Nathaniel Brander (1796–1870) was an

Americo-Liberian Americo-Liberian people (also known as Congo people or Congau people),Cooper, Helene, ''The House at Sugar Beach: In Search of a Lost African Childhood'' (United States: Simon and Schuster, 2008), p. 6 are a Liberian ethnic group of African Am ...

politician and jurist who served as the first

vice president of Liberia The vice president of the Republic of Liberia is the second-highest executive official in Liberia, and one of only two elected executive offices along with the President of Liberia, president. The vice president is elected on the same ticket w ...

from 1848 to 1850 under

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Joseph Jenkins Roberts Joseph Jenkins Roberts (March 15, 1809 – February 24, 1876) was an African-American merchant who emigrated to Liberia in 1829, where he became a politician. Elected as the first (1848–1856) and seventh (1872–1876) president of Liberi ...

Early life

Brander was born free in

Petersburg, Virginia Petersburg is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 33,458 with a majority bla ...

, United States, in 1796. He arrived in

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone, officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered to the southeast by Liberia and by Guinea to the north. Sierra Leone's land area is . It has a tropical climate and envi ...

under the auspices of the

American Colonization Society The American Colonization Society (ACS), initially the Society for the Colonization of Free People of Color of America, was an American organization founded in 1816 by Robert Finley to encourage and support the repatriation of freeborn peop ...

(ACS) in March 1820. In 1839, he married Harriet Graves Waring, with whom he had one son, Albert. Waring's daughter,

Jane Rose Jane Phin Rose"City-Born Actress Dies"
''Spokane Chronicle''. June 30, ...

, later married Joseph Jenkins Roberts.

Career

Brander briefly served as a colonial agent of the ACS in 1835. From 1843 to 1847, Brander served as an Associate Justice of the

Supreme Court of Liberia The Supreme Court of Liberia is the highest judicial body in Liberia. The court consists of the Chief Justice of Liberia, who is also the top judiciary official, and four associate justices, who are nominated by the President and confirmed by ...

. Upon Liberia's

independence Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state, in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the status of ...

in 1847, Brander was elected as the first vice president alongside Joseph Jenkins Roberts, who was elected president. He served as

Acting President An acting president is a person who temporarily fills the role of a country's president when the incumbent president is unavailable (such as by illness or visiting abroad) or when the post is vacant (such as for death Death is the en ...

in 1849 during Robert's diplomatic mission to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. Brander was challenged for the vice presidency in the

1849 elections Events January–March * January 1 – France begins issue of the Ceres series, the nation's first postage stamps. * January 5 – Hungarian Revolution of 1848: The Austrian army, led by Alfred I, Prince of Windisch-Grätz, enters in th ...

by Secretary of State Daniel Bashiel Warner, former Colonial Agent Anthony D. Williams, and Congressman Beverly R. Wilson. No candidate received a majority of the vote, sending the election to the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

, which elected Williams as vice president.

References

Vice presidents of Liberia 1796 births Americo-Liberian people Supreme Court of Liberia justices Year of death unknown Place of birth missing Agents and governors of Liberia 19th-century Liberian politicians 19th-century Liberian judges 19th-century African-American politicians {{Liberia-politician-stub