Benjamin Pierce

Benjamin Pierce (December 25, 1757 – April 1, 1839) was an American politician and military veteran. He served as the governor of New Hampshire on two occasions, from 1827 to 1828 and from 1829 to 1830. Pierce was born in Chelmsford in the Province of Massachusetts Bay, the son of Benjamin and Elizabeth Merrill Pierce. He was a direct descendant of Thomas Pierce (1618–1683), who was the grandson of Sir Richard Carew of Norwich, Norfolk, England, and settled in the Massachusetts Bay Colony.

Pierce served in the American Revolutionary War, enlisting in Ebenezer Bridge's Massachusetts regiment on April 26, 1775. He was a member of the 16th Continental Regiment, later renamed the 8th Massachusetts Regiment. His military service included participation in the Battle of Bunker Hill, and he was promoted to ensign in the 1st Massachusetts Regiment for bravery during the Saratoga campaign.

Following the war, Pierce relocated to Hillsborough, New Hampshire, where he constructed the Pierce family home and was tasked with organizing the Hillsborough County militia. In 1805, he was promoted to brigadier general and took command of the New Hampshire state militia.

In his political career, Pierce served in the New Hampshire House of Representatives from 1786 to 1788. He held the position of Sheriff of Hillsborough County twice, first from 1809 to 1812 and again from 1818 to 1827. He participated as a delegate in the September 1791 New Hampshire Constitutional Convention and served on the Governor's Council from 1803 to 1809 and in 1814.

Benjamin Pierce was married twice. His first marriage was to Elizabeth Andrews on May 24, 1787; their daughter, Elizabeth Andrews Pierce, was born on August 9, 1788, but Elizabeth Andrews Pierce died four days later due to childbirth complications. Elizabeth Andrews Pierce later married U.S. Army General John McNeil Jr.

His second marriage was to Anna Kendrick on February 1, 1790, at Amherst, New Hampshire. Together, they had eight children: Benjamin Kendrick Pierce (1790–1850), Nancy M. Pierce (1792–1837), John Sullivan Pierce (1796–1824), Harriet B. Pierce (1800–1837), Charles Grandison Pierce (1803–1828), Franklin Pierce (1804–1869), Charlotte Pierce (who died in infancy), and Henry Dearborn Pierce (1812–1880).

Benjamin Pierce died in Hillsborough on April 1, 1839, and was interred at Pine Hill Cemetery. He was a founding member of the Society of the Cincinnati and served as vice president of the Massachusetts state society from 1836 to 1839. His eldest son, Benjamin Kendrick Pierce, succeeded him as a member of the society after Benjamin Pierce's death. Later, Franklin Pierce, his second son, became the 14th president of the United States.

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