Ralph Metcalf | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 25th Governor of New Hampshire | |
| In office June 7, 1855 – June 4, 1857 | |
| Preceded by | Nathaniel B. Baker |
| Succeeded by | William Haile |
| Member of theNew Hampshire House of Representatives | |
| In office 1852–1853 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1796-11-21)November 21, 1796 |
| Died | August 26, 1858(1858-08-26) (aged 61) Claremont, New Hampshire, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic-Republican Democratic Know Nothing Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Lucretia Ann Bingham Martha Ann Gilmore |
| Children | 2 |
| Alma mater | Dartmouth College |
| Profession | Attorney |
Ralph Metcalf (November 21, 1796 – August 26, 1858) was an American lawyer and politician fromNew Hampshire who served as the 25thgovernor of New Hampshire from 1855 to 1857.
Ralph Metcalf was born inCharlestown, New Hampshire on November 21, 1796.[1][2] He was educated locally and worked on the farm of his father, a veteran of theAmerican Revolution, until deciding on a career in the law in 1818.[3]
Metcalf graduated from the academy inChester, Vermont and then attendedDartmouth College, from which he graduated in 1823. He then studied law withHenry Hubbard and attorney Richard Bartlett ofConcord, and was admitted to the bar in 1826.[4]
He practiced law in New Hampshire, first withGeorge B. Upham, and later with David Hale. From 1828 to 1830 he practiced inBinghamton, New York, after which he returned to New Hampshire to open an office inClaremont.[5]
In 1831 Metcalf was electedsecretary state.[6] He held this post until 1838, when he moved toWashington, D.C. to accept a position in theDepartment of the Treasury whileLevi Woodbury of New Hampshire was serving asSecretary. In 1840 he returned to New Hampshire and practiced law, first inPlymouth, and later inNewport.[7]
In 1845 he was appointed Register ofProbate forSullivan County.[8] In 1848 he was appointed a trustee of the state asylum for the insane, and he served several more non-consecutive terms.[9] He served in theNew Hampshire House of Representatives from 1852 to 1853.[10] In 1853 he served on the state commission appointed to codify New Hampshire's statutes.[11]
A member of theDemocratic Party for most of his career, Metcalf later became recognized asanti-slavery and an opponent ofFranklin Pierce's attempts to obtain passage of theKansas–Nebraska Act.[12]
As a result of Metcalf's opposition to slavery, in 1855 he was nominated for Governor by theKnow Nothing movement, which increasingly incorporated anti-slavery sentiment into its core Nativism in New England states. This effort was promoted byFree Soil Democrats includingJohn P. Hale, who hoped to create a movement that would send New Hampshire anti-slavery activists to theUnited States Senate and help build the nascentRepublican Party.[13] (It worked—Hale was elected to the Senate in 1855, eventually moving to the Republican Party because of his views on slavery.James Bell, an abolitionistWhig also won a Senate seat in 1855, and later became a Republican.)[14]
Metcalf won the 1855 race for Governor, defeating incumbentNathaniel B. Baker,James Bell andAsa Fowler.[15] In 1856 he defeatedJohn S. Wells andIchabod Goodwin, but his margin over Wells was narrow, and the selection moved to theNew Hampshire General Court, which chose Metcalf.[16] Metcalf became identified with the Republican Party when it was founded as the major anti-slavery party in the mid 1850s.[17] In addition to his abolitionist views, Metcalf's governorship was noteworthy for his support of aprohibition law, which passed in 1855, and remained in force until 1889.[18][19]
He retired after the completion of his second term, and resided in Claremont. He died in Claremont on August 26, 1858.
In 1835 he married Lucretia Ann Bingham. She died a few weeks after giving birth in 1836, and the baby died soon afterwards. He married Martha Ann Gilmore in 1843, and they had two children: son Ralph (1844–1905); and daughter Frances Elizabeth (born 1845).[20][21]
| Party political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| First | Know Nothing nominee forGovernor of New Hampshire 1855, 1856 | Succeeded by None |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Governor of New Hampshire 1855–1857 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
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| National | |
| Other | |
