USA > Maryland > Governors of Maryland : from the Revolution to the year 1908 > Part 13
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When Philip Francis Thomas declared himself a demo- crat, consternation spread through the social circles in which his relatives moved. Not only did it appear to the whiggish friends that he had committed a grave blunder, but they felt convinced that he could never thereafter hope for any official recognition from the people, when ultimately he should seek admission to the fold of the whig party. But Mr. Thomas had no intention of recant- ing. He pulled together the fragments of a party which in Talbot county responded to the name democracy and he ran for the legislature in 1834, and was defeated badly. But his defeat accomplished nothing in the way of taming the youth. Two years later, in 1836, he again appeared as a candidate and had the audacity to espouse the move- ment for a constitutional convention which should accom- plish a reapportionment of the state. Nothing could have been selected to arouse the ire of the Talbot countians more, and as an evidence of the people's displeasure Mr. Thomas received 200 votes less than his opponent. The following year he disregarded the advice of his counselors and again ran for office, and this time was defeated by only 17 votes. At this time the state constitution was so amended as to make the election of governor a matter for direct vote by the people. Thomas was a delegate to the democratic convention which met in Baltimore in 1838 and nominated William Grason for governor, and Mr. Thomas boldly pledged Talbot county to Mr. Grason, and carried out his pledge. In Talbot the democratic gubernatorial candidate received a majority of 130 votes, while Mr. Thomas, who was a candidate for the legislature, had 190 majority.
This final success as a legislative candidate moved Mr. Thomas to attempt greater things, and he became the nominee of the democratic party for congress in 1839, run-
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PHILIP FRANCIS THOMAS
ning against James Alfred Pearce, the Kent county whig, who had been representing the district in the national legislature since 1831. The democrat's candidacy was at first treated as a jest by the whigs and not a few mem- bers of Mr. Thomas' own party, but the morning after election revealed the startling fact that the whigs carried only one county, Kent, while the congressional district gave Mr. Thomas a majority of 188 votes.
Mr. Thomas was appointed a member of the committee on elections shortly after his entrance into the national legislature. The contested election cases before the com- mittee at that time were so engrossing that the members were excused from attending the meetings of the house and spent all their time taking testimony. While the services performed by the Talbot county congressman in this connection were important, they were not of a charac- ter to make for him much reputation as a parliamentarian or a legislator. At the close of his term as representative, Congressman Thomas was renominated by his party, but declined to enter the campaign, and Mr. Pearce, the whig, was elected without opposition. Mr. Thomas resumed his law practice, though later he accepted the office of judge of the land office court for the Eastern Shore. In 1843 he was prevailed upon to become a candi- date for the house of delegates, and was elected. In the state legislature he proved himself a powerful foe of those who sought to deceive the people regarding the state's finances.
In 1845 Mr. Thomas once more appeared as the candidate for the state legislature and was elected. He served with such signal success in the session of 1846 that his name was generally mentioned as the prospective demo- cratic nominee for governor long before the time set for state conventions. At the democratic state convention,
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June 24, 1847, Mr. Thomas received the nomination for governor. William Tilghman Goldsborough was the nomi- nee of the whig party. The whigs charged Mr. Thomas, who had been a strong advocate of paying the public debt, with being favorable to repudiation, and hoped thereby to accomplish his defeat. But the democrat frankly met the charge and explained to the voters every feature of his course in matters of both internal improvement legisla- tion and the state's debts. The election was held on Octo- ber 6, 1847; but all the returns were not received until the fifth day thereafter, and then it was learned that Mr. Thomas had been chosen by a majority of 709 votes.
Of the many noteworthy features of Thomas' administra- tion, the most important one, perhaps, was the resumption by the state of interest payments upon bonds. This occurred just about the time that Governor Pratt's term closed, and chief credit is due to the retiring executive, although Thomas had been active in working for the resumption of these payments. With his induction into office Governor Thomas started a campaign for constitutional reform, and in his inaugural address on January 3, 1848, he pointed out the defects in the seventy-year-old constitution under which Marylanders were then living, and stressed the need of calling a convention to devise a new instrument for government. During the closing months of his three- year term as governor such a convention was held, and it completed its work in the first year of the administration of Governor Thomas' successor.
