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Charles Smith Olden (February 19, 1799April 7, 1876) was an American merchant, banker, and
politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, ...
who served as the 19th
governor of New Jersey The governor of New Jersey is the head of government of New Jersey. The office of governor is an elected position with a four-year term. There is a two consecutive term term limit, with no limitation on non-consecutive terms. The official r ...
from 1860 to 1863 during the first part of the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and t ...
. As Governor, Olden supported President
Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation throu ...
and the national war effort but favored union and reconciliation with the South above all else; before the war, he argued slavery was properly understood as the sole regulatory province of the states, and he later opposed Lincoln's
Emancipation Proclamation The Emancipation Proclamation, officially Proclamation 95, was a presidential proclamation and executive order issued by United States President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863, during the American Civil War, Civil War. The Proclamation c ...
. His mansion, Drumthwacket, was bought by the state in 1966 and became the official residence of the governor of New Jersey in 1981.


Early life

Charles Smith Olden was born in 1799 near
Princeton, New Jersey Princeton is a municipality with a borough form of government in Mercer County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It was established on January 1, 2013, through the consolidation of the Borough of Princeton and Princeton Township, both of w ...
, to Hart Olden and Temperance Smith. His family were
Quakers Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belief in each human's abili ...
. He attended
The Lawrenceville School The Lawrenceville School is a coeducational preparatory school for boarding and day students located in the Lawrenceville section of Lawrence Township, in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. Lawrenceville is a member of the Eight Scho ...
. Upon his graduation from Lawrenceville, Olden worked in his father's store for some time before joining the mercantile firm of
Matthew Newkirk Matthew Newkirk (1794–1868), was a banker, railroad executive, and civic leader in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was a director of the United States Bank, but he was best known as the president of the Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore R ...
. From 1826 to 1832, he opened and ran a New Orleans branch of Newkirk's firm. After his uncle died and bequeathed Olden a large estate, he returned to Princeton, where he constructed Drumthwacket as his personal residence. He lived there as a
gentleman farmer In the United Kingdom, the United States, and Canada, a gentleman farmer is a landowner who has a farm (gentleman's farm) as part of his estate and who farms mainly for pleasure rather than for profit or sustenance. The Collins English Diction ...
and joined the board of directors of the Trenton Banking Company in 1842.


New Jersey Senate

In 1844, Olden was elected as a Whig to represent Mercer County in the New Jersey Senate. He was re-elected in 1847 and served until the conclusion of his second term in 1851. During his time in the Senate, he was chair of the Committee on Education and took interest in the State Lunatic Asylum. In 1856, Olden supported
Millard Fillmore Millard Fillmore (January 7, 1800March 8, 1874) was the 13th president of the United States, serving from 1850 to 1853; he was the last to be a member of the Whig Party while in the White House. A former member of the U.S. House of Represen ...
, running on the American Party platform with Whig support, for President of the United States.


Governor of New Jersey

In 1859, the Opposition Party, a loosely knit organization of former Whigs,
Know Nothing The Know Nothing party was a nativist political party and movement in the United States in the mid-1850s. The party was officially known as the "Native American Party" prior to 1855 and thereafter, it was simply known as the "American Party". ...
s, and Republicans, nominated Olden for Governor of New Jersey. He was also supported by the American Party. He narrowly defeated Democrat Edwin R.V. Wright in the general election.


