Thomas Carlin (July 18, 1789 – February 14, 1852), a farmer, soldier and Jacksonian Democrat, was the seventh Governor of Illinois (from 1838 to 1842) and also served in both houses of the Illinois General Assembly. He became the first Democrat nominated at an Illinois state convention, as well as the last Illinois governor who fought Native Americans. His gubernatorial term was noted for its inconsistency, as he had limited financial experience and the state suffered the aftereffects of the Panic of 1837 as well attempted to fund a costly Internal Improvements Act passed by the state legislature over his predecessor's objections. Early and family life Born around 1789 in Shelbyville, Kentucky (now a suburb of Frankfort) to Thomas Carlin and his wife, the former Elizabeth Evans, Carlin moved with his family to Missouri Territory in 1803. His father died in 1810, leaving his widow to raise seven children (of whom Thomas was the eldest). In 1812, Carlin crossed the Missouri River to Illinois Territory to serve as a mounted ranger in the War of 1812 (including on future governor Ninian Edwards' Peoria expedition), then established a farm in what was then Madison County, Illinois. In 1814, in Edwardsville, Carlin married Georgia-born Rebecca Huitt (August 27, 1799 - September 5, 1865). Their 13 children (seven of whom survived their father) included: Mary Ann (b.1816); Eugene (b. 1817); William H. (b. 1818); Nathaniel (b. 1819); Elizabeth (1820-1823); Emily St. Aubert (b. 1821); John Massingill (b. 1829); Julia (b. 1830); Andrew Jackson (1832-after 1880), John Clark Carlin (1832-1865); Eugenia Carlin Woodward (1838-1886); and Thomas B. Carlin Jr. (1842-after 1880). In 1850, the Carlin family included his 90-year-old mother-in-law, three sons and two daughters as well as a 21 year old farm laborer, but no slaves. Career Carlin built a log cabin across from the mouth of the Missouri River and operated a ferry until 1818, when Illinois became a state. Between 1819 and 1821, Carlin helped organize the frontier in what became Greene County, Illinois. Despite not learning to read nor write as a child, he helped lay out what became the county seat in 1821, Carrollton. Carlin was one of the first five commissioners (as was his brother-in-law John Huitt) and donated a large parcel of land for Carrollton, although he abstained from the vote designating it the county seat. Noted for his physical prowess and skill as a woodsman and