Samuel W. Black

For other people named Samuel Black, see Samuel Black (disambiguation).

Samuel Watson Black (September 3, 1816 – June 27, 1862) was a Pennsylvania Democrat best known for being the 7th Governor of the Nebraska Territory. The son of John Black, he was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1816. He graduated from the Western University of Pennsylvania, known today as the University of Pittsburgh, in 1834. While at the university, he was a classmate, academic rival, and close friend of Thomas Mellon. A lawyer, Black was admitted to the bar about the same time as Mellon, and they continued as early professional rivals as well. Black became a colonel in the U.S. Army during the Mexican-American War, during which time he became considered to be a hero. He ran and lost in 1852 for Representative from Pennsylvania to the U.S. House. He moved to Nebraska and became a justice on the supreme court of the Nebraska Territory. He then became Governor of the Nebraska Territory from 1859 to 1861. Black returned to Pittsburgh to take command of the Union Army's Sixty-second Regiment made up of three-year volunteers, the first to leave the city to fight in the Civil War. He was killed at the Battle of Gaines' Mill on June 27, 1862.

See also

• History of slavery in Nebraska

References

1. "The Political Graveyard". Black, Samuel Watson. http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/black.html#RIC0TUZOQ. Retrieved January 9, 2006. 

• Samuel W. Black at Find a Grave

Preceded by Thomas B. Cuming

Governors of Nebraska Territory May 2, 1859 - February 24, 1861

Succeeded by Thomas B. Cuming