View source for Thomas C. McCreery

{{short description|American politician}}
{{for|the 19th century baseball player|Tom McCreery}}
{{redirect|Senator McCreery}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2025}}

{{Infobox officeholder
|name                = Thomas Clay McCreery
|image = Thomas C. McCreery - Brady-Handy.jpg
|jr/sr              = United States Senator
|state               = [[Kentucky]]
|term_start1          = February 19, 1868
|term_end1            = March 4, 1871
|predecessor1         = [[James Guthrie (Kentucky politician)|James Guthrie]]
|successor1           = [[John W. Stevenson]]
|term_start2 = March 4, 1873
|term_end2 = March 4, 1879
|predecessor2 = [[Willis Benson Machen|Willis B. Machen]]
|successor2 = [[John Stuart Williams|John S. Williams]]
|birth_date         = {{birth date|1816|12|12}}
|birth_place        = [[Yelvington, Kentucky]]
|death_date         = {{death date and age|1890|7|10|1816|12|12}}
|death_place        = [[Owensboro, Kentucky]]
|party               = [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]
}}
'''Thomas Clay McCreery''' (December 12, 1816{{spaced ndash}}July 10, 1890) was an American politician who was a [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] [[United States Senate|U.S. Senator]] from [[Kentucky]] from 1868 to 1871 and again from 1873 to 1879.

== Biography ==
Born at [[Yelvington, Kentucky]],<ref>Hugh O. Potter's History of Owensboro and Daviess County, Kentucky, pp.182, Herff Jones-Paragon Publishing, Montgomery, Alabama and Louisville, KY, 1974</ref> McCreery graduated from [[Centre College]], in [[Danville, Kentucky]], in 1837. He studied law, passed the bar, and commenced practice in [[Frankfort, Kentucky]]. He then returned to Owensboro and engaged in literary pursuits.

He ran unsuccessfully for election in 1842 to the [[28th United States Congress|Twenty-eighth Congress]], and again in 1844 to the [[29th United States Congress|Twenty-ninth Congress]]. He served as a [[presidential elector]] on the Democratic tickets in 1852, 1856, and 1860. He was finally elected as a Democrat to the United States Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of [[James Guthrie (American politician)|James Guthrie]], and served from February 19, 1868, to March 3, 1871. However, McCreery faced many accusations by then-Governor [[John W. Stevenson]], of helping hated former Union General [[Steven G. Burbridge]] obtain a position as revenue collector,<ref>Owen, Tom (2004). "John White Stevenson" in Harrison, Lowell H. ''Kentucky's Governors'' (Lexington, Kentucky: The University Press of Kentucky, 2004) p. 100</ref><ref>Tapp, Hambleton; [[James C. Klotter]], ''Kentucky: Decades of Discord, 1865–1900'' (Lexington, Kentucky: The University Press of Kentucky, 2007), p. 380.</ref> and lost to Stevenson in the following election. McCreery was again elected to the United States Senate in 1872 and served from March 4, 1873, to March 3, 1879, when he declined to be a candidate for reelection.

He retired from public life and lived on his farm in [[Daviess County, Kentucky]], and moved back to Owensboro, where he died and was interred in [[Rosehill Elmwood Cemetery]].<ref>{{CongBio|M000385}}
</ref>

==References==
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{{U.S. Senator box|state=Kentucky|class=2|before=[[James Guthrie (American politician)|James Guthrie]]|after=[[John W. Stevenson]]|alongside=[[Garrett Davis]]|years=1868&ndash;1871}}
{{U.S. Senator box|state=Kentucky|class=3|before=[[Willis Benson Machen|Willis B. Machen]]|after=[[John Stuart Williams|John S. Williams]]|alongside=[[John W. Stevenson]], [[James B. Beck]]|years=1873&ndash;1879}}
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[[Category:1816 births]]
[[Category:1890 deaths]]
[[Category:Politicians from Owensboro, Kentucky]]
[[Category:Centre College alumni]]
[[Category:Kentucky lawyers]]
[[Category:Kentucky Democrats]]
[[Category:Democratic Party United States senators from Kentucky]]
[[Category:19th-century Kentucky politicians]]
[[Category:19th-century American lawyers]]
[[Category:19th-century United States senators]]


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