Mississippi Governor. He moved to Mississippi as a young child. He was educated at a school in Greenville, Tennessee, studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1822, and practiced law in Warrenton, Mississippi. Sharkey was a large landowner in Warren County, Mississippi, and is noted as enslaving 67 persons in the slave schedule of the 1850 U.S. Federal Census. Entering politics, he was a member of the Mississippi House of Representatives (1828 to 1829) from Warren County and served as Speaker of the House for one year, was a circuit court judge in 1832 and was a judge on the Mississippi State Supreme Court (1832 to 1851). He also was the U.S. Consul in Havana, Cuba (1851 to 1853), and with the advent of the Civil War in 1861, he strongly opposed the secession of Mississippi. He was elected again to the Mississippi House of Representatives from Hinds County in 1856 and 1857. After the war, President Andrew Johnson appointed Sharkey as a Whig the 25th Mississippi Governor, serving June 13, 1865- October 16, 1865. During his short term, he was responsible for gaining the re-admission of Mississippi, and a constitutional convention was assembled that called for state elections, which were held that October. After not being seated by Congress as a U.S. Senator, he retired from political life and resumed practicing law until his death. The dates of birth and death on his gravestone are both incorrect.
Mississippi Governor. He moved to Mississippi as a young child. He was educated at a school in Greenville, Tennessee, studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1822, and practiced law in Warrenton, Mississippi. Sharkey was a large landowner in Warren County, Mississippi, and is noted as enslaving 67 persons in the slave schedule of the 1850 U.S. Federal Census. Entering politics, he was a member of the Mississippi House of Representatives (1828 to 1829) from Warren County and served as Speaker of the House for one year, was a circuit court judge in 1832 and was a judge on the Mississippi State Supreme Court (1832 to 1851). He also was the U.S. Consul in Havana, Cuba (1851 to 1853), and with the advent of the Civil War in 1861, he strongly opposed the secession of Mississippi. He was elected again to the Mississippi House of Representatives from Hinds County in 1856 and 1857. After the war, President Andrew Johnson appointed Sharkey as a Whig the 25th Mississippi Governor, serving June 13, 1865- October 16, 1865. During his short term, he was responsible for gaining the re-admission of Mississippi, and a constitutional convention was assembled that called for state elections, which were held that October. After not being seated by Congress as a U.S. Senator, he retired from political life and resumed practicing law until his death. The dates of birth and death on his gravestone are both incorrect.
Bio by: John "J-Cat" Griffith
Family Members
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See more Sharkey memorials in:
Records on Ancestry
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