Thomas Herbert Shriver (February 19, 1846 – December 31, 1916) was an American politician. He served on the

Maryland House of Delegates The Maryland House of Delegates is the lower house of the Maryland General Assembly, legislature of the U.S. state of Maryland. It consists of 141 delegates elected from 47 districts. The House of Delegates Chamber is in the Maryland State House ...

and the

Maryland Senate The Maryland Senate, sometimes referred to as the Maryland State Senate, is the upper house of the General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maryland. Composed of 47 senators elected from an equal number of constituent single ...

Early life

Thomas Herbert Shriver was born on February 19, 1846, in

Union Mills, Maryland Union Mills is an unincorporated area, unincorporated community in Carroll County, Maryland, Carroll County, Maryland, United States. The community is home to the Union Mills Homestead Historic District, added to the National Register of Historic ...

, to Mary M. J. (née Owings) and William Shriver. His father was a farmer and a miller. He was a descendant of an early settler to Carroll County,

David Shriver David Shriver (baptized Johann Theobaldt Schreiber; April 28, 1735 – January 30, 1826) was an American politician and judge from Maryland. He served as a member of the Maryland House of Delegates, representing Frederick County, Maryland, Fred ...

. Shriver attended local schools and was taught by private tutors. He was preparing for enrollment to college when the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

started.

Career

Shriver enlisted in the

Confederate States Army The Confederate States Army (CSA), also called the Confederate army or the Southern army, was the Military forces of the Confederate States, military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) duri ...

on June 28, 1863, at the age of seventeen, as General

Stuart Stuart may refer to: People *Stuart (name), a given name and surname (and list of people with the name) * Clan Stuart of Bute, a Scottish clan *House of Stuart, a royal house of Scotland and England Places Australia Generally *Stuart Highway, ...

's cavalry passed by. He took part in the

Battle of Gettysburg The Battle of Gettysburg () was a three-day battle in the American Civil War, which was fought between the Union and Confederate armies between July 1 and July 3, 1863, in and around Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The battle, won by the Union, ...

and cavalry engagements after the retreat of the army to Northern Virginia after the battle. In the last year, Shriver was detailed as a student of the

Virginia Military Institute The Virginia Military Institute (VMI) is a public senior military college in Lexington, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1839 as America's first state military college and is the oldest public senior military college in the U.S. In k ...

and became a member of the cadet corps and participated in the

Battle of New Market The Battle of New Market was fought on May 15, 1864, in Virginia during the Valley Campaigns of 1864 in the American Civil War. A makeshift Confederate army of 4,100 men defeated the larger Army of the Shenandoah under Major General Franz S ...

. On May 15, 1865, Shriver surrendered and returned to

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

. In 1882, Shriver would receive a diploma from Virginia Military Institute for his participation in the Battle of New Market. Shriver worked in a variety of occupations, including clerical positions, traveling salesman, farmer, miller and banker. With his brother Benjamin F. Shriver, he owned and operated B. F. Shriver Company of Carroll County, a cannery of fruits and vegetables. In 1904, the company was incorporated and Shriver became the president. Shriver was a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

. From 1878 to 1882, Shriver served as a member of the

, representing Carroll County. From 1884 to 1886, he served as a member of the

, representing Carroll County. In 1888, he was appointed as deputy collector of the

Port of Baltimore The Helen Delich Bentley Port of Baltimore is a Port, shipping port along the tidal basins of the three branches of the Patapsco River in Baltimore, Baltimore, Maryland, on the upper northwest shore of the Chesapeake Bay. It is the nation's la ...

. In 1908, Shriver was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention.

Personal life

Shriver was a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

. He had a home in Union Mills and would often host his friend, Cardinal

James Gibbons James Cardinal Gibbons (July 23, 1834 – March 24, 1921) was an American Catholic prelate who served as Apostolic Vicar of North Carolina from 1868 to 1872, Bishop of Richmond from 1872 to 1877, and as Archbishop of Baltimore from 1877 unti ...

. Shriver was given the title "general" due to his service on the staffs of Governors Henry Lloyd and Elihu Emory Jackson. Shriver married Elizabeth R. Lawson on February 16, 1880. They had four children: Hilda, Joseph N., Robert T. and William H. Shriver. Shriver died on December 31, 1916, at his home in Union Mills. His grandson

Sargent Shriver Robert Sargent Shriver Jr. (November 9, 1915 – January 18, 2011) was an American diplomat, politician, and activist. He was a member of the Shriver family by birth, and a member of the Kennedy family through his marriage to Eunice Kennedy. ...

helped to establish the

Peace Corps The Peace Corps is an Independent agency of the U.S. government, independent agency and program of the United States government that trains and deploys volunteers to communities in partner countries around the world. It was established in Marc ...

and was the Democratic nominee for Vice President in

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shriver, Thomas H. 1846 births 1916 deaths People from Carroll County, Maryland Virginia Military Institute alumni Democratic Party members of the Maryland House of Delegates Democratic Party Maryland state senators Confederate States Army soldiers People of Maryland in the American Civil War Shriver family 19th-century members of the Maryland General Assembly