He practiced law in Georgetown, Ohio and was elected to the Ohio House of Representatives in 1828, which body unanimously chose him as their Speaker in December 1829. As Speaker, he sought to maintain independence from party politics; although Jackson's supporters controlled a slight advantage over John Quincy Adams' supporters, he appointed Adams men as a majority in seven of the fifteen standing committees.[2]: 344 When the Jackson caucus proposed enforcing party discipline during judicial elections, Hamer fought the proposal fiercely; envisioning a choice between the party candidate and the candidate he believed best qualified, he denounced a vote for the party candidate as perjury of his oath of office. These statements won him criticism from party stalwarts who deemed him unfaithful to the interests of his party.[2]: 345
Following service in the House, Hamer was elected to the U.S. Congress. While serving as a congressman he nominated Hiram Ulysses Grant, the son of Jesse Root Grant, a constituent (the friend of his father-in-law), to be a cadet at West Point. Hamer incorrectly put on the nomination the name "Ulysses S. Grant" (assuming his middle name was his mother's maiden name of Simpson, the custom of the time) and the name stayed with the new cadet.[3]
When the Mexican–American War broke out Hamer volunteered as a private in the Ohio Volunteers, and was quickly commissioned as a major in June 1846. Popular and well respected, Hamer was appointed a brigadier general of volunteers on July 1, 1846. He was placed in command of the 1st Brigade of William O. Butler's Volunteer Division of the Army of Occupation. He led his brigade with distinction into the fighting at the battle of Monterrey. When General Butler fell wounded, Hamer assumed command of the division. When Mexican General Pedro de Ampudia requested to discuss surrender terms, it was Hamer who delivered the message to General Taylor. While still serving in the army he was elected to another term in Congress but died unexpectedly while stationed with the army at Monterrey on December 2, 1846. Upon Hamer's death, General Zachary Taylor exclaimed "I have lost the balance wheel of my volunteer army" and Lt. Ulysses S. Grant also lamented that the "U.S. has lost a future president." Grant later described him as "one of the ablest men Ohio ever produced."
^Gannett, Henry (1902). The origin of certain place names in the United States, Volume 8, Issue 197. Govt. Print. Off. p. 128. Retrieved September 1, 2013.
Taylor, William Alexander; Taylor, Aubrey Clarence (1899). Ohio statesmen and annals of progress: from the year 1788 to the year 1900 ... Vol. 1. State of Ohio. p. 145.
thomas, hamer, thomas, lyon, hamer, july, 1800, december, 1846, united, states, democratic, congressman, soldier, thomas, lyon, hamermember, house, representatives, from, ohio, districtin, office, march, 1833, march, 1839preceded, bywilliam, russellsucceeded, . Thomas Lyon Hamer July 1800 December 2 1846 was a United States Democratic congressman and soldier Thomas Lyon HamerMember of the U S House of Representatives from Ohio s 5th districtIn office March 4 1833 March 3 1839Preceded byWilliam RussellSucceeded byWilliam DoanMember of the Ohio House of Representatives from the Brown County districtIn office December 5 1825 December 3 1826Preceded byGeorge EdwardsJohn CochranSucceeded byJohn CochranIn office December 1 1828 December 5 1830Serving with John CochranPreceded byJohn CochranGeorge EdwardsSucceeded byJohn CochranNathan EllisPersonal detailsBornJuly 1800 1800 07 Northumberland County Pennsylvania U S DiedDecember 2 1846 1846 12 02 aged 46 Monterrey Nuevo Leon MexicoResting placeGeorgetown OhioPolitical partyJacksonian DemocratSpouseLydia Bruce Higgins 1822 1845 her death ProfessionLawyer soldierHamer was born in July 1800 in Northumberland County Pennsylvania He was a school teacher before being admitted to the bar in 1821 He was an Ohio Presidential elector in 1828 for Andrew Jackson 1 He practiced law in Georgetown Ohio and was elected to the Ohio House of Representatives in 1828 which body unanimously chose him as their Speaker in December 1829 As Speaker he sought to maintain independence from party politics although Jackson s supporters controlled a slight advantage over John Quincy Adams supporters he appointed Adams men as a majority in seven of the fifteen standing committees 2 344 When the Jackson caucus proposed enforcing party discipline during judicial elections Hamer fought the proposal fiercely envisioning a choice between the party candidate and the candidate he believed best qualified he denounced a vote for the party candidate as perjury of his oath of office These statements won him criticism from party stalwarts who deemed him unfaithful to the interests of his party 2 345 Following service in the House Hamer was elected to the U S Congress While serving as a congressman he nominated Hiram Ulysses Grant the son of Jesse Root Grant a constituent the friend of his father in law to be a cadet at West Point Hamer incorrectly put on the nomination the name Ulysses S Grant assuming his middle name was his mother s maiden name of Simpson the custom of the time and the name stayed with the new cadet 3 When the Mexican American War broke out Hamer volunteered as a private in the Ohio Volunteers and was quickly commissioned as a major in June 1846 Popular and well respected Hamer was appointed a brigadier general of volunteers on July 1 1846 He was placed in command of the 1st Brigade of William O Butler s Volunteer Division of the Army of Occupation He led his brigade with distinction into the fighting at the battle of Monterrey When General Butler fell wounded Hamer assumed command of the division When Mexican General Pedro de Ampudia requested to discuss surrender terms it was Hamer who delivered the message to General Taylor While still serving in the army he was elected to another term in Congress but died unexpectedly while stationed with the army at Monterrey on December 2 1846 Upon Hamer s death General Zachary Taylor exclaimed I have lost the balance wheel of my volunteer army and Lt Ulysses S Grant also lamented that the U S has lost a future president Grant later described him as one of the ablest men Ohio ever produced He was buried in his hometown of Georgetown a few miles from his namesake village of Hamersville 4 Also named in his honor is Hamer Township in neighboring Highland County Ohio Headstone of Thomas L Hamer located in Georgetown Ohio Grave marker of Thomas L Hamer Thomas L Hamer Historical Marker next to U S Grant Boyhood HomeReferences Edit Taylor 1899 145 a b The History of Brown County Ohio Chicago Beers 1883 Smith Jean Edward 2001 Grant New York Simon amp Schuster p 24 ISBN 0 684 84927 5 Gannett Henry 1902 The origin of certain place names in the United States Volume 8 Issue 197 Govt Print Off p 128 Retrieved September 1 2013 United States Congress Thomas L Hamer id H000097 Biographical Directory of the United States Congress Retrieved on 2009 05 26 Bauer K Jack The Mexican American War 1846 48 Lincoln NE University of Nebraska Press 1992 Wilson James Grant Fiske John 1887 Thomas L Hamer Appletons Cyclopaedia of American Biography Vol 3 pp 55 56 Taylor William Alexander Taylor Aubrey Clarence 1899 Ohio statesmen and annals of progress from the year 1788 to the year 1900 Vol 1 State of Ohio p 145 External links EditWorks by or about Thomas L Hamer at Internet ArchiveU S House of RepresentativesPreceded byWilliam Russell Member of the U S House of Representatives from Ohio s 5th congressional district1833 1839 Succeeded byWilliam Doan Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Thomas L Hamer amp oldid 1125747350, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
