David L. Morril

{{Infobox officeholder

| name = David Lawrence Morril

| image = David Lawrence Morril.jpg

| imagesize = 164px

| jr/sr = United States Senator

| state = New Hampshire

| term_start = March 4, 1817

| term_end = March 3, 1823

| preceded = Thomas W. Thompson

| succeeded = Samuel Bell

| order2 = 10th Governor of New Hampshire

| term_start2 = June 3, 1824

| term_end2 = June 7, 1827

| preceded2 = Levi Woodbury

| succeeded2 = Benjamin Pierce

| order3 = Speaker of the New Hampshire House of Representatives

| term_end3 = 1816

| preceded3 = George B. Upham

| succeeded3 = Henry B. Chase

| order4 = Member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives

| term_start4 = 1808

| term_end4 = 1816

| preceded4 =

| succeeded4 =

| birth_date = {{birth date|1772|6|10}}

| birth_place = Epping, Province of New Hampshire, British America

| death_date = {{death date and age|1849|1|28|1772|6|10}}

| death_place = Concord, New Hampshire, U.S.

| nationality =

| party = Democratic-Republican

| spouse = Jane Wallace, Lydia Poore

| relations =

| children = Four

| residence =

| alma_mater = Dartmouth College
University of Vermont (J.D.)

| occupation =

| profession =

| signature =

| website =

| footnotes =

}}

David Lawrence Morril (June 10, 1772{{spaced ndash}}January 28, 1849) was an American politician, attorney, physician and minister. He served as a U.S. Senator for New Hampshire from 1817 to 1823, and was the tenth governor of New Hampshire, serving from 1824 until 1827.

Early life

Morril was born to Samuel and Anna (Lawrence) Morril in Epping in the Province of New Hampshire on June 10, 1772.{{Citation |last=Kelly|first= Howard Atwood | title =A Cyclopedia of American Medical Biography:Comprising the Lives of Eminent Deceased Physicians and Surgeons from 1610 to 1910| page = 818| publisher=The Norman, Remington Company| location = Baltimore, Maryland|year =1920}} He graduated from Phillips Exeter Academy and Dartmouth College, and later received his law degree from the University of Vermont.

He worked as a clergyman, called to the Congregational Presbyterian Church in 1802 in Goffstown, New Hampshire, where he served for years.{{Citation | last1 = Coolidge | first1 = Austin Jacobs | author-link = Austin Jacobs Coolidge | last2 = Mansfield | first2 = John Brainard | author2-link = John Brainard Mansfield | title = A History and Description of New England, General and Local | place = Boston | publisher = A.J. Coolidge | year = 1859 | pages = 502–504 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=OcoMAAAAYAAJ }}

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.{{Citation | last=Jenks|first= George E. | title =Political Journal for the State of The New Hampshire 1867| page = 45| publisher=McFarland and Jenks| location = Concord, New Hampshire|year =1866}}

The legislature elected him as the U.S. Senator 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.{{Citation |last=Kelly|first= Howard Atwood | title =A Cyclopedia of American Medical Biography:Comprising the Lives of Eminent Deceased Physicians and Surgeons from 1610 to 1910| page = 819| publisher=The Norman, Remington Company| location = Baltimore, Maryland|year =1920}} 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.{{Citation |last=Jenks|first= George E. | title =Political Manual and Annual Register for the State of New Hampshire For the Political year 1869–1870| page = 60| publisher=McFarland and Jenks| location = Concord, New Hampshire|year =1868}}

Personal life

Morril was married twice to Jane Wallace & Lydia Poore, whom he had four children with. He is buried in the Old North Cemetery, Concord, New Hampshire, near the grave of President Franklin Pierce.{{Cite web |date=2017-01-03 |title=David Lawrence Morril |url=https://www.nga.org/governor/david-lawrence-morril/ |access-date=2024-04-11 |website=National Governors Association}}{{Cite web |title=Franklin Pierce Homestead--Presidents: A Discover Our Shared Heritage Travel Itinerary |url=https://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/presidents/franklin_pierce_homestead.html#:~:text=Franklin%20Pierce%20died%20in%201869,of%20New%20Hampshire%20obtained%20it. |access-date=2024-04-11 |website=www.nps.gov}}