Under the new constitution there was created the office of comptroller, and after the close of Thomas' administration, in 1851, he was chosen as the first incumbent of this office. Early in the fifties Franklin Pierce was elected president of the United States, and immediately after his inaugura- tion began his endeavors to coax Mr. Thomas into accepting
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PHILIP FRANCIS THOMAS
some office under him. Hefirst offered Mr. Thomas the port- folio of the navy, but the latter declined it for the reason that the salary was insufficient to maintain the dignity of the position, and he had no private income to help it out. President Pierce became insistent that Governor Thomas accept some federal patronage in the shape of an office, and the latter finally consented to become the collector of customs of the port of Baltimore, for which purpose he resigned as comptroller of the state in 1853. At the close of the Pierce administration, when President Buch- anan appointed a new collector of Baltimore, Mr. Thomas went west to try his fortune in the land of golden promise. He took up his residence in St. Louis and began the practice of law there, but was unable to become reconciled to his absence from Maryland. During the Mormon war President Buchanan invited him to become governor of the territory of Utah, and when he declined the president proffered him the post of treasurer of the United States, but again Mr. Thomas refused. Finally he was invited to serve as com- missioner of patents, and accepted the office on February 16, 1860. In December of the same year, when Howell Cobb resigned the portfolio of the treasury, President Buchanan prevailed upon Mr. Thomas to become Cobb's successor, and he was secretary of the treasury for one month, entering the cabinet on December 10, 1860, and retiring therefrom on January II 1861.
Governor Thomas' sympathies were with the south during the war, although he spent the years of conflict in the practice of his profession in Talbot county. He had while governor advised the legislature "to make the solemn declaration in advance of the unalterable deter- mination of this state, in case of the passage of the 'Wilmot proviso' or any similar scheme, to make common cause with the south." When the sectional conflict finally began, he
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GOVERNORS OF MARYLAND
did not join the warring elements, but, like Governor Pratt, permitted his son to enlist in the Confederate army. At the close of hostilities, Mr. Thomas appeared as a can- didate for the state legislature in 1866, and was elected. This session was called upon to elect a successor to John A. J. Creswell in the United States senate. Governor Swann was chosen, but declined to serve; and the general assembly then elected Mr. Thomas. He had always been desirous of representing his state in the upper house of congress, and when he was chosen senator, on March 12, 1867, his ambition seemed about to be realized. But congress was then dominated by the most radical of the south-hating republicans, and Governor Thomas was refused admission on the ground of "having given aid and comfort to the rebellion." He was constitutionally eligible, and the judiciary committee of the senate reported favor- ably upon his credentials, but by a vote of 27 to 20 he was refused permission to enter the senate chamber. The technical charge against the senator-elect was that he had supplied his son with clothing and money, and that son had fought with the Confederate forces. There was a disposition among Mr. Thomas' friends to reëlect him United States senator, but he discountenanced the pro- posal and advised that a successor be chosen who would be acceptable. It was especially desirable at this time to fill the vacancy, as the trial of President Johnson was under way and every possible democratic vote was needed in his behalf. Consequently, on March 6, 1868, George Vickers, of Kent county, was elected to the senate and he took his seat in time to vote at the trial of Johnson.
In 1874 Mr. Thomas was a successful congressional candidate and took his seat in 1875, just 35 years after the termination of his first term in the house of repre- sentatives. He was in the lower house of congress until
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PHILIP FRANCIS THOMAS
1877, and the next year was chosen to represent Talbot county in the state legislature. Governor Thomas appeared as a candidate for the United States senate again in 1877 and 1884, but Governor Groome and Ephraim E. Wilson respectively defeated him in the caucuses. He presided at the state convention in 1883, when Robert M. McLane was nominated for governor, and was chosen a member of the Maryland legislature in the elections of that year.
Governor Thomas died in Baltimore, where he had gone for medical treatment, on October 2, 1890, in his eighty- first year. He was survived by the second Mrs. Thomas, who had been Mrs. Clintonia May, widow of Captain May of the United States navy, and daughter of Governor Wright, of Maryland. His first wife, to whom he was married in 1835, was Miss Sarah Maria Kerr.
