Samuel F. Hersey
Encyclopedia
Samuel Freeman Hersey was a politician and "lumber baron" from the U.S. state
of Maine
. He served in the Maine State Senate and as a United States Congressman from the district which included his home-town of Bangor
.
Hersey was born in Sumner, Maine
and attended common schools in both Sumner and Buckfield
. He also taught school 1828-1831. He graduated from Hebron Academy
in 1831.
Hersey engaged in the mercantile business in Lincoln and in Milford; and then in the lumber business in Stillwater and finally Bangor
, where he settled and prospered. In addition to owning timber land he was president of the Market Bank. He was elected as a member of the Maine House of Representatives
, and was a delegate to the 1860 Republican National Convention
which nominated Abraham Lincoln
. Hersey was a close friend and patron of Bangor politician and Abraham Lincoln
's Vice President Hannibal Hamlin
, which is probably why he served on the Republican National Committee
1864-1868. He was elected to the Maine State Senate in 1868-1869.
Hersey was an unsuccessful candidate for Governor of Maine
in 1870, losing by only 20 votes. But he was elected to the Forty-third
and Forty-fourth
Congresses, serving from March 4, 1873, until his death in Bangor before the close of the Forty-third Congress. He is interred in Mount Hope Cemetery
.
Hersey is often styled "General Hersey" in contemporary documents, which is a state militia title dating to the time of the Aroostook War
. During the Northeastern Boundary Dispute of 1839-42 he served as Commanding Colonel of the newly formed 6th Regiment of the 1st Brigade and 3rd Division which included the rapidly growing communities on the east of the Penobscot River north of Milford to the St John River. His men were the first responders to the kidnapping of State Land Agent Rufus McIntyre. When The Aroostook was organized into a County in 1840 and the 9th Division of the Maine State Militia was formed, he joined Colonel John Carpenter of Lincoln as the first commanders. He retired from the Maine State Militia as a Major General commanding the 9th Division of the Maine State Militia before removing to Bangor, the headquarters of Maine's Third Militia Division.
Hersey left his fortune to the city of Bangor, Maine
which used it to found the Bangor Public Library
and built a new City Hall (which was demolished in the late 1960s during "Urban Renewal"). A large portrait of Hersey still hangs in the Bangor Public Library.
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
. He served in the Maine State Senate and as a United States Congressman from the district which included his home-town of Bangor
Bangor, Maine
Bangor is a city in and the county seat of Penobscot County, Maine, United States, and the major commercial and cultural center for eastern and northern Maine...
.
Hersey was born in Sumner, Maine
Sumner, Maine
Sumner is a town in Oxford County, Maine, United States. Sumner is included in the Lewiston-Auburn, Maine metropolitan New England city and town area. The population was 854 at the 2000 census. The town includes the villages of West Sumner and East Sumner....
and attended common schools in both Sumner and Buckfield
Buckfield, Maine
Buckfield is a town in Oxford County, Maine, United States. Buckfield is included in the Lewiston-Auburn, Maine metropolitan New England City and Town Area. It is a member of Maine School Administrative District 39 along with nearby Hartford and Sumner...
. He also taught school 1828-1831. He graduated from Hebron Academy
Hebron Academy
Hebron Academy, founded in 1804, is a small, independent, college preparatory boarding and day school for boys and girls in grades six through postgraduate.-History:...
in 1831.
Hersey engaged in the mercantile business in Lincoln and in Milford; and then in the lumber business in Stillwater and finally Bangor
Bangor, Maine
Bangor is a city in and the county seat of Penobscot County, Maine, United States, and the major commercial and cultural center for eastern and northern Maine...
, where he settled and prospered. In addition to owning timber land he was president of the Market Bank. He was elected as a member of the Maine House of Representatives
Maine House of Representatives
The Maine House of Representatives is the lower house of the Maine Legislature. The House consists of 151 members representing an equal amount of districts across the state. Each voting member of the House represents around 8,450 citizens of the state...
, and was a delegate to the 1860 Republican National Convention
1860 Republican National Convention
The 1860 National Convention of the Republican Party of the United States, held in Chicago, Illinois at the Wigwam, nominated former U.S. Representative Abraham Lincoln of Illinois for President and U.S. Senator Hannibal Hamlin of Maine for Vice President...
which nominated Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
. Hersey was a close friend and patron of Bangor politician and Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
's Vice President Hannibal Hamlin
Hannibal Hamlin
Hannibal Hamlin was the 15th Vice President of the United States , serving under President Abraham Lincoln during the American Civil War...
, which is probably why he served on the Republican National Committee
Republican National Committee
The Republican National Committee is an American political committee that provides national leadership for the Republican Party of the United States. It is responsible for developing and promoting the Republican political platform, as well as coordinating fundraising and election strategy. It is...
1864-1868. He was elected to the Maine State Senate in 1868-1869.
Hersey was an unsuccessful candidate for Governor of Maine
Governor of Maine
The governor of Maine is the chief executive of the State of Maine. Before Maine was admitted to the Union in 1820, Maine was part of Massachusetts and the governor of Massachusetts was chief executive....
in 1870, losing by only 20 votes. But he was elected to the Forty-third
43rd United States Congress
The Forty-third United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1873 to March 4, 1875, during the fifth and sixth...
and Forty-fourth
44th United States Congress
The Forty-fourth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1875 to March 4, 1877, during the seventh and...
Congresses, serving from March 4, 1873, until his death in Bangor before the close of the Forty-third Congress. He is interred in Mount Hope Cemetery
Mount Hope Cemetery, Bangor
Mt. Hope Cemetery in Bangor, Maine is the second oldest garden cemetery in the United States. It was designed by architect Charles G. Bryant in 1834, the same year that Bangor was incorporated as a city, and likely modeled after Mt. Auburn Cemetery in Boston, Massachusetts...
.
Hersey is often styled "General Hersey" in contemporary documents, which is a state militia title dating to the time of the Aroostook War
Aroostook War
The Aroostook War was an undeclared nonviolent confrontation in 1838/1839 between the United States and Great Britain over the international boundary between British North America and Maine. The compromise resolution win a mutually accepted border between the state of Maine and the provinces of...
. During the Northeastern Boundary Dispute of 1839-42 he served as Commanding Colonel of the newly formed 6th Regiment of the 1st Brigade and 3rd Division which included the rapidly growing communities on the east of the Penobscot River north of Milford to the St John River. His men were the first responders to the kidnapping of State Land Agent Rufus McIntyre. When The Aroostook was organized into a County in 1840 and the 9th Division of the Maine State Militia was formed, he joined Colonel John Carpenter of Lincoln as the first commanders. He retired from the Maine State Militia as a Major General commanding the 9th Division of the Maine State Militia before removing to Bangor, the headquarters of Maine's Third Militia Division.
Hersey left his fortune to the city of Bangor, Maine
Bangor, Maine
Bangor is a city in and the county seat of Penobscot County, Maine, United States, and the major commercial and cultural center for eastern and northern Maine...
which used it to found the Bangor Public Library
Bangor Public Library
The Bangor Public Library is the public library serving Bangor, Maine. The library was first founded in 1830 as the Bangor Mechanic Association's private library. In 1873, several other associations' libraries combined with it to form the Bangor Mechanic Association Public Library. In 1883, former...
and built a new City Hall (which was demolished in the late 1960s during "Urban Renewal"). A large portrait of Hersey still hangs in the Bangor Public Library.