Gov. Albion Keith Parris

About

ALBION K. PARRIS, the fifth governor of Maine, was born in Hebron, Maine on January 19, 1788. His education was attained at Dartmouth College, where he graduated from in 1806. He studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1809, and then established a successful legal career, serving as the Oxford County prosecuting attorney in 1811. Parris entered politics in 1813, serving as a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives, a position he held until 1814. He served as a member of the Massachusetts State Senate from 1814 to 1815, was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1815 to 1818 and served as judge of the U.S. District Court for Maine from 1818 to 1820. He also served as a delegate to the 1819 Maine Constitutional Convention and was probate judge for Cumberland County from 1820 to 1821. Parris was first elected to the governor’s office in 1821. He won reelection in 1822, 1823, 1824 and 1825. During his tenure, the state flourished and developed under his leadership. Notably, he addressed a dispute with Massachusetts over communal property. Upon his election to the U.S. Senate, Parris resigned from the governor’s office in 1827. He served in the senate from 1827 until 1828, when he resigned. He secured an appointment as associate justice of the Maine Supreme Court, a position he held from 1828 to 1836. From 1836 to 1850, he served as the second comptroller of the U.S. Treasury, and in 1852 he was elected mayor of Portland, Maine. After running unsuccessfully for reelection to the governor’s office in 1854, Parris retired from public service. Governor Albion K. Parris passed away on February 11, 1857, and was buried at the Western Cemetery in Portland, Maine.

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