He was born in Wilson County, Tennessee. Drew moved with his family to Louisiana and then, in 1818, to Arkansas. He worked as a traveling salesman and school teacher. Drew first settled in Clark County and was appointed Clark County Clerk in 1823. In 1827 he moved to Pocahontas, Arkansas, and married Cinderella Bettis, daughter of the prosperous founder of that town, Ransom Bettis. His father-in-law gave the newlyweds 800 acres (3.2 km2) of bottom land in Cherokee Bay, where the town of Biggers lies in what is now Randolph County (then Lawrence County.) The Drews prospered, and their plantation included 20 African-American slaves.
In 1832, Drew was elected County Judge of Lawrence County. In 1835, Drew and Bettis convinced the Arkansas Territorial Legislature to create Randolph County out of Lawrence County. In 1836, Drew and Bettis held an infamous free bar-b-que complete with free liquor for the entire county in Pocahontas (then known as Bettis Bluff). The grateful attendees the next day chose Pocahontas as the county seat in an upset election over the more populated community of Columbia. That same year, Drew gave the county land in downtown Pocahontas where a courthouse was constructed.
In 1836 he was chosen as a delegate to the Arkansas Constitutional Convention. He was elected Governor in 1844 as a Democrat, supported by the Conway-Sevier Faction that ruled Arkansas from territorial days to the 1850s. His administration concentrated on the state's financial solvency and attempted to repair the state's credit and party disunity. Other achievements of his first administration were Arkansas becoming the first southern state to declare Thanksgiving to be a state holiday, and, at Cinderella's urging, he had legislation passed so that Arkansas became the first southern state to declare the property a woman brought to a marriage to be her own and not her husband's.
Drew was reelected in 1848. In 1849 he dispatched a militia to Marion County to put down the Tutt-Everett War. Drew only served a year of his second term before resigning due to the low salary provided for the governor. He retired from politics and worked to try and recover from financial losses. He was living in Sebastian County, Arkansas, in 1860.[1] but eventually moved to Texas, initially to Weatherford, and later to Hood County. Drew died in January 1879 at Lipan, Texas.
Drew was originally buried in the Old Baptist Cemetery in Lipan, but his body was removed in 1923 by Arkansas officials and moved to the Masonic Cemetery in Pocahontas, where he rests today along with Bettis, Cinderella, and several of the Drew children.
thomas, drew, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, september, 20. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Thomas S Drew news newspapers books scholar JSTOR September 2019 Learn how and when to remove this message Thomas Stevenson Drew August 25 1802 January 1879 was the third Governor of the U S state of Arkansas Thomas Stevenson Drew3rd Governor of ArkansasIn office November 9 1844 January 10 1849Preceded bySamuel AdamsSucceeded byRichard C ByrdPersonal detailsBorn 1802 08 25 August 25 1802Wilson County TennesseeDiedJanuary 1879 aged 76 Lipan TexasPolitical partyDemocraticBiography editHe was born in Wilson County Tennessee Drew moved with his family to Louisiana and then in 1818 to Arkansas He worked as a traveling salesman and school teacher Drew first settled in Clark County and was appointed Clark County Clerk in 1823 In 1827 he moved to Pocahontas Arkansas and married Cinderella Bettis daughter of the prosperous founder of that town Ransom Bettis His father in law gave the newlyweds 800 acres 3 2 km2 of bottom land in Cherokee Bay where the town of Biggers lies in what is now Randolph County then Lawrence County The Drews prospered and their plantation included 20 African American slaves In 1832 Drew was elected County Judge of Lawrence County In 1835 Drew and Bettis convinced the Arkansas Territorial Legislature to create Randolph County out of Lawrence County In 1836 Drew and Bettis held an infamous free bar b que complete with free liquor for the entire county in Pocahontas then known as Bettis Bluff The grateful attendees the next day chose Pocahontas as the county seat in an upset election over the more populated community of Columbia That same year Drew gave the county land in downtown Pocahontas where a courthouse was constructed In 1836 he was chosen as a delegate to the Arkansas Constitutional Convention He was elected Governor in 1844 as a Democrat supported by the Conway Sevier Faction that ruled Arkansas from territorial days to the 1850s His administration concentrated on the state s financial solvency and attempted to repair the state s credit and party disunity Other achievements of his first administration were Arkansas becoming the first southern state to declare Thanksgiving to be a state holiday and at Cinderella s urging he had legislation passed so that Arkansas became the first southern state to declare the property a woman brought to a marriage to be her own and not her husband s Drew was reelected in 1848 In 1849 he dispatched a militia to Marion County to put down the Tutt Everett War Drew only served a year of his second term before resigning due to the low salary provided for the governor He retired from politics and worked to try and recover from financial losses He was living in Sebastian County Arkansas in 1860 1 but eventually moved to Texas initially to Weatherford and later to Hood County Drew died in January 1879 at Lipan Texas Drew was originally buried in the Old Baptist Cemetery in Lipan but his body was removed in 1923 by Arkansas officials and moved to the Masonic Cemetery in Pocahontas where he rests today along with Bettis Cinderella and several of the Drew children Drew County Arkansas was named for him References edit 1860 Arkansas CensusExternal links editEncyclopedia of Arkansas History amp Culture entry Thomas Stevenson Drew Party political offices Preceded byArchibald Yell Democratic nominee for Governor of Arkansas1844 1848 Succeeded byJohn Selden Roane Political offices Preceded bySamuel Adams Governor of Arkansas1844 1849 Succeeded byRichard C Byrd Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Thomas S Drew amp oldid 1163883836, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
