A collection of material related to the personal and professional life of Thomas Lyon Hamer, American congressman and soldier.

Thomas Lyon Hamer (1800-1846) was an Ohio lawyer and congressman. In 1821, he was admitted to the bar, and started practice in Georgetown, Brown County, Ohio. In 1825, 1828, and 1829, he was a member of the Ohio state legislature, serving as speaker in 1829. In 1832, Hamer successfully ran for a seat in the U. S. House of Representatives in the 23rd Congress as an independent Jacksonian, and later was re-elected to the 24th and 25th Congresses as a Democrat (1835 to 1839). In 1836, he stumped for the presidential candidate Martin Van Buren. In 1839, having declined re-election, Hamer retired from Congress, and concentrated on building up his legal practice. He continued to play an important role in state and national politics, and in 1844 campaigned for presidential candidate James K. Polk. In 1846, Hamer, a staunch supporter of the Mexican War, volunteered as a private, and the next day was promoted to brigadier general in the army. Hamer died of a fever outside Monterrey, Mexico on December 2, 1846. In March 1847, Congress passed a resolution of sorrow and presented his family with a presentation sword in honor of the life of Thomas Lyon Hamer.

6.84 Linear Feet (10 boxes, 1 volume, 5 oversize folders)

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