Peter F. Causey - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Peter Foster Causey was an American merchant and politician from Milford, in Kent County, Delaware. He was a member of the American Party, who served in the Delaware General Assembly and as Governor of Delaware.

Early Life and family

Causey was born in Bridgeville, Delaware, son of Peter T. and Tamzey Causey. His family lived in Easton

Easton, Maryland

Easton, founded 1710, is a town within the Easton District of Talbot County, Maryland, United States. The population was 11,708 at the 2000 census, and 14,677 according to current July 2008 census estimates. It is the county seat of Talbot County. The primary ZIP Code is 21601, and the...

, Maryland for a time, but returned to Delaware in 1815, settling on North Walnut Street in Milford. He married Maria Williams and they had six children, William F., Maria E., Sally Maria, Peter Foster, Jr., John W., and Robert H. In 1850 they bought the old Levin Crapper mansion, former home of Governor Daniel Rogers

Daniel Rogers

Daniel Rogers was an American miller and politician from Milford, in Sussex County, Delaware. He was a member of the Federalist Party, who served in the Delaware General Assembly and as Governor of Delaware....

. It was subsequently known as the Causey Mansion. The Causey family owned a large flour mill and were successful merchants, taking advantage of the many business opportunities in Milford at the time. They were members of the First Methodist Church in Milford.

Professional and political career

In the constantly shifting political combinations of the time, Causey began his career as a progressive Jacksonian Democrat, and was elected to the State House in the 1831 session and the 1832/33 session. As the Democrats lost their progressive agenda, and with the collapse of the Whig Party, most of the energy in opposition to the increasingly conservative Democrats came from the Temperance movement. In 1850 a Temperance candidate was almost elected, and in 1854 Causey signed on as their candidate under the aegis of the American Party. This was an unusual combination of various causes that in Delaware was headed by prohibition. He was elected Governor of Delaware in 1854, defeating William Burton, the Democratic candidate and served from January 16, 1855 until January 18, 1859.

Along with Causey several "Know-Nothings", as they were known, were elected to the General Assembly. Proceeding with their Prohibition agenda, they passed legislation that went fully into effect by December 1855. By Election Day 1856, the effects of this legislation were detested enough by the voters that they replaced nearly all the "Know-Nothings" with Democrats, and leaving Causey two years to govern with a strong Democratic opposition in the General Assembly. Needless to say, the repeal of the prohibition laws was foremost on their agenda.

Other than the prohibition matter the most important issue in Delaware at the time was the completion of the Delaware Railroad

Pennsylvania Railroad

The Pennsylvania Railroad was an American Class I railroad, founded in 1846. Commonly referred to as the "Pennsy", the PRR was headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania....

. By September 1855 it was complete to Middletown

Middletown, Delaware

Middletown is a town in New Castle County, Delaware, United States. According to the 2010 Census, the population of the town is 18,871.-Geography:Middletown is located at with an elevation of ....

, and by January 1857 all the way to Delmar

Delmar, Delaware

As of the census of 2000, there were 1,407 people, 542 households, and 344 families residing in the town. The population density was 1,498.9 people per square mile . There were 595 housing units at an average density of 633.9 per square mile...

. On the other side of the ledger, by 1861 Delaware College

University of Delaware

The university is organized into seven colleges:* College of Agriculture and Natural Resources* College of Arts and Sciences* Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics* College of Earth, Ocean and Environment* College of Education and Human Development...

was forced to close due to a lack of funds, aggravated by a brutal unsolved murder on the campus.

A true reformer, Causey hammered the General Assembly on all the same issues his predecessors had been speaking about for years.

"The existing public schools, he said, were dilapidated and the teachers untrained. Public education has been the theme of much debate in our legislative halls for years, he remarked, and yet each succeeding session has ended in little or no alteration for the better. The tiny school districts run by committees elected by the residents most hostile to taxation simply were not working. Furthermore, the insane, more than any other portion of our community, were dependent upon our care and protection."

{|class=wikitable style="width: 94%" style="text-align: center;" align="center"
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!colspan=12 style="background: #ccccff;" |Delaware General Assembly
Delaware General Assembly
The Delaware General Assembly is the legislature of the U.S. state of Delaware. It is a bicameral legislature composed of the Delaware Senate with 21 Senators and the Delaware House of Representatives with 41 Representatives...

(sessions while Governor)
|-
!Year
!Assembly
!
!Senate Majority
!Speaker
!
!House Majority
!Speaker
|-
|1855-1856
|68th

Delaware General Assembly

The Delaware General Assembly is the legislature of the U.S. state of Delaware. It is a bicameral legislature composed of the Delaware Senate with 21 Senators and the Delaware House of Representatives with 41 Representatives...

|
| |American
| |Daniel Curry
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| |American
| |Samuel Biddle
|-
|1857-1858
|69th

Delaware General Assembly

|
| |Democratic

Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

Democratic Party (United States)

| |George W. Cummins
|-

Almanac

Elections were held the first Tuesday in October until 1831, and since they have been held on the first Tuesday after November 1. Members of the Delaware General Assembly took office in the first Tuesday of January. State Representatives have a term of two years. The Governor takes office the third Tuesday in January, and has a four-year term.

