Nathaniel Berry

Nathaniel Springer Berry

Nathaniel Springer Berry (born September 1, 1796 in Bath , Maine , †  April 27, 1894 in Bristol , New Hampshire ) was an American politician and governor of the state of New Hampshire from 1861 to 1863 .

Early years and political advancement

Nathaniel Berry attended the public schools in his home country and then did an apprenticeship in the tanning industry . Even after moving to New Hampshire, he worked as a tanner. At that time he was a member of the Democratic Party . Between 1828 and 1837 he was a member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives on several occasions . He exercised this mandate again in 1854. From 1835 to 1836 he was also a member of the State Senate . In 1840 he was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention , where Martin Van Buren was again nominated as a presidential candidate. During the election campaign that followed, he fell out with his party and joined the Free Soil Party , for which he ran unsuccessfully for governor in 1846. In the following years up to 1850 he was repeatedly nominated by this party as the top candidate for gubernatorial elections. Although the party got a little stronger during these years, it had no chance of winning these elections.

Berry also served on the Grafton County Court of Appeals between 1841 and 1850 and served as a justice of the peace for 23 years. He was also a probate judge in Grafton County from 1856 to 1861. In the 1850s his party went into the newly formed Republican Party , of which Berry was now a member.

New Hampshire Governor

In 1861, Nathaniel Berry was elected governor of his state. He took up his new office on June 6, 1861 and, after being re-elected in 1862, could remain in this office until June 3, 1863. His entire tenure was overshadowed by the events of the civil war. Like his predecessor, the governor supported the federal government's war efforts. At that time, the relatively small state equipped 15 infantry regiments, three companies with snipers, four cavalry companies and one heavy artillery company. Governor Berry chaired a conference in Pennsylvania at which 22 Northern Governors expressed their solidarity with President Abraham Lincoln and supported him politically.

Further life

In 1863 Berry declined to run again. He retired from politics and died in 1894 at the age of 97. Nathaniel Berry was married twice and had two children in total.

literature

• Robert Sobel and John Raimo (Eds.): Biographical Directory of the Governors of the United States, 1789–1978. Volume 3, Meckler Books, Westport, 1978. 4 volumes.

Web links

• Nathaniel Berry in the National Governors Association (English)
• Biography of New Hampshire (English)
• Nathaniel Berry in the database of Find a Grave (English)