Onslow Stearns (August 30, 1810 – December 29, 1878) was an American businessman and politician who served as the 32nd

governor of New Hampshire The governor of New Hampshire is the head of government of the U.S. state of New Hampshire. The governor is elected during the biennial state general election in November of even-numbered years. New Hampshire is one of only two states, along w ...

Biography

Stearns was born in

Billerica, Massachusetts Billerica ( ) is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 42,119 according to the 2020 census. It takes its name from the town of Billericay in Essex, England. History In the early 1630s, a Praying Indian ...

on August 30, 1810. He attended the local schools of his hometown, and moved to

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, where he clerked in several stores in preparation for a business career. After moving to

Concord Concord may refer to: Meaning "agreement" * Harmony, in music * Agreement (linguistics), a change in the form of a word depending on grammatical features of other words Arts and media * ''Concord'' (video game), a defunct 2024 first-person sh ...

, Stearns established himself in business. Starting as a construction contractor in partnership with his brother, Stearns eventually became a manager and executive, and was active in several different railroads, including the Lowell and Nashua, Northern Railroad of New Hampshire,

Vermont Central Railway The Central Vermont Railway was a railroad that operated in the U.S. states of Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, and Vermont, as well as the Canadian province of Quebec. It connected Montreal, Quebec, with New London, Connect ...

, and

Old Colony Railroad The Old Colony Railroad (OC) was a major railroad system, mainly covering southeastern Massachusetts and parts of Rhode Island, which operated from 1845 to 1893. Old Colony trains ran from Boston to points such as Plymouth, Fall River, ...

. In 1857 Stearns received the

honorary degree An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

from

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College ( ) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, Dartmouth is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the America ...

. Stearns became active in politics as a Republican, serving in the

New Hampshire State Senate The New Hampshire State Senate is the upper house of the New Hampshire General Court, alongside the lower New Hampshire House of Representatives. The Senate has been meeting since 1784. The Senate consists of 24 members representing Senate distric ...

from 1862 to 1864. He served as the Senate's President pro tempore in 1863, and was a Delegate to the

1864 Republican National Convention The 1864 National Union National Convention was the United States presidential nominating convention of the National Union Party, which was a name adopted by the main faction of the Republican Party in a coalition with many, if not most, W ...

. Stearns ran successfully for governor in 1869 and was reelected in 1870. During his time in office the state created a board of agriculture, taxes and deficits necessitated by New Hampshire's participation in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

were lowered, and the state government continued to promote the development of railroads and manufacturing business. After leaving office Stearns retired from politics and resumed his business interests. He died in

Concord, New Hampshire Concord () is the capital city of the U.S. state of New Hampshire and the county seat, seat of Merrimack County, New Hampshire, Merrimack County. As of the 2020 United States census the population was 43,976, making it the List of municipalities ...

on December 29, 1878, and was buried in the Blossom Hill Cemetery in Concord. Stearns' daughter Mary was the wife of General John R. Brooke. His daughter Grace was the mother of General

Onslow S. Rolfe Onslow S. Rolfe (January 16, 1895 – January 29, 1985) was a career officer in the United States Army. He attained the rank of Brigadier general (United States), brigadier general during World War II as commander of the Mountain Training Center ...

References

External links

Stearns at New Hampshire's Division of Historic Resources
at
National Governors Association
' * *
Memorial of Onslow Stearns, Concord, N. H.
' 1879. 1810 births 1878 deaths Republican Party governors of New Hampshire American Unitarians People from Billerica, Massachusetts Presidents of the New Hampshire Senate Republican Party New Hampshire state senators 19th-century members of the New Hampshire General Court {{NewHampshire-NHSenate-stub