{|class=wikitable style="width: 94%" style="text-align: center;" align="center"
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!colspan=7 style="background: #ccccff;" |Public Offices
|-
! Office
! Type
! Location
! Began office
! Ended office
! notes
|-
|State Representative

Delaware House of Representatives

The Delaware House of Representatives is the lower house of the Delaware General Assembly; the state legislature of the U.S. State of Delaware. It is composed of 41 Representatives from an equal amount of constituencies, each of whom is elected to a two year term. The Delaware General Assembly...

|Legislature

Legislature

A legislature is a kind of deliberative assembly with the power to pass, amend, and repeal laws. The law created by a legislature is called legislation or statutory law. In addition to enacting laws, legislatures usually have exclusive authority to raise or lower taxes and adopt the budget and...

|Dover

Dover, Delaware

The city of Dover is the capital and second largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. It is also the county seat of Kent County, and the principal city of the Dover, Delaware Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Kent County. It is located on the St. Jones River in the Delaware...

Delaware House of Representatives

|Legislature

Legislature

|Dover

Dover, Delaware

Executive (government)

Executive branch of Government is the part of government that has sole authority and responsibility for the daily administration of the state bureaucracy. The division of power into separate branches of government is central to the idea of the separation of powers.In many countries, the term...

|Dover

Dover, Delaware

|January 16, 1855
|January 18, 1859
|

{|class=wikitable style="width: 94%" style="text-align: center;" align="center"
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!colspan=7 style="background: #ccccff;" |Delaware General Assembly service
|-
! Dates
! Assembly
! Chamber
! Majority
! Governor
! Committees
! District
|-
|1832
|56th

Delaware General Assembly

|State House

Delaware House of Representatives

|National Republican

National Republican Party (United States)

The National Republicans were a political party in the United States. During the administration of John Quincy Adams , the president's supporters were referred to as Adams Men or Anti-Jackson. When Andrew Jackson was elected President of the United States in 1828, this group went into opposition...

|David Hazzard

David Hazzard

David Hazzard was an American merchant and politician from Milton, in Sussex County, Delaware. He was a member of the Democratic-Republican Party, then the National Republican Party, and finally the Whig Party...

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|Kent at-large

Kent County, Delaware

Kent County is a county located in the central part of the U.S. state of Delaware. It is coextensive with the Dover, Delaware, Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of 2010 the population was 162,310, a 28.1% increase over the previous decade. The county seat is Dover, the state capital...

|-
|1833-1834
|57th

Delaware General Assembly

|State House

Delaware House of Representatives

|Whig

Whig Party (United States)

The Whig Party was a political party of the United States during the era of Jacksonian democracy. Considered integral to the Second Party System and operating from the early 1830s to the mid-1850s, the party was formed in opposition to the policies of President Andrew Jackson and his Democratic...

|Caleb Bennett
|
|Kent at-large

Kent County, Delaware

{|class=wikitable style="width: 94%" style="text-align: center;" align="center"
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!colspan=12 style="background: #ccccff;" |Election results
|-
!Year
!Office
!
!Subject
!Party
!Votes
!%
!
!Opponent
!Party
!Votes
!%
|-
|1846
|Governor
|
| |Peter F. Causey
| |Whig

Whig Party (United States)

| |6,012
| |49%
|
| |William Tharp

William Tharp

William Tharp was an American farmer and politician from Milford, in Kent County, Delaware. He was a member of the Democratic Party, who served in the Delaware General Assembly and as Governor of Delaware....

| |Democratic

Democratic Party (United States)

| |6,148
| |51%
|-
|1850
|Governor
|
| |Peter F. Causey
| |Independent
| |5,978
| |48%
|
| |William H. H. Ross
| |Democratic

Democratic Party (United States)

| |6,001
| |48%
|-
|1854
|Governor
|
| |Peter F. Causey
| |American
| |6,941
| |53%
|
| |William Burton

William Burton (governor)

Dr. William Burton was an American physician and politician from Milford, in Kent County, Delaware. He was a member of the Democratic Party, who served as Governor of Delaware.-Early life and family:...

| |Democratic

Democratic Party (United States)

| |6,244
| |47%

Images

Delaware’s Governors
Hall of Governors Portrait Gallery, Portrait courtesy of Historical and Cultural Affairs, Dover

External links

Places with more information

Delaware Historical Society
Delaware Historical Society
The Delaware Historical Society began in 1864 as an effort to preserve documents from the Civil War. Since then, it has expanded into a state-wide historical institution with several venues and a major museum in Wilmington and the historic Read House & Gardens in New Castle.The society...

; website; 505 North Market Street, Wilmington, Delaware 19801; (302) 655-7161
University of Delaware
University of Delaware
The university is organized into seven colleges:* College of Agriculture and Natural Resources* College of Arts and Sciences* Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics* College of Earth, Ocean and Environment* College of Education and Human Development...

; Library website; 181 South College Avenue, Newark, Delaware 19717; (302) 831-2965

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