David L. Morril

David Lawrence Morril (June 10, 1772 – January 28, 1849) was an American politician, attorney, physician and minister. He served as a U.S. Senator for New Hampshire from 1817 to 1823, and was the tenth governor of New Hampshire, serving from 1824 until 1827.

David Lawrence Morril
United States Senator
from New Hampshire
In office
March 4, 1817 – March 3, 1823
Preceded byThomas W. Thompson
Succeeded bySamuel Bell
10th Governor of New Hampshire
In office
June 3, 1824 – June 7, 1827
Preceded byLevi Woodbury
Succeeded byBenjamin Pierce
Speaker of the New Hampshire House of Representatives
Preceded byGeorge B. Upham
Succeeded byHenry B. Chase
Member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives
In office
1808–1816
Personal details
Born(1772-06-10)June 10, 1772
Epping, Province of New Hampshire, British America
DiedJanuary 28, 1849(1849-01-28) (aged 76)
Concord, New Hampshire, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic-Republican
Spouse(s)Lydia Poor, m. 1824
Alma materDartmouth College
University of Vermont (J.D.)

Early life

Morril was born to Samuel and Anna (Lawrence) Morril in Epping in the Province of New Hampshire on June 10, 1772.[1] He graduated from Phillips Exeter Academy and Dartmouth College, and later received his law degree from the University of Vermont.

He worked as a clergyman, called to the Congregational Presbyterian Church in 1802 in Goffstown, New Hampshire, where he served for years.[2]

Political career

In 1808, Morril was elected as a member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives; he served until 1816.[3] In his last term in 1816, he was elected by the House as Speaker.[4]

The legislature elected him as the U.S. Senator from New Hampshire in 1817, and he served until 1823.

In 1824 Morril was elected as Governor of New Hampshire, serving from June 3, 1824 to June 7, 1827. In the 1824 election, Morril received the most votes; however, because he failed to win a majority of the votes cast, the election had to be decided by the legislature. Morril was elected by a vote of 163 to 43 during a joint meeting of the New Hampshire legislature.[3] In the 1825 election, Morril ran unopposed; in the 1826 election, Morril defeated his opponent Benjamin Pierce by 5,392 votes. In the 1827 election, Morril was defeated by Pierce by an overwhelming margin: Benjamin Pierce won 21,166 votes out of 27,411 cast.[5]

Personal life

Morril married Lydia Poor in 1824 and they had four children together.

He is buried in the Old North Cemetery, Concord, New Hampshire, near the grave of President Franklin Pierce.

Notes
  1. Kelly, Howard Atwood (1920), A Cyclopedia of American Medical Biography:Comprising the Lives of Eminent Deceased Physicians and Surgeons from 1610 to 1910, Baltimore, Maryland: The Norman, Remington Company, p. 818
  2. Coolidge, Austin Jacobs; Mansfield, John Brainard (1859), A History and Description of New England, General and Local, Boston: A.J. Coolidge, pp. 502–504
  3. Kelly, Howard Atwood (1920), A Cyclopedia of American Medical Biography:Comprising the Lives of Eminent Deceased Physicians and Surgeons from 1610 to 1910, Baltimore, Maryland: The Norman, Remington Company, p. 819
  4. Jenks, George E. (1866), Political Journal for the State of The New Hampshire 1867, Concord, New Hampshire: McFarland and Jenks, p. 45
  5. Jenks, George E. (1868), Political Manual and Annual Register for the State of New Hampshire For the Political year 1869–1870, Concord, New Hampshire: McFarland and Jenks, p. 60
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