Semi-weekly North-Carolina standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1852-1853, 1852-06-26
Interesting Biographical Sketches.
GOVERNOR BENJAMIN PIERCE.


ton;o,n;n p;orco the father of General Franklin
Pierce the democratic candidate for President OF
the United States was born at ChemsIor9' wv
near Lowell in the Commonwealth oi eN,lo-
Sets in 1857; and he was the son OF la
his carly life was devoted to agriculture. lie was
Id from a respectable Irish family, who OIL
oinallv erngrated along with many other dTlsn EN-
ioranfs from Londonderry, in the north OF lrelano
and settled in New Londonderry, IN New Lamp
shire On the memorable 10Th of April l1fo
the revolutionary committee OF Boston sent o"'
couriers in every direction, and one OF these HESS
engers came up to the door of the farm house,
while young Pierce, then only eighteen years OF
age, was ploughing in his fathers field and nav
ing delivered a brief message, fastened on 10
arouse the country to action. 1t was the news oi
the battle of Lexington which the stranger was
commissioned to proclaim, and which, hHe d 'Iulii
pets voice. reused all the inhabitants OF tne lao
Young Pierce left the pillow, and snoulaerih9 Ills
,,,,,sle+ nrocaeded ON foot towards Lexington,
where he found on his arrival that the troops mad
fallen back upon Boston, and enlisting as private
soldier in the Army of the Revolution, was assigned
to the regiment commanded by Col Brooks
In the battle of Bunker Hill, which occurred on
the It'll of June following, Pierce took part, ana
from that time to the close of the Revolution, he
continued in the service of the country, and follow
ed the fortune of his regiment fighting when 1t
was called into action, and attracting the notice and
winning the commentator of his superior othcers
for his gallantry and good conduct, by whlcn
means he rose gradually to the command OF COM
pany so that at the disbanding of the Revolution
ary Army, he held the rank of captain 1he lead
ers of the revolution had been driven, by necessity
to the issuing of paper money; and IN that cur
rency, already depreciating, the troops were PAD
off. Pierce was amongst the sufferers and when
he set out to return to his native village he found
the continental money which he had received from
Congress so far deprecated that the whole amount
in his possession, the arrears OF his pay for eght
years of service, would not suffice Tor the purchase
of farm. He was obliged, like many other 9TH
GERS of the Revolution, to go into the wilderness
where lands were cheap and begin the cultivation
of wild land He removed to the State OF New
Hampshire, into the town and county OF HILLSIDE
rough and having made a clearing, erected a rude
habitation telling the trees with his axe and pro
curing food for sustenance with his gun. In that
town his son, Franklin Pierce, was born, and there
lived until he removed to Concord, the capital OF
the State, where he now resides.
In the autumn of l 1856, Gen. John Sullivan, who
was then President of New Hampshire, and whose
grandson, John Sullivan is Attorney General
of that State determined to form the militia Of the
county of Hillsborough into a brigade, and having
sought out Benjamin Pierce, commissioned him as
brigade major; and he being veteran soldier,
Immediately took the necessary steps for the per-
feet organization and discipline of the several regi
ments. He had already served eight years IN the
regular army, and he continued for twenty-one
years in the militia, leaving it finally in the station
of brgadier general. Gen. Miller and Gen. John
McNiel (who was a son-in-law of Benjamin Pierce, }
both of whom served with so much distinction i'll
the war of 1912, and the latter of whom recently
deceased at the city of Washington, both belong
ed, when they were young men, to the militia reg
iment commanded by the father of the democratic
nominee; and it is said that several other officers
who have distinguished themselves, have been
proud to declare that they received their first les
sons of military discipline from Gen. Benjamin
Pierce, in the militia of Hillsborough.
From 1889 to 1902, he was representative of
the people in the Legislature of the State and in
1903 was first elected member of the Governors
council where he continued six years, five of which
passed in the council of the celebrated Gov.
John Langdon. This brings to the year 1909.
Soon after that time he appointed Sheriff of
the county of Hillsborough, which office he held
till 1913. In that year, at the June session of the
Legislature, a change made in the Judiciary
system of the State which resulted in abolishing
the offices of the existing Judges and gave to the
dominant party an opportunity to appoint their
successors upon the bench. The name of the high
est court of the State, which had been styled the
Superior Court of Judicaturc, by the new law
changed to the Supreme Judicial Court. Arthur
Liycrmore, Chief Justice of the former court, was
retained associate justice in the new one.
JereLllsn SInJll, OF Exeter, VINO mad resigned his
seat the bench to accept the office of Governor,
was again appointed Chief Justice The remain
ing seat filled by Caleb Ellis, of Claremont, a
young but distinguished member of the bar This
nominal change in the courts was made, as the re-
publican party commended, for the sole purpose of
getting rid of the old court, and was unconstitu-
tional. A warm controversy ensued and both
courts sat and claimed right to administer the
law; during which time the public business was
thrown into confusion by the jurors and witnesses
sometimes obeying the summons to attend one
court and sometimes the other.
In consequence of the confusion resulting from
this unsettled state of things, Governor John Gil
man, then chief magistrate of the State, convened
the Legislature on the 9th day of October several
weeks earlier than the day to which it had been
adjourned At an early period of this session, Josiah
Butler, sheriff of the county of Rockingham, and
Benjamin Pierce, sheriff of Hillsborough, were re-
moved by address. Pierce, however, was elected
four years successfully to the Governors council
and ultimately again appointed sheriff of Hills
borough county. While holding that Office an
event occurred, which strongly marked his character
and erected for him an enduring monument in the
hearts of the people. 1t was in the year 1918, at
the time when the enormous abuses of the creditor
over the debtor exciting the attention of the
people, and calling forth excavations from the phil
anthropic and liberal everywhere In some instances
the father of poor family was for years mmured
in dungeon for the amount of the prison charges
and his family TnoaDUbi1o 1poro .o1,ooJ -.