Civil War

In his inaugural address in 1860, Olden said that each state had "exclusive and independent control of its domestic policy" and that slavery was "exclusively and eminently a matter of domestic policy, to be ... controlled by each State for itself." Nevertheless, he joined the Opposition Party in supporting
Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation throu ...
for President in the fall election. As Governor during the last days before the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and t ...
, Olden was an advocate for compromise and reconciliation with the South. He viewed secession as "anarchy" but blamed the crisis on "a few persons of extreme views both North and South." He called for vigorous enforcement of the
Fugitive Slave Act A fugitive (or runaway) is a person who is fleeing from custody, whether it be from jail, a government arrest, government or non-government questioning, vigilante violence, or outraged private individuals. A fugitive from justice, also know ...
by Northern states and was the only state Governor to attend the Washington Peace Conference in January 1861. He did not speak at the conference but voted in favor of several compromise resolutions, including the extension of slavery in the territories, provision of compensation for runaway slaves, and a prohibition on the Congressional abolition of slavery. Throughout the pre-war crisis, Olden feared that armed conflict or calls for secession would break out in
New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delawa ...
. After the
Battle of Fort Sumter The Battle of Fort Sumter (April 12–13, 1861) was the bombardment of Fort Sumter near Charleston, South Carolina by the South Carolina militia. It ended with the surrender by the United States Army, beginning the American Civil War. Fol ...
and the outbreak of war, New Jersey and Olden shifted in decided favor of the Union. He wrote to President Lincoln, "New Jersey is a border state, and it is of great importance that she stand steadfast in the great conflict." He called a special legislative session, at which he asked for the creation of four regiments for coastal defense of southern New Jersey on both the river and ocean fronts. He later abandoned this call in favor of federal defense of the border. Throughout the first two years of the war, Olden rarely left Trenton. In September 1862, Olden (along with the governors of border states Missouri, Kentucky, Delaware, and Maryland) declined to join a resolution of state governors expressing support of the
Emancipation Proclamation The Emancipation Proclamation, officially Proclamation 95, was a presidential proclamation and executive order issued by United States President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863, during the American Civil War, Civil War. The Proclamation c ...
. Olden left office in January 1863, constitutionally prohibited from seeking a second term in office. He was succeeded by Democrat Joel Parker.


Later career

After leaving office, Olden continued to support the national war effort. He was the first President of the Loyal National League of New Jersey, a non-partisan organization dedicated to bringing together supporters of the war. This organization became the New Jersey branch of the National Union Party in the campaigns of 1863 and 1864. He was appointed to serve on the
New Jersey Court of Errors and Appeals Prior to 1947, the structure of the judiciary in New Jersey was extremely complex, including Court of Errors and Appeals in the last resort in all causes. The Court of Errors and Appeals was the highest court in the U.S. state of New Jersey from ...
, then the state's highest court, serving from 1868 to 1873. He was a member of the Riparian Commission from 1869 to 1875 and a commissioner of the State Sinking Fund. He was presidential elector for
Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union A ...
from New Jersey in 1872. He served as treasurer of the College of New Jersey (now
Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...
) from 1849 to 1869 and was a member of its board of trustees from 1863 until 1875.


Personal life and death

He married Phoebe Ann Smith in 1832. They adopted one daughter but had no children of their own. He died at his home in Princeton on April 7, 1876. He was buried at the
Stony Brook Meeting House and Cemetery Stony Brook Meeting House and Cemetery are historic Quaker sites located at the Stony Brook Settlement at the intersection of Princeton Pike/Mercer Road and Quaker Road in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The first Europeans to settle in the ...
.


See also

* List of governors of New Jersey


References


External links


New Jersey Governor Charles Smith Olden
National Governors Association The National Governors Association (NGA) is an American political organization founded in 1908. The association's members are the governors of the 55 states, territories and commonwealths. Members come to the association from across the politica ...

Charles Smith Olden
The Political Graveyard The Political Graveyard is a website and database that catalogues information on more than 277,000 American political figures and political families, along with other information. The name comes from the website's inclusion of burial locations ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Olden, Charles Smith 1799 births 1876 deaths Republican Party governors of New Jersey People of New Jersey in the American Civil War New Jersey state court judges Republican Party New Jersey state senators People from Princeton, New Jersey American Quakers Union (American Civil War) state governors Lawrenceville School alumni Burials in New Jersey 19th-century American judges 19th-century American politicians