Nathaniel Boyden (August 16, 1796 – November 20, 1873) was a

U.S. Congressman The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

from North Carolina between 1847 and 1849 and later between 1868 and 1869. Born in Conway, Massachusetts in 1796, Boyden attended the common schools and then served in the War of 1812. He graduated from Union College in Schenectady, New York, in 1821 and moved to

Stokes County, North Carolina Stokes County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 44,520. Its county seat is Danbury. Stokes County is included in the Winston-Salem, N.C., Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is ...

in 1822. After teaching school for several years in North Carolina, Boyden studied law and was admitted to the bar and practiced. In 1838 and 1840, he was elected to terms in the North Carolina House of Commons. In 1842, Boyden moved to

Salisbury, North Carolina Salisbury is a city in the Piedmont region of North Carolina, United States; it has been the county seat of Rowan County since 1753 when its territory extended to the Mississippi River. Located northeast of Charlotte and within its metropolita ...

and continued to practice law. In 1844 he was elected to the North Carolina Senate, and in 1846, voted to a single term in the

30th United States Congress The 30th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1847, ...

(March 4, 1847 – March 3, 1849) as a Whig. Declining to stand for re-election in 1848, Boyden returned to the practice of law. After the American Civil War, he was a delegate to the 1865 North Carolina Constitutional Convention, and, upon the readmission to North Carolina to the union, he was elected as a Conservative (as some North Carolina members of the Democratic Party were calling themselves) to the

40th United States Congress The 40th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1867, ...

and served from July 13, 1868 to March 3, 1869. Boyden was the sole non-Republican to vote in favor of the 15th Amendment, granting voting rights regardless of race. He unsuccessfully contested the election of

Francis Edwin Shober Francis Edwin Shober (March 12, 1831 – May 29, 1896) was an American politician who served as U.S. Representative from North Carolina, secretary of the United States Senate, county judge, and a member of the North Carolina State House and Nor ...

to the

41st United States Congress The 41st United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1869, ...

, and afterwards resumed the practice of law until elected associate justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court in 1872. He served in that post until his death in Salisbury, on November 20, 1873; he is buried in the Lutheran Cemetery in Salisbury. He was married to Jane Caroline Henderson, daughter of Congressman and North Carolina politician Archibald Henderson (1768-1822).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boyden, Nathaniel 1796 births 1873 deaths People from Conway, Massachusetts Members of the North Carolina House of Representatives North Carolina state senators Justices of the North Carolina Supreme Court Union College (New York) alumni North Carolina Whigs Whig Party members of the United States House of Representatives 19th-century American politicians Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from North Carolina 19th-century American judges