XXIX ENOCH LOUIS LOWE
On the morn of the Civil War, when Maryland was torn asunder by the divided sentiment of her people, a native poet wrote a patriotic hymn which has since become almost a classic. His heart was with the southland; his plea was for the cause of the so-called cotton states; and his purpose was to stir the passion of Marylanders so that they would rally to the support of the Confederacy. In the song with which James R. Randall sought to rouse the people of Maryland he dwelt upon the glory of the state's particular heroes; and no more convincing proof of the esteem in which Governor Lowe was then held by his fellow-statesmen can be found, than that his name was one of those used by the poet in order to stir the people's hearts :
Come!'t is the red dawn of the day, Maryland! My Maryland! Come! with thy panoplied array, Maryland! My Maryland! With Ringgold's spirit for the fray,
With Watson's blood at Monterey, With fearless Lowe and dashing May, Maryland! My Maryland!
In the story of Maryland's part in the war several men who had earlier served as governor occupy positions of importance. Some of these former state executives were with the south; at least one was in sympathy with the north; but none excelled, and it is doubtful if any equalled Mr. Lowe in devotion to the cause which each espoused. Mr. Grason, the first popularly elected governor, was an
ENOCH LOUIS LOWE 1851-1854
Er
XXIX
.
INOCH LOUIS LOWE
Da Chy They - P- Cinl War, when Maryland was torn Google boo the dived sentiment of her people, a native pod eroo& palau hyres which helt since become almost . la Hir hous var with the southland; his plea was for the tausend the so -called cation states, and his purpose way to skir Oka pulmon of Marylanders an that they would kelly to the support of the Confederacy. in the song with which Jamais & Randall sought to rouse The people of Maryland bjo dwell upon the mlary of the state's particular heroes; and no tak Ved QUOI HOOVA Uption in which
You Monterey.
MaryGod My Maryland!
In the story of Maryland's part is the war several men who had garlie med As governor occupy position. 04 importance 8Villese former state executive e with the tout: Longe was in sympathy nity the
north; but none and it is doubtfid if are Wel Mr. Lowo in delyk Me thi cause which suL. Mr. Grason. the popularly elected govore sar au
COPYRIGHT, 1908, BY H. E. BUCHHOLZ.
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ENOCH LOUIS LOWE
ardent supporter of slavery and a friend of the south. His successor, Francis Thomas, was one of the bitterest oppo- nents of the Confederacy. The next two governors-Thomas G. Pratt and Philip Francis Thomas-were sentimentally inclined toward the southern cause and, although neither took part in the conflict, each gave to the Confederate army the service of a son. Mr. Lowe, the last governor under the constitution of 1776, went further than any of his imme- diate predecessors. When the war began, he took his way to the southland, and there gave moral and material sup- port to the Confederacy. If secession was rebellion, then he was one of the most violent rebels who came out of Maryland; and the final defeat of the southern cause brought a sorrow to his heart which never thereafter left it.
Enoch Louis Lowe, born August 10, 1820, was the son of Lieutenant Bradley S. A. and Adelaide (Vincendiere) Lowe; Lieutenant Lowe was a graduate of West Point Academy, The early years of the governor were passed at the beautiful family estate, The Hermitage, a tract of 1000 acres in Frederick county upon the Monocacy river. He attended St. John's School in Frederick City, and later, at the age of thirteen, was sent abroad to complete his studies. He was entered at Clongowas Wood College, near Dublin, and subsequently studied at the Roman Catholic College of Stonyhurst, where he continued for three years. After completing his academic studies, 1839, Mr. Lowe made an extensive tour of Europe, and upon his return to America traveled about the states for a year before return- ing home to take up seriously the work of life. He then became a student of law under Judge Lynch, of Frederick, and in 1842, at the age of twenty-one was admitted to the bar.
Although Mr. Lowe formed a law partnership with John W. Baughman at Frederick, and gave much thought to
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building up for himself a reputation in his chosen profes- sion, he did not for long keep a single eye to the law, but early evinced a desire for a part in the political affairs of his section. In 1845 he appeared as a candidate on the democratic ticket for the state legislature, and his campaign resulted in two things-his election to the house of delegates and the winning of more than a little reputation as an able stump speaker. Mr. Lowe became prominent as an advo- cate for constitutional reform in Maryland and through this advocacy his fame had spread so far by 1850 that, when the democratic state convention met in that year, he was chosen upon a "reform" platform as the standard-bearer of his party. The whigs nominated for governor William B. Clarke, of Washington county, and the two aspirants for the gubernatorial chair had several public debates during the campaign. Mr. Lowe's personal popularity in Balti- more won for him the election. His majority throughout the state was just 1492 votes, but Baltimore-which gave a whig candidate for mayor a majority of 777 votes- gave Mr. Lowe, the democratic gubernatorial candidate, a majority of 2759.
