Background
Thomas Churchill was born on March 10, 1824, in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. He was the son of Samuel and
Abigail Pope Oldham Churchill.
Thomas studied law at Transylvania University during 1845.
Thomas studied law at Transylvania University during 1845.
Thomas Churchill was born on March 10, 1824, in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. He was the son of Samuel and
Abigail Pope Oldham Churchill.
Thomas graduated from St. Mary's College, Kentucky in 1844 and studied law at Transylvania University during 1845.
During the Mexican War, Thomas James Churchill served as a lieutenant in the 1st Kentucky Mounted Rifles. In 1848, he moved to Little Rock, Arkansas, to become a planter. He was the postmaster of Little Rock from 1857 to 1861.
Early in the Civil War, he raised a regiment and was made a colonel in the 1st Arkansas Mounted Rifles. After displaying gallantry at the battles of Wilson's Creek and Elkhorn, he was promoted to brigadier general on March 4, 1862. He participated in the Kentucky campaign, particularly in the Confederate victory at Richmond, Kentucky, in August 1862.
Late in 1862, he was sent to the defense of the Arkansas Post, where he was forced to surrender in January 1863. He was exchanged shortly thereafter. Churchill later served with Braxton Bragg in Tennessee and fought in the Red River campaign at the battles of Pleasant Hill and Jenkins' Ferry, for which he was promoted to major general on March 18, 1865.
Churchill went to Texas with General Edmund Kirby Smith and surrendered there in June 1865. After he was paroled, Churchill retired to his farm in Pulaski County, Arkansas. Elected lieutenant governor in 1866, he was denied the office by the Union authorities, but he continued to be active in Democratic politics.
From 1874 to 1881, Churchill was treasurer of the state, and in 1881, he was elected governor by a large margin. After his term as governor, he retired to Little Rock.
Thomas James Churchill, the thirteenth governor of Arkansas, led advances in health and education while in office. During his administration, legislation set standards for practicing medicine and established the Medical Department of Arkansas Industrial University (now the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences) in Little Rock (Pulaski County). In addition to creating a facility for the mentally ill and a state board of health, his administration appropriated funds for purchasing a building for the branch normal school in Pine Bluff (Jefferson County), which served African-American students.
Churchill was a member of the Democratic party.
Thomas Churchill married Anne Maria Sevier on July 31, 1849. They had two sons and four daughters.
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