Samuel Demeritt Felker (April 16, 1859November 14, 1932) was an American lawyer and Democratic politician from

Rochester, New Hampshire Rochester is a city in Strafford County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 32,492 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in New Hampshire, 6th most populous city in New Hampshire. In ad ...

Family life

Felker was born to William H. and Deborah A. (Demeritt) Felker in

. Felker married Mary J. Dudley on June 26, 1900 in

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is a Administrative divisions of New York (state), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and county seat of Erie County, New York, Erie County. It lies in Western New York at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of ...

. Felker was a member of the Congregationalist Church.

Education

Felker graduated 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 ...

in 1882. In 1888 Felker earned a A.M. and a L.L.B from the

Boston University School of Law The Boston University School of Law (BU Law) is the law school of Boston University, a private research university in Boston. Established in 1872, it is the third-oldest law school in New England, after Harvard Law School and Yale Law School. Ap ...

Early political career

Felker was a member of the New Hampshire state constitutional convention of 1889, he served in the

New Hampshire 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 distri ...

from 1890 to 1892, as the mayor of

in 1896 and 1897, and from 1909 to 1911 in the

New Hampshire House of Representatives The New Hampshire House of Representatives is the lower house in the New Hampshire General Court, the bicameral State legislature (United States), legislature of the state of New Hampshire. The House of Representatives consists of 400 members com ...

Governor of New Hampshire

In 1912 Felker (A political progressive,) ran as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

for governor of New Hampshire; because no candidate received a majority of the vote, Felker was selected governor by the New Hampshire legislature. Felker did not seek reelection in 1914, and after deliberating, decided against a bid for the state's U.S. Senate seat.

Judge of the Rochester Municipal Court

Felker's gubernatorial successor, Rolland H. Spaulding, appointed Felker as Judge of the Rochester Municipal Court, a position Felker held from July 20, 1915 until 1930.

Death

Felker died at his home in Rochester on November 14, 1932.

Notes

External links

Felker at New Hampshire's Division of Historic Resources
{{DEFAULTSORT:Felker, Samuel D 1859 births 1932 deaths 19th-century mayors of places in New Hampshire Democratic Party governors of New Hampshire People from Rochester, New Hampshire Democratic Party members of the New Hampshire House of Representatives Democratic Party New Hampshire state senators Dartmouth College alumni Boston University School of Law alumni 19th-century members of the New Hampshire General Court 20th-century members of the New Hampshire General Court