Mr. Lowe was but twenty-nine years old when nomi- nated for governor, although he satisfied the constitutional requirement by arriving at the age of thirty before election day. Much was made of his youth, and upon one occasion a would-be detractor interrupted him while he was making a speech by asking: "How old are you?" But the demo- cratic candidate flashed back the magnificent reply: "A wife and four children." He had been married, May 29, 1844, to Miss Esther Winder Polk, daughter of Colonel James Polk, of Princess Anne. Mrs. Lowe bore her hus- band eleven children, seven of whom with the mother sur- vived the governor.
Governor Lowe was inaugurated January 6, 1851, and
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ENOCH LOUIS LOWE
continued in office until January 11, 1854. His administra- tion, therefore, witnessed the change in the state govern- ment from the old constitution of 1776 to the constitution of 1851. At a special election in May, 1850, the people of Maryland had declared for a constitutional convention, and at an election held in the following September delegates to this convention were chosen. The body thus elected was only slightly whiggish in complexion, and the document it devised-during its session from November 4, 1850, to May 13, 1851-was largely made up of compromises between the two opposing elements. The greatest gain for the people was that the constitution of 1776, burdened with amend- ment upon amendment, was superseded by a governmental document that at least expressed clearly the things that it treated. Before the proposed constitution could be fully digested by the people, it was placed before them for ratifi- cation, and was given a small majority at a special election on June 4, 1851.
During Governor Lowe's administration the state fully recovered from the financial depression that had resulted some years earlier in the advocacy of repudiation of pub- lic debts. Governor Thomas, who preceded Mr. Lowe, had warned the people against reducing the amount of taxa- tion, and declared that such a reduction, despite the cheer- ful outlook, would be a dangerous step. But Governor Lowe boldly advised the very thing against which Mr. Thomas had warned, and in 1853 the people of Maryland were required to pay but 15 cents on the $100, whereas in the several years prior thereto the annual tax rate for the state had been 25 cents. Another notable feature of the Lowe administration was the completion of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad to the Ohio river, which, according to the original plans of the promoters, was to have been the western terminus of the line.
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During the administration of Mr. Lowe, General Kossuth, the Hungarian patriot, visited America and was the guest of Maryland's chief magistrate for several days. Although Mr. Lowe was heartily in sympathy with the foreigner and the cause he represented, he was unable to accord either any aid from the state government. Mr. Lowe was named as minister extraordinary and plenipotentiary to China by President Pierce, but declined the post.
After the close of his administration Mr. Lowe assumed a much more prominent rôle in national politics than he had taken before his governorship. He became one of the great figures among those who took up the cause of the south, not for office nor for personal advantage, but solely because of a love for the land and the people south of the Mason and Dixon Line. He helped to win for Buchanan the democratic nomination for president in 1856, and was active in the campaign which resulted in Buchanan's election. Mr. Lowe was active in the presidential cam- paign of 1860, supporting John C. Breckinridge even more heartily than he had supported Buchanan.
When the war began, Mr. Lowe remained in Baltimore long enough to serve the south to the fullest extent of his ability in his native state. He was a man without fear, and what he did, he did openly. While others tried to evade answering the question as to their allegiance, Gover- nor Lowe stood up fearlessly for the cause of the south. Later he went to Virginia, where he became the guest of honor of the legislature of the Old Dominion. His address delivered before the legislature was regarded by that body as of sufficient moment to warrant its publication and dis- tribution by the state.
