Samuel Wells (August 15, 1801 – July 15, 1868) was an American politician and the 25th Governor of Maine.

Biography

Samuel Wells was born in

Durham, New Hampshire Durham is a town in Strafford County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 15,490 at the 2020 census, up from 14,638 at the 2010 census.United States Census BureauU.S. Census website 2010 Census figures. Retrieved March 23, 2011. D ...

on August 15, 1801. He was educated at local schools, studied law, and was admitted to the bar. Wells had a successful career as an attorney in Maine, living successively in Waterville, Hallowell, and

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

. He served in the

Maine House of Representatives The Maine House of Representatives is the lower house of the Maine Legislature. The House consists of 151 voting members and three nonvoting members. The voting members represent an equal number of districts across the state and are elected via p ...

from 1836 to 1840. Wells was an associate justice of the

Maine Supreme Judicial Court The Maine Supreme Judicial Court is the highest court in the state of Maine's judicial system. It is composed of seven justices, who are appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Maine Senate. From 1820 until 1839, justices served lifetime a ...

from 1847 to 1854. A

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

, Wells became Governor of Maine in 1856, chosen by the state legislature after none of the candidates in a three-way race obtained the popular vote majority required by law. He was unsuccessful in his re-election bid and left office on January 8, 1857. After leaving office, he moved to Boston and practiced law. He died in Boston on July 15, 1868.There is a brief account of his life in an obituary of his son Samuel (1836–1903), a lawyer and member of the Colonial Society of Massachusetts Wells was buried at Evergreen Cemetery in Portland.

Sources

External links

* Sobel, Robert and John Raimo. ''Biographical Directory of the Governors of the United States, 1789-1978''. Greenwood Press, 1988.
Samuel Wells
at
National Governors Association
' 1801 births 1868 deaths Democratic Party governors of Maine Democratic Party members of the Maine House of Representatives People from Hallowell, Maine People from Durham, New Hampshire 19th-century American politicians Justices of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court Maine lawyers Lawyers from Boston 19th-century American lawyers 19th-century American judges {{Maine-politician-stub