Thomas Stevenson Pettit (December 21, 1843November 29, 1931) was a newspaper publisher and politician from the U.S. state of Kentucky. Orphaned at age ten, he found work in a printing house in his hometown of Frankfort. In 1864, he moved to Owensboro, Kentucky, and purchased a newspaper called the Monitor. He incurred the wrath of Union Army General Stephen G. Burbridge because he vigorously criticized the Republicans' policies during the Civil War; Burbridge ordered Pettit arrested and relocated behind Confederate lines for the duration of the war. Following the war, Pettit returned to Owensboro and revived the Monitor. He became involved in politics, serving as personal secretary to Governor James B. McCreary and Reading Clerk of the United States House of Representatives. In the early 1890s, he began to split from the Democrats' political philosophy and was elected to the Kentucky House of Representatives as an Independent. He was the Populist Party's nominee for governor in the 1895 gubernatorial election. Although he fell well short of election, his presence on the ticket drew enough votes from Democratic candidate Parker Watkins Hardin to give the election to William O. Bradley, who became Kentucky's first Republican governor. Pettit never again sought public office, but amassed a sizable personal fortune through various business investments in and around Owensboro. He died November 29, 1931. The town of Pettit, Kentucky was built on land he helped clear and was named in his honor. Early life Thomas Pettit was born December 21, 1843, in Frankfort, Kentucky. He was the son of Franklin Duane and Elizabeth (Zook) Pettit. Franklin Pettit, who co-published The Kentucky Farmer with Thomas B. Stevenson, died when his son Thomas was very young. Soon after, Thomas' mother also died, leaving him an orphan at the age of ten. Printing career Pettit supported himself by working in a print shop. He was educated in the common schools of Frankfort and briefly attended Georgetown College in Georgetown, Kentucky. In 1864, he moved to Owensboro, Kentucky, where he purchased a local newspaper called the Monitor. Upon taking control of the paper, he published a series of items vigorously criticizing the Republican Party and its policies during the Civil War. On November 17, 1864, Pettit was arrested on orders from General Stephen G. Burbridge on charges of being "notoriously disloyal" to the Union. He was taken to Memphis, Tennessee, and transferred into Confederate territory; he continued to