Benjamin Ames was the third Governor

Governor of Maine

The governor of Maine is the chief executive of the 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....

 of the U.S. state

U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...

 of Maine

Maine

Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...

 who served from December 5, 1821 to January 2, 1822. He was born in Andover

Andover, Massachusetts

Andover is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. It was incorporated in 1646 and as of the 2010 census, the population was 33,201...

, Massachusetts

Massachusetts

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...

 and attended Harvard University

Harvard University

Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...

. He died in 1835 in Houlton, Maine

Houlton, Maine

Houlton is a town in Aroostook County, Maine, on the United States – Canada border, located at . As of the 2010 census, the town population was 6,123. It is perhaps best known as being at the northern terminus of Interstate 95 and for being the birthplace of Samantha Smith...

.

Ames served as a County Attorney from 1807 to 1811 and then Common Pleas Court judge until 1814. He was the first Speaker of the Maine House of Representatives

Maine House of Representatives

The Maine House of Representatives is the lower house of the Maine Legislature. The House consists of 151 members representing an equal amount of districts across the state. Each voting member of the House represents around 8,450 citizens of the state...

, having been elected to the House in 1820. Upon the resignation of William D. Williamson

William D. Williamson

William Durkee Williamson was the second Governor of the U.S. state of Maine and one of the first congressmen from Maine in the United States House of Representatives. He was a member of the Democratic-Republican Party...

, Ames served as governor for about a month until Daniel Rose

Daniel Rose (governor)

Dr. Daniel Rose was an American politician from the State of Maine. He was a member of the Democratic-Republican Party, and served as president of the Maine Senate. He briefly served as the fourth Governor from January 2 to January 5, 1822, filling an unexpired term between the administrations of...

 took office. Ames was elected to the state senate in 1824, serving as the fourth President of the Senate. With the elections of 1827, he returned to the state House of Representatives.

External links

• http://www.nndb.com/gov/927/000051774/ accessed September 13, 2005
• http://www.maine.gov/legis/lawlib/govs.htm accessed September 13, 2005