“…the new banking law is received here by the whigs – the Ohio Statesman [newspaper] has been in great [suspension?] to see the bill, it passed the house last evening, there was a meeting of merchants and others to take into consideration the propriety of petitioning the legislature for a Bank under the law. I understand that the law was generally approved of except by the Editor of the Times, who advised to wait until next winter and then… would elect men who would go in for Banking on safe principles etc.

There is much said and it will be greatly relied on for the electioneering purpose that means have not been provided in some way for the payment of bonds on the public works and for the completion of them, the southwestern part of the state will be made to believe I am afraid that their interest has been entirely neglected while the Banks only have been attended to by the present legislature.

I am in hopes something will be done before the adjournment of the legislature in this matter that will satisfy that portion of the state on this subject, not only that justice may be done but that the Democracy of the state may have a hearty cooperation of all sections of the state in the elections next fall.

I find that an unusual amount of local business has this session been before the legislature this session and as far as I can ascertain merely introduced by whig members and as I have had a long acquaintance with whig finesse I believe that there was a studied design to take up the time of the legislature on matters of a local nature so as to make political capital out of it; some four years ago I was elected Prosecuting Attorney for Miami County and at the first term of the Court the indictments found by the grand Jury was increased from about 15 or 20 to 80 and during all of my term the Grand Jury being mostly whigs every things was raked up and little found and when the election came on to reelect a land bill was published signed by….Thomas (our senator) and John G. Belfort, the former was my predecessor, the latter clerk of the Court charging me with taking up all the time of the Court with perilous State actions to the prejudice of other business and great increase of county expense and it had its influence, I was not reelected although I succeeded in the conviction of every case (all most) of importance and my whig successor failed in every case for his two years in every trial. I state this as a fact to show the great length the whig party will go for party purposes and I believe that local business has been greatly increased by them for the purpose and to [?] business of importance and to lengthen out the session. I am in hopes however that Democracy may continue triumphant, you will pardon this hasty epistle but feeling a deep solicitude for the honor and integrity of our present legislature who have done more for the great body of the people in the regulation of the currency than has been heretofore…”

A lifelong Democrat, Thomas Barrett emigrated to Ohio in 1824 from his native South Carolina, where he had commanded a militia company during the War of 1812. He apparently came from a poor family, as he had received so little education as a child that he was forced to attend the same elementary school as his young son.  Upon arrival in Ohio, after teaching school for a few years in the small town of Troy, he studied law, mentored by a judge, and then went into politics, holding a succession of local offices – County Auditor, Prosecuting Attorney (mentioned in the letter), Associate Judge, Commissioner of Insolvents, and Troy Mayor. He watched his state swing back and forth between the Democratic and Whig Parties – both divided into factions, but the Whigs suffering most by losing votes to anti-slavery third party candidates until the new Republican Party finally took the state in 1856 and giving Lincoln a slim majority in 1860.  Already in his 70s, Barrett took no part in the Civil War, and died soon after war’s end.