Anson Peaslee Morrill (June 10, 1803 – July 4, 1887) was an American politician who served as the 24th governor of Maine from 1855 to 1856 and later as the U.S. representative from

Maine's 4th congressional district Maine's 4th congressional district was a congressional district in Maine. It was created in 1821 after Maine achieved statehood in 1820 due to the result of the ratification of the Missouri Compromise The Missouri Compromise was a federal legi ...

from 1861 to 1863.

Biography

Morrill was born in 1803 in Belgrade (in modern-day

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and ...

, then a part of

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). In his early years, Morrill served as the Postmaster of Dearborn and ran a general store. He was elected to the Maine House of Representatives in 1833 from Belgrade. He served as

Cumberland County Cumberland County may refer to: Australia * Cumberland County, New South Wales * the former name of Cumberland Land District, Tasmania, Australia Canada *Cumberland County, Nova Scotia United Kingdom * Cumberland, historic county *Cumberla ...

Sheriff in 1839, and was subsequently elected the State House from

Madison Madison may refer to: People * Madison (name), a given name and a surname * James Madison (1751–1836), fourth president of the United States Place names * Madison, Wisconsin, the state capital of Wisconsin and the largest city known by this ...

in 1844. In 1850, Morrill was appointed State Land Agent, and served until 1854. Though Morrill was a Democrat, he emerged as the anti-

Maine Law The Maine Law (or "Maine Liquor Law"), passed on June 2, 1851 in Maine, was the first statutory implementation of the developing temperance movement in the United States. History Temperance activist Neal Dow helped craft the Maine liquor law w ...

candidate for Governor in 1853. In that year's gubernatorial election, Morrill placed third, winning 13% of the vote to Democrat Albert Pillsbury's 44% and incumbent Whig Governor William Crosby’s 32%. No candidate received a majority of the vote, which threw the election to the state legislature. Though the governing coalition of Whigs, Free Soilers, and anti-Maine Law Democrats originally agreed to elect Morrill as Governor, the Whigs backed out—and instead re-elected Crosby as Governor. Morrill again in 1854, this time as the Know Nothing nominee, and won 49% of the vote to Albion Parris's 31% and Isaac Reed's 15%. The election was once again thrown to the legislature, which elected Morrill. He ran for re-election in 1855 as the nominee of the newly formed Republican Party, but though he won 47% of the vote to Democrat Samuel Wells's 44%, the legislature elected Wells over Morrill. In 1860, Morrill was elected to the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

from

. Though James G. Blaine had originally planned on running for the seat, he deferred to Morrill. In 1862, Morrill opted against seeking re-election to allow Blaine to run. After leaving Congress, he served as President of the

Maine Central Railroad The Maine Central Railroad Company was a U. S. Class I railroad in central and southern Maine. It was chartered in 1856 and began operations in 1862. By 1884, Maine Central was the longest railroad in New England. Maine Central had expanded to ...

. He served one final term as a member of the Maine House from 1881 to 1882. In 1882, Morrill urged Blaine, his old friend, to run for Congress, but Blaine declined. Governor Morrill died in 1887 in Augusta, Maine and is buried at the Forest Grove Cemetery in Augusta.

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1803 births 1887 deaths 19th-century American railroad executives Republican Party governors of Maine Maine sheriffs Republican Party members of the Maine House of Representatives People of Maine in the American Civil War People from Belgrade, Maine Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Maine 19th-century American politicians {{US-rail-bio-stub