Representative Samuel Dinsmoor

Samuel Dinsmoor (July 1, 1766 – March 15, 1835) was an American teacher, lawyer, banker, and politician from New Hampshire who served as the 14th governor of New Hampshire and as a member of the United States House of Representatives. A member of the Republican Party—then commonly known as the Democratic-Republican Party—representing New Hampshire, he contributed to the legislative process during one term in Congress, participating in the democratic process and representing the interests of his constituents during a significant period in early American history.

Dinsmoor was born on July 1, 1766, in Windham in the Province of New Hampshire, the son of William and Elizabeth (Cochran) Dinsmoor. He was the grandson of Robert and Margaret (Orr) Dinsmoor, who had settled in Nutfield (later Londonderry), New Hampshire, in 1723, placing him within a longstanding Scots-Irish immigrant family in the colony. Raised in this New England environment, he came of age during the American Revolution, an experience that shaped the generation of leaders to which he belonged.

Dinsmoor pursued higher education at Dartmouth College, from which he graduated in 1789. After college he worked as a teacher while studying law, reflecting the common early American pattern of combining pedagogy with professional training. He was subsequently admitted to the bar and established a law practice in Keene, New Hampshire. In Keene he became an active and prominent citizen, and in 1808 he was appointed postmaster, a position that underscored both his standing in the community and the growing importance of federal communications in the early republic. He also helped organize the Keene light infantry and served as its commander, contributing to local militia organization and readiness in the years leading up to the War of 1812.

Elected as a Democratic-Republican, Dinsmoor represented New Hampshire in the United States House of Representatives during the Twelfth Congress, serving from March 4, 1811, to March 3, 1813. His single term in Congress coincided with the mounting tensions that led to the War of 1812, and he participated in the legislative debates and decisions of that formative period. As a member of the Republican Party representing New Hampshire, he contributed to the legislative process and the representation of his state’s interests at the national level. After leaving Congress, he remained engaged in public affairs in New Hampshire. He served as a presidential elector in 1820, casting his vote in the contest that returned James Monroe to the presidency, and in 1821 he served on the New Hampshire Governor’s Council, advising the state’s chief executive.

Dinsmoor continued to hold important state responsibilities through the 1820s. From 1823 to 1831 he served as a state court judge in New Hampshire, participating in the development and application of state law during a period of expanding commerce and population. In 1825 he was appointed to a commission that negotiated and established the boundary line between Massachusetts and New Hampshire, helping to settle a longstanding inter-state question and to clarify jurisdictional authority in the region. These judicial and commission roles further solidified his reputation as a careful and experienced public servant.

In 1831 Dinsmoor secured the Democratic gubernatorial nomination and was elected governor of New Hampshire by popular vote. He was reelected to a second term in 1832 and to a third term in 1833, serving as the state’s 14th governor from 1831 to 1834. His administration coincided with a period of economic growth and institutional development in New Hampshire. During his tenure, new manufacturing enterprises were incorporated, railroads and banks flourished as part of the broader market revolution, and the first free public library in the United States was established in Peterborough, New Hampshire, marking an important milestone in public access to knowledge. As governor, he also made the first official recommendation for the establishment of a state asylum for the insane, urging that those suffering from mental illness be removed from prisons, dungeons, and cages and placed in a more humane institutional setting. Although the legislation was not enacted during his term, in 1838 a bill establishing such an asylum was finally passed by the state, reflecting the influence of his earlier advocacy.

After completing his third term as governor, Dinsmoor retired from active political life and entered the private sector. He became the first president of the Ashuelot Bank in Keene, New Hampshire, a position he held from its founding through the remainder of his life. In this role he oversaw financial operations during a time when state-chartered banks were central to local economic development, further extending his influence beyond law and politics into the realm of banking and commerce.

In his personal life, Dinsmoor married Mary Boyd Reid in 1798. She was the daughter of General George Reid and Molly (Woodburn) Reid, linking Dinsmoor by marriage to another prominent New Hampshire family with Revolutionary War associations. The couple’s son, Samuel Dinsmoor Jr., followed his father into public service and later became the 22nd governor of New Hampshire, continuing the family’s political legacy in the state.

Samuel Dinsmoor died in Keene, Cheshire County, New Hampshire, on March 15, 1835, at the age of 68 years and 257 days. At the time of his death he was still serving as president of the Ashuelot Bank. He was interred at Washington Street Cemetery in Keene, New Hampshire, where his grave marks the resting place of a figure who had played significant roles as educator, lawyer, judge, congressman, governor, and banker in the formative decades of both New Hampshire and the United States.