Thomas Carney (August 20, 1824 – July 28, 1888) was the second Governor of Kansas.

Biography

Carney was born in

Delaware County, Ohio Delaware County is a county located in the central portion of the U.S. state of Ohio. It is a frequent placeholder on the List of highest-income counties in the United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 214,124. Its county seat ...

, to James and Jane (Ostrander) Carney. James died in 1828, leaving a widow and four young sons. Thomas remained at home

farming Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled peopl ...

with his mother until age 19. He was educated in Berkshire, Ohio, where he lived with an uncle. He worked in mercantile businesses and finally established a successful wholesale business in Leavenworth, Kansas. The year he was elected to the state legislature, he married Rebecca Ann Cannady.

Career

After his term as State Representative, Carney was elected Governor of Kansas and served from 1863 through 1865. During his tenure, he devoted his efforts to developing the state and addressing the issues caused by the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

. He was elected Mayor of Leavenworth in 1865. A founder of the First National Bank of Leavenworth, he also served as Director of the Lawrence and Fort Gibson Railroad Company. Carney was contemplating a run for the US Senate in 1871, when he admitted that he had accepted $15,000 from Republican senatorial candidate,

Alexander Caldwell Alexander Caldwell (March 1, 1830May 19, 1917) was a U.S. Senator from Kansas. Early years Born in Drakes Ferry, Pennsylvania, he attended public schools, and in 1847 enlisted as a private to serve in the Mexican–American War. He moved to C ...

to leave the race and thereby allow Caldwell's election in 1871. He continued in business until 1875.

Death

Carney died on July 28, 1888, in Leavenworth, Kansas, from

apoplexy Apoplexy () is rupture of an internal organ and the accompanying symptoms. The term formerly referred to what is now called a stroke. Nowadays, health care professionals do not use the term, but instead specify the anatomic location of the bleedi ...

, and is buried there in Mount Muncie Cemetery.

References

External links

*
Publications concerning Kansas Governor Carney's administration available via the KGI Online Library
, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Carney, Thomas 1824 births 1888 deaths 19th-century American politicians American Presbyterians Republican Party governors of Kansas Mayors of places in Kansas Republican Party members of the Kansas House of Representatives People from Delaware County, Ohio Politicians from Leavenworth, Kansas Politicians from Cincinnati Politicians from Columbus, Ohio Union (American Civil War) state governors