Thomas J. Green
Democratic
| Date | Party | Office | Votes | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11-13-1849 | Nonpartisan | SD-Sacramento | 2512 | Win |
| 10-07-1850 | Democratic | SD-12 | 0 | Win |
| Website: | en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Jefferson_Green |
Candidate Biography:
Thomas Jefferson Green
Born: February 14, 1802 in Warren County, North Carolina
Married: Sarah A. Wharton (m.1822)
Military Service: Texas Volunteer Army (Texas Revolution), Texian Militia (Somervell Expedition & Mier Expedition), ARMY (1846-1848 Occupation of California)
Died: December 13, 1863 in Warren County, North Carolina
1823: Member, North Carolina Legislature
1820s or 1830s: Member, Florida Legislature
1836: Representative, Republic of Texas Congress
1843-1844: Representative, Republic of Texas Congress
1849: Thomas Green reportedly donated the first collection of books that would eventually become the California State Library. The State Library attributes the start of its collection to several books donated on December 22, 1849 by Colonel J.D. Stevenson
- LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: Green served in the legislatures of three different U.S. states and also of Texas, which was not yet a state.
- The first legislature got its nickname "Legislature of a Thousand Drinks" from Green, who would often call for recesses to buy drinks for other legislators. According to the History of California by Bancroft, "It has always been alleged that the American-Californians of an early period drank freely, and this body has been styled the 'legislature of a thousand drinks.' However this may have been, it was the best legislature California ever had. For what they drank, the members returned thanks. All were honest - there was nothing to steal. Their pay was no inducement, as they could make thrice as much elsewhere. Furthermore, this was before Californians began to sell themselves as political prostitutes."
- Green was the first State Senator to represent El Dorado County after it's incorporation.
- Green was a brigadier general in the Texas volunteer army.
Source: History of California, Volume 23 by Hubert Howe Bancroft (San Francisco; History Co., 1888)
Source: "The Names of the President and Senators of the First Senate of the State of California. Convened at the Capitol of San Jose, December the 15th, One Thousand Eight Hundred and Forty Nine." (1849)