David Meriwether (Kentucky politician)

David Meriwether
David Meriwether
United States Senator; from Kentucky
	In office; July 6, 1852 – August 17, 1852
Appointed by	Lazarus W. Powell
Preceded by	Henry Clay
Succeeded by	Archibald Dixon
33rd Secretary of State of Kentucky
	In office; September 3, 1851 – July 5, 1852
Governor	Lazarus W. Powell
Preceded by	John William Finnell
Succeeded by	James P. Metcalfe
Member of the Kentucky House of Representatives
	In office; 1832–1845; 1858–1885
Personal details
Born	October 30, 1800; Louisa County, Virginia, U.S.
Died	April 4, 1893 (aged 92); Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.
Resting place	Cave Hill Cemetery; Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.
Political party	Democratic

David Meriwether (October 30, 1800 – April 4, 1893) was a United States Senator from Kentucky and a Governor of the New Mexico Territory.

Born in Louisa County, Virginia, Meriwether moved with his parents to Jefferson County, Kentucky, in 1803. He attended the common schools and engaged in fur trading in 1818 near what is now Council Bluffs, Iowa. He later engaged in agricultural pursuits in Jefferson County.

Meriwether studied law, was admitted to the bar, and commenced practice. He was a member of the Kentucky House of Representatives from 1832 to 1845. He was an unsuccessful candidate for election in 1847 to the Thirtieth Congress. He was a delegate to the state constitutional convention in 1849, and was Secretary of State of Kentucky in 1851.

Meriwether was appointed as a Democrat to the United States Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Henry Clay, and served from July 6, 1852, to August 31, 1852, when Archibald Dixon was elected his successor. He was not a candidate for renomination in 1852.

In 1853, Meriwether was appointed by President Franklin Pierce as Governor of the Territory of New Mexico^[1] after the position was turned down by Solon Borland, and continued in office to 1855. From April to July 1854, when Meriwether was out of state, the Secretary of the Territory, William S. Messervy, was acting Governor.^[2]^[3]^[4]

Meriwether later served again in the Kentucky House of Representatives from 1858 to 1885, and served as speaker in 1859. After this he retired to his plantation near Louisville, Kentucky. He was interred in Cave Hill Cemetery.

References

^ State of New Mexico (July 2012). Kathryn A. Flynn (ed.). 2012 Centennial Blue Book (PDF). Diana J. Duran. Office of the New Mexico Secretary of State. p. 210. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 24, 2015. Retrieved April 6, 2013.
^ W. G. Ritch, The Legislative Blue-book of the Territory of New Mexico (Santa Fe, New Mexico: Charles W. Greene, 1882), p. 118
^ “Indian Disbursements” in Executive Documents, Printed by Order of the Senate of the United States, Vol. 11 (Washington: Beverley Tucker, Senate Printer, 1855), p. 227
^ "Messervy, William S.", snaccooperative.org, citing Guide to the William S. Messervy Collection, 1791-1927 (Museum of New Mexico Fray Angélico Chávez History Library), accessed 24 June 2022

This article incorporates public domain material from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
Meriwether, David. My Life in the Mountains and on the Plains. Edited by Robert A. Griffen. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1965.

Political offices
Preceded by John W. Finnell	Secretary of State of Kentucky 1851–1852	Succeeded by James P. Metcalfe
Preceded by William Carr Lane	Governor of New Mexico Territory 1853–1855	Succeeded by Abraham Rencher
U.S. Senate
Preceded by Henry Clay	U.S. senator (Class 3) from Kentucky 1852 Served alongside: Joseph R. Underwood	Succeeded by Archibald Dixon
Honorary titles
Preceded by Simon Cameron	Oldest living U.S. senator June 26, 1889 – April 4, 1893	Succeeded by James W. Bradbury

[1] State of New Mexico (July 2012). Kathryn A. Flynn (ed.). 2012 Centennial Blue Book (PDF). Diana J. Duran. Office of the New Mexico Secretary of State. p. 210. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 24, 2015. Retrieved April 6, 2013.

[2] W. G. Ritch, The Legislative Blue-book of the Territory of New Mexico (Santa Fe, New Mexico: Charles W. Greene, 1882), p. 118

[3] “Indian Disbursements” in Executive Documents, Printed by Order of the Senate of the United States, Vol. 11 (Washington: Beverley Tucker, Senate Printer, 1855), p. 227

[4] "Messervy, William S.", snaccooperative.org, citing Guide to the William S. Messervy Collection, 1791-1927 (Museum of New Mexico Fray Angélico Chávez History Library), accessed 24 June 2022

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v t e United States senators from Kentucky
Class 2	Brown Thruston Clay Bibb Walker Barry Hardin Crittenden Johnson Bibb Crittenden Morehead J. Underwood Thompson Powell Guthrie McCreery Stevenson Beck Carlisle Lindsay Blackburn Paynter James Martin Stanley Sackett Robsion Williamson M. Logan Chandler Stanfill Cooper Chapman T. Underwood Cooper Barkley Humphreys Cooper Huddleston McConnell
Class 3	Edwards Marshall J. Breckinridge Adair Clay Pope Bledsoe Talbot W. Logan Talbot Rowan Clay Crittenden Metcalfe Clay Meriwether Dixon Crittenden J. C. Breckinridge Davis Machen McCreery Williams Blackburn Deboe McCreary Bradley Camden Beckham Ernst Barkley Withers Clements Morton Cook Ford Bunning Paul

v t e Governors of New Mexico
U.S. Military Admin (1846–1851)	Military Kearny Price Washington Munroe Civilian Bent Vigil Connelly
U.S. Territory (1851–1912)	Calhoun Lane Meriwether Rencher Connelly Mitchell Pile Giddings Axtell Wallace Sheldon Ross Prince Thornton Otero Hagerman Curry Mills
State (since 1912)	McDonald C. De Baca Lindsey Larrazolo M. Mechem Hinkle Hannett Dillon Seligman Hockenhull Tingley Miles Dempsey Mabry E. Mechem Simms E. Mechem Burroughs E. Mechem Bolack Campbell Cargo King Apodaca King Anaya Carruthers King Johnson Richardson Martinez Lujan Grisham
See also Mexican governors of New Mexico, Spanish governors of New Mexico

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