Governor Lowe wanted Maryland to secede, and he believed that the state would ultimately join the Confed- eracy. "God knows," he declared, "Marylanders love the
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the sunny south as dearly as any son of the Palmetto State. They idolize the chivalric honor, the stern and refined idea of free government, the social dignity and conservatism which characterize the southern mind and heart, as enthusi- astically as those of their southern brethren who were born where the snows never fall." He was bitter in his denun- ciations of Mr. Hicks who "had purposely left her [Mary- land] in a defenseless condition, in order that he might with- out peril to himself deliver her up at the suitable time to be crucified and receive his thirty pieces of silver as the price of his unspeakable treachery."
Mr. Lowe spent the greater part of his voluntary exile in the south in Augusta and in Milledgeville, Georgia. After the war Governor Lowe returned to Maryland, where he lived from November, 1865, until May, 1866, when he moved with his family to New York. It was not only the iron- clad oath-which his self-respect would not permit him to take-that sent Mr. Lowe out of his native state; but Baltimore at that time did not seem to offer him the means of supporting his large family by his professional work in the way that he was accustomed to providing for it. He had lost heavily through the war, and in Brooklyn, where he was to take up his residence, he saw a large enough field for practice to insure him a considerable income. His leaving Baltimore with his family to go to a strange city is but another evidence of the wonderful courage of the man.
For some time after removing to New York, Mr. Lowe was in much demand as a lecturer. He was several times solicited to enter the political circles of the Empire state. Except for his brief activity in the Hancock-Garfield cam- paign, however, he remained in comparative retirement. He was for a while counsel of the Erie Railroad Company, but upon the death of James Fiske this relationship was dissolved.
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A newspaper correspondent, writing from Brooklyn at the time of Governor Lowe's death, asserted that he had "lived a very retired life, and outside of the immediate circle of his family friends was hardly ever seen or heard of. It was often regretted here that Mr. Lowe did not take the public place his abilities and career warranted, but he seemed to care only for the peace and quiet of his family and home, and thus occupied himself out of the sight and bustle of the busy world." Governor Lowe died on August 23, 1892, at St. Mary's Hospital, where he had undergone an operation which proved unsuccessful. His body was removed to Frederick, and was privately interred on August 25, Governor Lowe having requested that no funeral sermon be preached at his burial.
COPYRIGHT, 1908, BY H. E. BUCHHOLZ.
THOMAS WATKINS LIGON
(soit impose.upon poleny their own estimates Hogy gener Dy de munte the comions of
the
soneed fury to glory in its vileness To teach an offaos child's play compared tothe work of morning the state's dominant political force, or even of conelrootg mod wicked- nese. Yet Mr. Ligon fearlessly undertook this labor, and for this bis glory should have been great, But he was a man without us NEW And ruffes of the conventional type of early . . .. and his Aprazspno methods proved
of God Wintar Tratkies ch Nam Autionary fame. he Was born in text in Prince Eavant county, Virginia father e Limmer, ted why Le governor was a lad, and upon ton mother devolved The responsibility of jaovidiny for her two sons. After onimMeting his primary studies Thomas Lyon was sent to Hampden- Sidney Donega, from which he wne graduated with distinction. He then ontured
THOMAS WATKINS LIGON 1854-1858
XXX THOMAS WATKINS LIGON
Although the contemporaries of a historical personage cannot arbitrarily impose upon posterity their own estimates of his character, they generally can shape the opinions of other men by erecting historical guideposts which point in the direction of their own opinion. Here, then, is a key to the enigma of Governor Ligon's position in the hall of fame of Maryland. In the days of his governorship the body politic had forgotten that it ever had been virtuous and seemed fairly to glory in its vileness. To teach an infant nation to be pure in its political affairs would have been mere child's play compared to the task of reforming the state's dominant political force, or even of convicting it of wicked- ness. Yet Mr. Ligon fearlessly undertook this labor, and for this his glory should have been great. But he was a man without the frills and ruffles of the conventional type of early state executives, and his homespun methods proved offensive to many of his contemporaries.
Thomas Watkins Ligon is one of the several native Virgin- ians who have served Maryland as governor. The son of Thomas D. Ligon, and the grandson on his maternal side of Col. Thomas Watkins, of Revolutionary fame, he was born in 1812 in Prince Edward county, Virginia. His father, a farmer, died when the governor was a lad, and upon the mother devolved the responsibility of providing for her two sons. After completing his primary studies, Thomas Ligon was sent to Hampden-Sidney College, from which he was graduated with distinction. He then entered
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