Samuel Demeritt Felker (April 16, 1859November 14, 1932) was an American lawyer and Democratic politician from

Rochester, New Hampshire Rochester is a city in Strafford County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 32,492 at the 2020 census. In addition to the downtown area, the city contains the villages of East Rochester, New Hampshire, East Rochester, Gonic, New Ha ...

Family life

Felker was born to William H. and Deborah A. (Demeritt) Felker in

. Felker married Mary J. Dudley on June 26, 1900 in

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from South ...

. Felker was a member of the Congregationalist Church.

Education

Felker graduated from

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 A ...

in 1882. In 1888 Felker earned a A.M. and a L.L.B from the

Boston University School of Law Boston University School of Law (Boston Law or BU Law) is the law school of Boston University, a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. It is consistently ranked among the top law schools in the United States and considered an eli ...

Early political career

Felker was a member of the New Hampshire state constitutional convention of 1889, he served in the

New Hampshire Senate The New Hampshire Senate has been meeting since 1784. It is the upper house of the New Hampshire General Court, alongside the lower New Hampshire House of Representatives. It consists of 24 members representing Senate districts based on population ...

from 1890 to 1892, as the mayor of

in 1896 and 1897, and from 1909 to 1911 in the

New Hampshire House of Representatives The New Hampshire House of Representatives is the lower house in the New Hampshire General Court, the bicameral legislature of the state of New Hampshire. The House of Representatives consists of 400 members coming from 204 legislative district ...

Governor of New Hampshire

In 1912 Felker ran as 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 ...

for governor of New Hampshire, because no candidate received a majority of the vote, Felker was selected governor by the New Hampshire legislature. Felker did not seek reelection in 1914, and after deliberating, decided against a bid for the state's U.S. Senate seat.

Judge of the Rochester Municipal Court

Felker's gubernatorial successor, Rolland H. Spaulding, appointed Felker as Judge of the Rochester Municipal Court, a position Felker held from July 20, 1915 until 1930.

Death

Felker died at his home in Rochester on November 14, 1932.

Notes

External links

Felker at New Hampshire's Division of Historic Resources
{{DEFAULTSORT:Felker, Samuel D/ 1859 births 1932 deaths Democratic Party governors of New Hampshire People from Rochester, New Hampshire Democratic Party members of the New Hampshire House of Representatives Democratic Party New Hampshire state senators Dartmouth College alumni Boston University School of Law alumni