Gov. Person Colby Cheney

About

PERSON C. CHENEY, the forty-fourth governor of New Hampshire, was born in Holderness, (Ashland today) New Hampshire on February 25, 1828. His education was attained in academies at Parsonfield, Maine and at Hanover and Peterborough, New Hampshire. Cheney went into the family business, and eventually took over the duties of the paper-manufacturing factory. He also served during the Civil War, as a first lieutenant and later became the regimental quartermaster of the 13th Regiment of the New Hampshire Volunteer Infantry. Cheney first entered politics as a member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives, a position he held from 1853 to 1855. He also served as the state railroad commissioner from 1864 to 1867; and was the mayor of Manchester from 1871 to 1873. Cheney next secured the 1875 Republican gubernatorial nomination, and after a close popular election, the legislation named Cheney the official governor. He was reelected to a second term in 1876. During his tenure, patronage jobs and judicial appointments were reinstated to the Republican party; state government was restructured; and reform measures were initiated to stabilize the state’s declining economy. After leaving the governorship, Cheney secured an appointment to the U.S. Senate, a position he held from 1886 to 1887. He also served as a delegate to the 1888 Republican National Convention, as well as serving as a member of the 1900 Republican National Committee. From 1892 to 1893 he served as the envoy extraordinary to Switzerland. Governor Person C. Cheney passed away on June 19, 1901, and was buried in the Pine Grove Cemetery in Manchester, New Hampshire.

Source

Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress

New Hampshire Division of Historical Resources

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.