Governor Samuel Demeritt Felker

SAMUEL D. FELKER, the sixty-third governor of New Hampshire, was born in Rochester, New Hampshire on April 16, 1859. His education was attained at Dartmouth College, where he graduated in 1882, and at Boston University, where he earned a law degree in 1887. After establishing his legal career in Rochester, Felker entered into politics. He first served as a member of the 1889 State Constitutional Convention. He also was a member of the New Hampshire State Senate from 1891 to 1892; and served as the mayor of Rochester from 1896 to 1897. He was the Rochester city solicitor from 1899 to 1913; and served in the New Hampshire House of Representatives from 1909 to 1911. Felker next secured the 1912 Democratic gubernatorial nomination. After a close popular election, the legislature named Felker the legal governor. During his tenure, several progressive measures were lobbied for; and numerous appointments were made in key administrative positions. After declining to run for reelection, Felker secured a judicial appointment to the Rochester Municipal Court, a position he held until 1930. Governor Samuel D. Felker passed away on November 14, 1932 in Rochester, New Hampshire.