac, Michigan 19th-century American lawyers 19th-century American politicians 19th-century American judges