Thomas Thorn Flagler was a U.S. Representative

United States House of Representatives

The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...

 from New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

.

Born in Pleasant Valley, New York, Flagler attended the local schools.
He learned the printer's trade and became one of the owners and publishers of the Chenango Republican, Oxford, New York

Oxford, New York

Oxford is a town in Chenango County, New York, United States. The town contains a village named Oxford. Oxford is an interior town in the south-central part of the county, southwest of the City of Norwich. At the 2000 census the town population was 3,992...

.In 1836 Flagler moved to Lockport, where he published the Niagara Courier until 1842, when he entered the hardware business.
He served as member of the State assembly in 1842 and 1843, and treasurer of Niagara County between 1849 and 1852.

Flagler was elected as a 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...

 to the Thirty-third

33rd United States Congress

The Thirty-third United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1853 to March 3, 1855, during the first two years...

 Congress and reelected as an Opposition Party

Opposition Party (United States)

The Opposition Party in the United States is a label with two different applications in Congressional history, as a majority party in Congress 1854-58, and as a Third Party in the South 1858-1860....

 candidate to the Thirty-fourth

34th United States Congress

The Thirty-fourth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1855 to March 4, 1857, during the last two years...

 Congress (March 4, 1853 – March 3, 1857).
He was not a candidate for renomination in 1856, but rather resumed former business pursuits.In 1859, together with inventor Birdsill Holly

Birdsill Holly

Birdsill Holly was an inventor. Holly was born in Auburn, New York. He spent his early years in Seneca Falls, New York, a major center of water powered industries. His first patented invention was a rotary water pump.-Life:...

 (1820–1893) he founded the Holly Manufacturing Company, makers of Holly's patented fire hydrants.Eventually, he would head eight similar concerns.
He was again a member of the State assembly in 1860, and served in the State constitutional convention in 1867 and 1868.
He died in Lockport, New York

Lockport (city), New York

Lockport is a city in Niagara County, New York, United States. The population was 21,165 at the 2010 census. The name is derived from a set of Erie canal locks within the city. Lockport is the county seat of Niagara County and is surrounded by the town of Lockport...

, on September 6, 1897 and was interred in Glenwood Cemetery.