Sidney Perham (March 27, 1819 – April 10, 1907) was a

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

and the 33rd

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 ...

and was an activist in the

temperance movement The temperance movement is a social movement promoting Temperance (virtue), temperance or total abstinence from consumption of alcoholic beverages. Participants in the movement typically criticize alcohol intoxication or promote teetotalism, and ...

Biography

Born in

Woodstock The Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as Woodstock, was a music festival held from August 15 to 18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, southwest of the town of Woodstock, New York, Woodstock. Billed as "a ...

(in modern-day

Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...

, then a part of

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

) to Joel and Sophronia Bisbee Perham, Perham attended common schools as a child, engaged in

agricultural Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created f ...

pursuits and briefly attended

Bates College Bates College () is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Lewiston, Maine. Anchored by the Historic Quad, the campus of Bates totals with a small urban campus which includes 33 Victorian ...

, but left to pursue a passion for agriculture. He was elected a member of the Maine Board of Agriculture in 1853, was a member of 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 ...

in 1854, serving as

Speaker of the House The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, is its presiding officer, or the chair. The title was first used in 1377 in England. Usage The title was first recorded in 1377 to describe the role of Thomas de Hung ...

that one year, and was clerk of the courts of

Oxford County, Maine Oxford County is a county in the state of Maine, United States. As of the 2020 Census, the county had a population of 57,777. Its county seat is the town of Paris. The county was formed on March 4, 1805, by the Massachusetts General Court in t ...

, from 1859 to 1863. He was elected a Republican to the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

in 1862, serving from 1863 to 1869, not being a candidate for renomination in 1868. There, Perham served as chairman of the Committee on Invalid Pensions from 1865 to 1869. He served as president of the board of trustees of Westbrook Seminary in Deering, Maine, from 1865 to 1880. In September 1870, Perham was elected

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 ...

, serving from 1871 to 1874. He replaced former

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 ...

General

Joshua Chamberlain Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain (born Lawrence Joshua Chamberlain, September 8, 1828February 24, 1914) was an American college professor and politician from Maine who volunteered during the American Civil War to join the Union Army. He became a high ...

as governor. He was president of the board of trustees of Maine Industrial School in

Hallowell, Maine Hallowell ( ) is a city in Kennebec County, Maine, United States. The population was 2,570 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Popular with tourists, Hallowell is noted for its culture and old architecture. Hallowell is included in th ...

, from 1873 to 1898 and was

Secretary of State of Maine The secretary of state of Maine is a State constitutional officer, constitutional officer in the U.S. state of Maine and serves as the head of the Maine Department of State. The Secretary of State performs duties of both a legislative branch as w ...

in 1875. Perham served as a fellow at

from 1871 to 1873.''General Catalogue of Bates College and Cobb Divinity School, 1863-1915'' by Bates College Lewiston, Me, Me Lewiston, Cobb Divinity School Lewiston, Me, Cobb Divinity School, Bates College (Lewiston, Me.) Cobb divinity school, Me.) Bates College (Lewiston, Published by The College, 191

Perham served as

appraiser An appraiser (from Latin ''appretiare'', "to value") is a person that develops an opinion of the market value or other value of a product, most notably real estate. The current definition of "appraiser" according to the Uniform Standards of Profes ...

in the United States Customhouse in

Portland, Maine Portland is the List of municipalities in Maine, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine and the county seat, seat of Cumberland County, Maine, Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 at the 2020 census. The Portland metropolit ...

, from 1877 to 1885 and was a member of the board of trustees of the Universalist General Convention for twenty-seven years, serving as its president for some time. He died in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, on April 10, 1907 "District of Columbia Deaths, 1874-1961", database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F7TD-M65 : 3 December 2014), Sidney Perham, 1907. and was interred in Lakeside Cemetery in

Bryant Pond, Maine Woodstock is a town in Oxford County, Maine, United States. Woodstock is included in the Lewiston-Auburn, Maine metropolitan New England city and town area. The population was 1,352 at the 2020 census. The village of Bryant Pond, on State Rout ...

References and external links

Biography of Sidney Perham
* Hon. Sidney Perha
Representative men of Maine. A collection of portraits with biographical sketches of residents of the state, who have achieved success ... to which is added the portraits and sketches of all the governors since the formation of the state ... Prepared under the direction of Henry Chase.
Portland, Me., The Lakeside press, 1893.

References

1819 births 1907 deaths Republican Party members of the Maine House of Representatives Republican Party governors of Maine Secretaries of state of Maine Temperance activists from Maine People from Woodstock, Maine Politicians from Portland, Maine People of Maine in the American Civil War Members of the Universalist Church of America Westbrook College 19th-century Christian universalists 20th-century Christian universalists Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Maine 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives 19th-century members of the Maine Legislature {{Universalism-bio-stub