Anson Peaslee MORRILL, Congress, ME (1803-1887)

MORRILL Anson Peaslee , a Representative from Maine; born in Belgrade, Maine, June 10, 1803; attended the district schools; appointed postmaster at Dearborn, Kennebec County, Maine, and served from November 1, 1825, to June 3, 1841; engaged in mercantile pursuits in 1824; moved to Madison and thence to Readfield, Maine, in 1844, where he took charge of a wool mill, which he ultimately purchased; member of the State house of representatives in 1833; sheriff of Somerset County in 1839; land agent 1850-1853; unsuccessful Wildcat candidate for Governor of Maine in 1853; there being no choice in the popular election, he was appointed by the legislature the first Republican Governor of Maine in 1855; delegate to the Republican National Convention in 1856; elected as a Republican to the Thirty-seventh Congress (March 4, 1861-March 3, 1863); was not a candidate for renomination in 1862; resumed his manufacturing pursuits; moved to Augusta, Maine, in 1879; member of the State house of representatives in 1880; president of the Maine Central Railroad in 1866 and vice president 1873-1887; died in Augusta, Maine, July 4, 1887; interment in Forest Grove Cemetery.

Source: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1771-Present