Thomas Corwin, born on 29 July 1794 in Bourbon County, Ky., moved to Lebanon, Ohio, in 1798. He was admitted to the bar in 1817 and served in the United States House of Representatives from 1831 to 1840. He was Governor of Ohio from 1840 to 1842 and entered the United States Senate in 1845. He left this post in 1850 to become Secretary of the Treasury under President Fillmore. Corwin returned to private life in 1853 but was reelected to the House in 1858. Lincoln appointed him Minister to Mexico in 1861, and he held this post until 1 September 1864. He died in Washington, D.C., on 18 December 1865.
Thomas Corwin was built at Portland, Oreg., in 1876 for the United States Revenue Service. She operated with that organization until 9 April 1898 when she was transferred to the United States Navy during the Spanish-American War. She served in the San Diego, Calif., area until 15 August 1898 when she was returned to the Treasury Department.
