Hugh J. Anderson
Hugh Johnston Anderson (May 10, 1801 – May 31, 1881) was member of the United States Congress from Maine and served as the 20th Governor of Maine.
Hugh Johnston Anderson | |
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Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Maine's 6th district | |
In office March 4, 1837 – March 3, 1841 | |
Preceded by | Leonard Jarvis, Jr. |
Succeeded by | Alfred Marshall |
20th Governor of Maine | |
In office January 3, 1844 – May 12, 1847 | |
Preceded by | John W. Dana |
Succeeded by | John W. Dana |
Personal details | |
Born | Wiscasset, Massachusetts (now Maine) | May 10, 1801
Died | May 31, 1881 80) Portland, Maine | (aged
Political party | Democrat |
Early life
Hugh J. Anderson was born in Wiscasset (in modern-day Maine, then a part of Massachusetts) on May 10, 1801. He attended the local schools, moved to Belfast, Maine in 1815, and was employed as a clerk in his uncle's mercantile business.
Political career
In 1827 Anderson was elected clerk of courts for Waldo County. A Democrat, Anderson was elected to the Twenty-fifth and Twenty-sixth Congresses, serving from March 4, 1837 to March 3, 1841. He was not a candidate for reelection to the Twenty-seventh Congress in 1840. From 1844 to 1847 Anderson was the Governor of Maine. He was a candidate for U.S. Senator in 1847 but subsequently withdrew and moved to Washington D.C., where he served as commissioner of customs in the United States Treasury Department 1853-1858; appointed head of the commission to reorganize and adjust the affairs of the United States Mint at San Francisco, Calif., in 1857; returned to Washington 1859. Sixth Auditor of the Treasury 1866-1869; retired from public life in 1880 and returned to Portland, Maine where he died May 31, 1881.[1][2][3]
Family
His father, John Anderson, was a native of County Down, Ireland; and his grandfather, also John Anderson was a prominent and influential member of the Scottish Protestant colony in that part of Ireland. His father immigrated to Maine 1789.[4]
Anderson married Martha J. Drummer (1807-1881) of Belfast, Maine, in 1832.
The couple had six children:
John F. Anderson (1832-1902), officer in the Union Army during the American Civil War, attained the rank of brigadier general by brevet.
Hannah Anderson (1833-1912) (no records of marriage found).
William H. Anderson (1835-1908).
Joseph Anderson (1837-1881), died from complications of surgery.
Horace Anderson (c.1840- ). (Age 10 in the 1850 census of Belfast, Maine.)
Thomas Anderson (1842-1879).
He lost two sons before he died, and his wife followed him several months after his death. Interment in Grove Cemetery, Belfast, Maine.[5]
References
- *Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
- Biographical encyclopedia of Maine of the nineteenth century, Metropolitan Publishing, 1885 pages 109-114
- Hugh J. Anderson at Find a Grave
- Biographical encyclopedia of Maine of the nineteenth century, Metropolitan Publishing, 1885 pages 109-114
External links
- United States Congress. "Hugh J. Anderson (id: A000190)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
- Hugh J. Anderson at Find a Grave
Party political offices | ||
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Preceded by John Fairfield |
Democratic nominee for Governor of Maine 1843, 1844, 1845 |
Succeeded by John W. Dana |
Political offices | ||
Preceded by John W. Dana |
Governor of Maine 1844-1847 |
Succeeded by John W. Dana |
U.S. House of Representatives | ||
Preceded by Leonard Jarvis, Jr. |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Maine's 6th congressional district March 4, 1837 – March 3, 1841 |
Succeeded by Alfred Marshall |