While serving as Speaker of the Senate, Kirker became Governor upon the resignation of Edward Tiffin to take a seat in the U.S. Senate. Kirker's term was extended through the 1807–1808 meeting of the Assembly due to the disqualification of Return J. Meigs Jr. who had won the 1807 election to the governorship but had been disqualified by the Assembly as he had not met the residency requirements.[5]
Kirker ran for re-election in 1808, but lost badly to Samuel Huntington. Kirker later returned to the Assembly, serving in the House of Representatives from 1816 to 1817 and in the State Senate from 1821 to 1825.[2]
Kirker retired from politics, and returned to his home at his Liberty Township farm. He died on February 19, 1837.[7] Upon his death he was buried in a family burial plot on the farm.[5]
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^"Thomas Kirker". Ohio Historical Society. Archived from the original on May 13, 2012. Retrieved July 11, 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
^Evans, Nelson W., and Emmons B. Stivers. A History of Adams County, Ohio from Its Earliest Settlement to the Present Time: Including Character Sketches of the Prominent Persons Identified with the First Century of the County's Growth and Containing Numerous Engravings and Illustrations. West Union: Stivers, 1900, 257.