page_title: Thomas Metcalfe (Kentucky politician)
section_title: Early life
hierarchical_section_title: Thomas Metcalfe (Kentucky politician) / Early life
caption_attribution_description: English: The first Kentucky governor's mansion. It was the governor's official residence from 1798 to 1914.
context_page_description: Thomas Metcalfe, also known as Thomas Metcalf or as "Stonehammer", was a U.S. Representative, Senator, and the tenth Governor of Kentucky. He was the first gubernatorial candidate in the state's history to be chosen by a nominating convention rather than a caucus. He was also the first governor of Kentucky who was not a member of the Democratic-Republican Party.
  At age 16, Metcalfe was apprenticed to his older brother and became a stonemason. He helped construct the Green County courthouse, known as the oldest courthouse in Kentucky. Later, political opponents would mock his trade, giving him the nickname "Old Stone Hammer." His political career began with four terms in the Kentucky House of Representatives. His service was interrupted by the War of 1812, in which he commanded a company in the defense of Fort Meigs. At the age of thirty-eight, he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. He held his seat in the House for five terms, then resigned to run for governor. In an election decided by 709 votes, Metcalfe defeated William T. Barry in the gubernatorial election of 1828.
context_section_description: Thomas Metcalfe was born on March 20, 1780 to John Metcalfe and his third wife, Sarah "Sally" Dent (Chinn) Metcalfe in Fauquier County, Virginia. His father served as a captain in the Revolutionary War. In 1784, the Metcalfe family settled near Russell's Cave in Fayette County, Virginia (now Kentucky). Some years later, they would move to a farm in Nicholas County.
  Metcalfe received only a rudimentary education, and at age sixteen, he was apprenticed to his brother and learned the craft of stonemasonry. Three years later, their father died, leaving the brothers to provide for their mother and younger siblings. Metcalfe became one of the most prominent stonemasons and building contractors during the settlement period of Kentucky. A number of his stone houses survive and are listed on the National Register of Historic Places, including his first home in Robertson County. Other structures built by the Metcalfe brothers are the state's first governor's mansion and the Green County courthouse, known as the oldest courthouse in Kentucky, and the Presbyterian church at West Union in far southern Ohio.
  On October 2, 1801, Metcalfe enlisted as a lieutenant in the 29th Regiment of the Kentucky Militia. He was promoted to captain on October 12, 1802. About 1806, Metcalfe married Nancy Mason of Fairfax, Virginia. The couple had four children. Between 1817 and 1820, Metcalfe built a house for his family in Nicholas County. The estate was dubbed "Forest Retreat" by statesman Henry Clay who, on his first visit to the newly constructed house, told Metcalfe, "Tom, you have here a veritable Forest Retreat."
caption: Metcalfe helped build Kentucky's first governor's mansion.
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