Benjamin Ames (October 30, 1778 – September 28, 1835) was the third

governor of Maine The governor of Maine is the head of government of the U.S. state of Maine. Before Maine was admitted to the Union in 1820, Maine was part of Massachusetts and the governor of Massachusetts was chief executive. The current governor of Maine is J ...

, who served from December 5, 1821, to January 2, 1822.

Biography

Ames was born in

Andover, Massachusetts Andover is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. It was Settler, settled in 1642 and incorporated in 1646."Andover" in ''Encyclopedia Britannica, The New Encyclopædia Britannica''. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 15th ed. ...

. He graduated

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in 1803, studied law with Samuel Dana, and attained admission to the bar in 1806. He then relocated to

Bath, Maine Bath is a city in Sagadahoc County, Maine, United States. Bath is included in the Brunswick, Maine, Brunswick Micropolitan statistical area, micropolitan area. Bath has a 2024 population of 8,870. It is also the county seat of Sagadahoc County ...

, where he established a practice. Beginning in 1811 he practiced with his brother in law Abel Boynton. Ames served as

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for Lincoln County from 1807 to 1811, and Judge of Common Pleas Court until 1814. During the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

, Ames was commissioned as a

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

and commanded a cavalry battalion in the Maine Militia. From 1818 to 1828 he served as a member of

Bowdoin College Bowdoin College ( ) is a Private college, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Brunswick, Maine. It was chartered in 1794. The main Bowdoin campus is located near Casco Bay and the Androscoggin River. In a ...

's Board of Overseers. In 1819 he was a delegate to the constitutional convention that led to Maine's separation from Massachusetts and statehood. In 1820, Ames was also elected to the

Maine House of Representatives The Maine House of Representatives is the lower house of the Maine Legislature. The House consists of 151 voting members and three nonvoting members. The voting members represent an equal number of districts across the state and are elected via ...

, and he was selected as that body's first

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. Upon the resignation of William D. Williamson in December 1821, Ames served as governor until Daniel Rose took office in January 1822. Ames was elected to the

Maine Senate The Maine Senate is the upper house of the Maine Legislature, the state legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Maine. The Senate currently consists of 35 members representing an equal number of districts across the st ...

in 1824, and served as its fifth

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. With the elections of 1827, he returned to the state House of Representatives. In 1827, Ames became involved in a dispute with former Governor

William King William King may refer to: Arts * Willie King (1943–2009), American blues guitarist and singer * William King (author) (born 1959), British science fiction author and game designer, also known as Bill King * William King (artist) (1925–2015), ...

over who would be appointed as the federal Collector of Customs for the Port of Bath; the dispute became personal, with each accusing the other of violating the national trade embargo with England to supply the British Army in

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during the

. King received the appointment, and served from 1829 to 1834. The prolonged dispute with King caused Ames to lose legal clients; his law practice failed, and he moved to

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

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. In 1829, he decided to return to Maine; while in

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, Ames suffered a debilitating stroke. He never fully recovered, and he died at the

Houlton, Maine Houlton is a town in and the county seat of Aroostook County, Maine, United States, on the Canada–United States border. As of the 2020 census, the town's population was 6,055. It is perhaps best known for being at the northern terminus of Int ...

home of his brother in law Benjamin A. Boynton on September 28, 1835. He was buried at Soldiers Cemetery in Houlton.

Family

In 1809, Ames married Mary Boynton of

Westford, Massachusetts Westford is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was at 24,643 at the time of the 2020 United States census, 2020 Census. History Westford began as 'West Chelmsford,' a villag ...

. She died in 1810, and they had no children. In 1812, he married Sarah "Sally" Boynton, the sister of his first wife. They were the parents of three children, son George, and two daughters.

References

Past presidents of the Maine Senate - Benjamin Ames, Democratic-Republican, 1824
Accessed September 13, 2005.

External links

at ''National Governors Association'' * 1778 births 1835 deaths Harvard University alumni People from Andover, Massachusetts Politicians from Bath, Maine Politicians from Houlton, Maine Governors of Maine Maine Democratic-Republicans Presidents of the Maine Senate Speakers of the Maine House of Representatives Democratic-Republican Party state governors of the United States 19th-century members of the Maine Legislature {{Maine-MESenate-stub