Thomas Metcalfe (Kentucky politician), Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death
TweetThomas Metcalfe (Kentucky politician)
American politician
Date of Birth: 20-Mar-1780
Place of Birth: Fauquier County, Virginia, United States
Date of Death: 18-Aug-1855
Profession: politician
Nationality: United States
Zodiac Sign: Pisces 
About Thomas Metcalfe (Kentucky politician)
- Thomas Metcalfe (March 20, 1780 – August 18, 1855), also known as Thomas Metcalf or as "Stonehammer", was a U.S.
- Representative, Senator, and the tenth Governor of Kentucky.
- He was the first gubernatorial candidate in the state's history to be chosen by a nominating convention rather than a caucus.
- He was also the first governor of Kentucky who was not a member of the Democratic-Republican Party.At age 16, Metcalfe was apprenticed to his older brother and became a stonemason.
- He helped construct the Green County courthouse, known as the oldest courthouse in Kentucky.
- Later, political opponents would mock his trade, giving him the nickname "Old Stone Hammer." His political career began with four terms in the Kentucky House of Representatives.
- His service was interrupted by the War of 1812, in which he commanded a company in the defense of Fort Meigs.
- At the age of thirty-eight, he was elected to the U.S.
- House of Representatives.
- He held his seat in the House for five terms, then resigned to run for governor.
- In an election decided by 709 votes, Metcalfe defeated William T.
- Barry in the gubernatorial election of 1828.
- Metcalfe's predecessor, Joseph Desha was so stunned by his party's loss that he threatened not to vacate the governor's mansion.
- Ultimately, however, he respected the will of the people, and allowed an orderly transition. Metcalfe's primary concern as governor was the issue of internal improvements.
- Among his proposed projects were a road connecting Shelbyville to Louisville and a canal on the Falls of the Ohio.
- When President Andrew Jackson vetoed funds to construct a turnpike connecting Maysville and Lexington, Metcalfe built it anyway, paying for it entirely with state funds.
- Following his term as governor, he served in the state senate, and completed the unfinished term of John J.
- Crittenden in the U.S.
- Senate in 1848.
- After this, he retired to "Forest Retreat", his estate in Nicholas County, where he died of cholera in 1855.
- Metcalfe County, Kentucky was named in his honor.
Read more at Wikipedia