David Lawrence Morril (June 10, 1772January 28, 1849) was an American politician, attorney, physician and minister. He served as a

U.S. Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

for

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec to the nor ...

from 1817 to 1823, and was the tenth

governor of New Hampshire The governor of New Hampshire is the head of government of New Hampshire. The governor is elected during the biennial state general election in November of even-numbered years. New Hampshire is one of only two states, along with bordering Verm ...

, serving from 1824 until 1827.

Early life

Morril was born to Samuel and Anna (Lawrence) Morril in

Epping Epping may refer to: Places Australia * Epping, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney ** Epping railway station, Sydney * Electoral district of Epping, the corresponding seat in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly * Epping Forest, Kearns, a he ...

in the

Province of New Hampshire The Province of New Hampshire was a colony of England and later a British province in North America. The name was first given in 1629 to the territory between the Merrimack and Piscataqua rivers on the eastern coast of North America, and was n ...

on June 10, 1772. He graduated from Phillips Exeter Academy and

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native ...

, and later received his

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...

degree from the

University of Vermont The University of Vermont (UVM), officially the University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, is a public land-grant research university in Burlington, Vermont. It was founded in 1791 and is among the oldest universities in the United ...

. He worked as a clergyman, called to the Congregational Presbyterian Church in 1802 in

Goffstown, New Hampshire Goffstown is a town in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 18,577 at the 2020 census. The compact center of town, where 3,366 people resided at the 2020 census, is defined by the U.S. Census Bureau as the Goffst ...

, where he served for years.

Political career

In 1808, Morril was elected as a member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives; he served until 1816. In his last term in 1816, he was elected by the House as Speaker. The legislature elected him as the

from New Hampshire in 1817, and he served until 1823. In 1824 Morril was elected as Governor of New Hampshire, serving from June 3, 1824 to June 7, 1827. In the 1824 election, Morril received the most votes; however, because he failed to win a majority of the votes cast, the election had to be decided by the legislature. Morril was elected by a vote of 163 to 43 during a joint meeting of the New Hampshire legislature. In the 1825 election, Morril ran unopposed; in the 1826 election, Morril defeated his opponent Benjamin Pierce by 5,392 votes. In the 1827 election, Morril was defeated by Pierce by an overwhelming margin: Benjamin Pierce won 21,166 votes out of 27,411 cast.

Personal life

Morril married Lydia Poor in 1824 and they had four children together. He is buried in the Old North Cemetery, Concord, New Hampshire, near the grave of President Franklin Pierce.

Notes

External links

Biographic sketch at U.S. Congress website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Morril, David L. 1772 births 1849 deaths People from Epping, New Hampshire American Presbyterians New Hampshire Democratic-Republicans Governors of New Hampshire United States senators from New Hampshire University of Vermont alumni Democratic-Republican Party United States senators Members of the New Hampshire House of Representatives Speakers of the New Hampshire House of Representatives Democratic-Republican Party state governors of the United States Phillips Exeter Academy alumni