Edward Kent
Edward Kent | |
---|---|
Associate Justice of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court | |
In office 1859–1873 | |
12th and 15th Governor of Maine | |
In office January 13, 1841 – January 5, 1842 | |
Preceded by | Richard H. Vose |
Succeeded by | John Fairfield |
In office January 19, 1838 – January 2, 1839 | |
Preceded by | Robert P. Dunlap |
Succeeded by | John Fairfield |
2nd Mayor of Bangor, Maine | |
In office 1836–1837 | |
Preceded by | Allen Gilman |
Succeeded by | Rufus Dwinel |
Member of the Maine Senate | |
In office 1831–1833 | |
Personal details | |
Born | January 8, 1802 Whig |
Edward Kent (January 8, 1802 – May 19, 1877) was an American attorney and politician who served as the
Early life and education
Born in 1802 in Concord, New Hampshire, Kent was raised in Bangor, Maine. He graduated from Harvard University in 1821, in the same class as Ralph Waldo Emerson. According to a biographical article reprinted in the New York Times, "he had no rank in college and in truth was president of the "Lazy Club".[citation needed]
Career
He apprenticed as a lawyer in Topsham, Maine, but established his own practice in the growing lumber-port of Bangor in 1825. He was elected to the Maine Legislature in 1829 and held political offices on and off the rest of his life, becoming the second mayor of Bangor (1836–1837) and governor of Maine.
Kent went into practice with Jonas Cutting in 1831 and their partnership lasted 18 years. The two constructed the
Kent ended his public life as an associate justice of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court (1859–73). His law partner and neighbor Jonas Cutting served almost concurrently in the same position (1854–75). Kent's uncle Prentiss Mellen had been the first chief justice of the same court.
Kent played a part in both instigating and resolving the Aroostook War.
Personal life
While living in Rio de Janeiro, his wife and two children died of yellow fever. His surviving child died soon after they returned to Bangor. Kent married a second time, to Abigail Ann Rockwood who was the niece of first wife Sarah Johnston, and had one more child, Edward Kent Jr., who became the chief justice of the Arizona Territory Supreme Court.[1]
He died of
Legacy
Fort Kent, situated where the
References
- ^ a b "Edward Kent: Anecdotes of the Governor for Whom Maine Went", New York Times, Dec. 4, 1881, p. 2; Henry Chase, "Edward Kent", Representative Men of Maine (Portland, 1893)
- ^ Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. Govt. Print. Off. pp. 129.
Further reading
- David M. Gold. An Exemplary Whig: Edward Kent and the Whig Disposition in American Politics and Law (Lexington Books; 2012) 255 pages; scholarly biography