Thomas B. Craighead was an American politician and lawyer from the state

U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...

 of Arkansas

Arkansas

Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...

. He served in the Arkansas State Senate representing Crittenden and Mississippi Counties.

Early life

Craighead was born 1798 to the Reverend Thomas Craighead and his wife Elizabeth.

Craighead County

In 1859, Senator William A. Jones, who represented St. Francis and Poinsett Counties, introduced a bill to create a new county. This county would be created from portions of Poinsett, Greene, and Mississippi Counties. Craighead opposed the bill because it would remove a large section of fertile farmland from Mississippi County, and the tax revenue derive from it. Jones waited until Craighead was absent from the chamber to push for final passage of his bill. Unknown to Craighead, Jones amended the bill to name the new county Craighead County, possibly as a gesture of goodwill. In return, the new county seat was named Jonesboro

Jonesboro, Arkansas

Jonesboro is a city in and one of the two county seats of Craighead County, Arkansas, United States. According to the 2010 US Census, the population of the city was 67,263. A college town, Jonesboro is the largest city in northeastern Arkansas and the fifth most populous city in the state...

.