Gov. Benjamin Pierce

About

BENJAMIN PIERCE, the seventeenth and nineteenth governor to serve New Hampshire, was born in Chelmsford, Massachusetts on December 25, 1757. His education was limited and attained in the common schools of his native state. Pierce had a long and distinguished career in the military. During the Revolutionary War, he served under General George Washington, participating in the battle of Bunker Hill. After his military duty, he undertook the job of organizing the Hillsborough (NH) militia. He also served as brigadier general in the New Hampshire militia in 1805. Pierce first entered politics as a member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives, a position he held from 1789 to 1802. He also served as a delegate to the New Hampshire State Constitutional Convention in 1791; was a member of the Governor’s Executive Council from 1803 to 1809 and 1814; and served as the Hillsborough County sheriff from 1809 to 1812 and 1818 to 1827. Pierce next secured the Democratic-Republican gubernatorial nomination, and was elected governor by a popular vote in the 1827. He lost his 1828 reelection bid, but was successful in his 1829 campaign. During his tenure, the state’s mining industry started to flourish; and the Hopkinton Academy was founded. After completing his final term, Pierce retired from political life. Governor Benjamin Pierce, whose son Franklin later served as president of the United States, passed away on April 1, 1839. He was buried in the Pine Hill Cemetery in Hillsborough, New Hampshire.

Source

New Hampshire Division of Historical Resources

The Political Graveyard

Sobel, Robert, and John Raimo, eds. Biographical Directory of the Governors of the United States, 1789-1978, Vol. 3, Westport, Conn.; Meckler Books, 1978. 4 vols.

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