William Plumer

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William Plumer
United States Senator
from New Hampshire
In office
June 17, 1802 – March 3, 1807
Preceded byJames Sheafe
Succeeded byNahum Parker
7th Governor of New Hampshire
In office
June 5, 1812 – June 3, 1813
Preceded byJohn Langdon
Succeeded byJohn T. Gilman
In office
June 6, 1816 – June 3, 1819
Preceded byJohn T. Gilman
Succeeded bySamuel Bell
Member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives
In office
1788
1790–1791
1797–1800
Personal details
Born(1759-06-25)June 25, 1759
Newburyport, Massachusetts
DiedDecember 22, 1850(1850-12-22) (aged 91)
Epping, New Hampshire
Political partyDemocratic-Republican
Other political
affiliations
Federalist
SpouseSarah Fowler Plumer (1762–1852)
ChildrenWilliam Plumer, Jr.
ResidenceEpping, New Hampshire
Alma materNewburyport South Writing School
ProfessionAttorney

William Plumer (June 25, 1759 – December 22, 1850) was an American lawyer and Baptist lay preacher from Epping, New Hampshire. Born in 1759 in Newburyport, Massachusetts, he represented New Hampshire as a Federalist in the United States Senate from June 17, 1802 to March 3, 1807. Plumer later became a Democratic-Republican and served as Governor of New Hampshire, 1812–1813 and 1816–1819. He also served in the New Hampshire House of Representatives.

In the 1820 presidential election, he cast the only dissenting vote in the Electoral College against incumbent President James Monroe, voting instead for John Quincy Adams. While some accounts say that this was to ensure that George Washington remained the only American president unanimously chosen by the Electoral College, others assert that he was instead calling attention to his friend Adams as a potential future presidential candidate, or protesting against the "wasteful extravagance" of the Monroe Administration. Plumer also eschewed voting for Daniel D. Tompkins for Vice President as "grossly intemperate" and having "not that weight of character which his office requires," and also "because he grossly neglected his duty" in his "only" official role as president of the Senate by being "absent nearly three-fourths of the time."[1] Plumer instead voted for Richard Rush.

In 1803, Plumer was one of several New England Federalists who proposed secession from the United States due to lack of support for Federalists, rising influence of Jeffersonian Democrats and the diminished influence of the North due to the Louisiana Purchase.

Plumer was a founder and the first president of the New Hampshire Historical Society. He was elected a member of the American Antiquarian Society in 1815.[2] Plumer died in Epping on December 22, 1850, and was buried at the Plumer Family Cemetery in Epping.

William Plumer was the father of William Plumer, Jr., who served in the United States House of Representatives.

See also

References

External links

  • United States Congress. "William Plumer (id: P000393)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
  • William Plumer at Find a Grave
  • William Plumer at National Governors Association
  • Memoir of William Plumer, Senior, by Albert Harrison Hoyt. 1871.
U.S. Senate
Preceded by U.S. senator (Class 3) from New Hampshire
1802–1807
Served alongside: Simeon Olcott, Nicholas Gilman
Succeeded by
Political offices
Preceded by Governor of New Hampshire
1812–1813
Succeeded by
Preceded by
John Taylor Gilman
Governor of New Hampshire
1816–1819
Succeeded by
Honorary titles
Preceded by Oldest living U.S. Senator
February 25, 1845 – December 22, 1850
Succeeded by
Preceded by Most Senior Living U.S. Senator
(Sitting or Former)

August 12, 1849 – December 22, 1850
Succeeded by
Preceded by Oldest living United States governor
April 7, 1844 – December 22, 1850
Succeeded by
Preceded by Oldest United States governor ever
December 17, 1848 – April 19, 1860
Succeeded by