Abraham Rencher (August 12, 1798 – July 6, 1883) was a politician from the state of
North Carolina
North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and ...
. His career included:
Congressman;
Chargé d'affaires to Portugal; and Governor of New Mexico Territory.
Biography
Rencher was born near
Raleigh, North Carolina
Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the seat of Wake County in the United States. It is the second-most populous city in North Carolina, after Charlotte. Raleigh is the tenth-most populous city in the Southe ...
on August 12, 1798 to John Grant, the county sheriff, and Ann (Nelson) Rencher.
He was tutored at home, and attended the common schools and
Pittsboro Academy. He graduated from the
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...
in 1822, studied law with
Frederick Nash
Frederick Nash (February 9, 1781 – December 5, 1858) was an American lawyer and jurist from Hillsborough, North Carolina. He served on the North Carolina Supreme Court and was its chief justice from 1852 until his death.
Frederick was the son ...
, was admitted to the bar in 1825, and commenced practice in
Pittsboro, North Carolina.
He was elected as a
Jacksonian to the Twenty-first and Twenty-second Congresses, as an
Anti-Jacksonian
The National Republican Party, also known as the Anti-Jacksonian Party or simply Republicans, was a political party in the United States that evolved from a conservative-leaning faction of the Democratic-Republican Party that supported John Qu ...
to the Twenty-third and Twenty-fourth Congresses, and as a
Whig to the Twenty-fifth Congress, serving from March 4, 1829, to March 3, 1839. He declined to be a candidate for renomination in 1838.
In 1840 Rencher was again elected to Congress as a Whig, and he served one term, March 4, 1841, to March 3, 1843 (the Twenty-seventh Congress). He declined to be candidate for renomination in 1842 on the grounds of ill health.
Rencher served as U.S.
Chargé d'affaires to
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
from 1843 to 1847, appointed by President
John Tyler
John Tyler (March 29, 1790 – January 18, 1862) was the tenth president of the United States, serving from 1841 to 1845, after briefly holding office as the tenth vice president in 1841. He was elected vice president on the 1840 Whig tick ...
.
From 1857 to 1861 Rencher served as
Governor of New Mexico Territory, appointed by President
Buchanan. Rencher had previously declined Buchanan's suggestion to become Secretary of the Navy, lobbying instead for the Governor position. He was appointed on August 17, 1857, and arrived in Santa Fe on November 11. While in office Rencher clashed with the military and was critical of their campaign against the Indians. Rencher was successful in passing legislation requiring all children to attend school. He also lowered the territory's debt significantly. He was a slaveholder
and in 1859, he signed legislation defining and protecting the status of slaves as property. However, at the beginning of the Civil War Rencher remained loyal to the Union and raised regiments to defend the territory. President Abraham Lincoln did not reappoint Rencher, and he left office in August 1861.
After leaving New Mexico Rencher returned to his home in Pittsboro, where he lived in retirement. He was a supporter of the Union and took no active part in the Civil War.
He died in
Chapel Hill, North Carolina on July 6, 1883, and was interred at St. Bartholomew's Protestant Episcopal Churchyard in Pittsboro.
Family
In 1836 Rencher married Louisa Mary Jones, daughter of Colonel Edward and Elizabeth Mallett Jones. They had four children.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rencher, Abraham
Governors of New Mexico Territory
Ambassadors of the United States to Portugal
1798 births
1883 deaths
North Carolina Whigs
19th-century American diplomats
Jacksonian members of the United States House of Representatives from North Carolina
19th-century American politicians
National Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from North Carolina