Governor Thomas King Carroll

THOMAS KING CARROLL was born in Somerset County, Maryland on April 29, 1793. His education was attained at the Charlotte Hall Academy, the Washington Academy, and at the University of Pennsylvania, from which he graduated in 1811. He studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1814. Carroll entered politics in 1816 with his election to the Maryland House of Delegates, a position he held until 1817. He also served as judge of the Somerset County Orphan’s Court from 1826 to 1829. Carroll was elected governor of Maryland on January 4, 1830 and sworn into office on January 15. During his tenure, changes to the University of Maryland’s collegiate department were lobbied for, as well as for restructuring the state penal system. Also, aid for Revolutionary War veterans was endorsed; the preservation of war records was recommended; and the completion of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was campaigned for. After running unsuccessfully for reelection, Carroll left office on January 13, 1831. He went on to serve as lottery commissioner for Maryland in the 1840s, as well as naval officer for the Port of Baltimore, before retiring from public life in 1850. Governor Thomas King Carroll passed away on October 3, 1873, and was buried in the Old Trinity Church Cemetery in Dorchester County, Maryland.