Nathaniel Brander was a Liberia

Liberia

Liberia , officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Sierra Leone on the west, Guinea on the north and Côte d'Ivoire on the east. Liberia's coastline is composed of mostly mangrove forests while the more sparsely populated inland consists of forests that open...

n politician and jurist who served as the first Vice President of Liberia (1848-1850), under President Joseph Jenkins Roberts

Joseph Jenkins Roberts

Joseph Jenkins Roberts was the first and seventh President of Liberia. Born free in Norfolk, Virginia, USA, Roberts emigrated to Liberia in 1829 as a young man. He opened a trading store in Monrovia, and later engaged in politics...

.

Early life

Brander arrived in Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone , officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea to the north and east, Liberia to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west and southwest. Sierra Leone covers a total area of and has an estimated population between 5.4 and 6.4...

 onboard the first colony ship sent to Africa by the American Colonization Society

American Colonization Society

The American Colonization Society , founded in 1816, was the primary vehicle to support the "return" of free African Americans to what was considered greater freedom in Africa. It helped to found the colony of Liberia in 1821–22 as a place for freedmen...

 (ACS) in March 1820. In 1839, he married Harriet Waring, with whom he had one son, Albert. Waring's daughter, Jane Rose, later married Joseph Jenkins Roberts.

Career

Brander briefly served as a Colonial Agent of the ACS in 1834. From 1843 to 1847, Brander served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of Liberia

Supreme Court of Liberia

The Supreme Court of Liberia is the highest judicial body in the West African nation of Liberia. The court consists of the Chief Justice of Liberia and four Associate Justices, who are nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate...

. Upon Liberia's declaration of independence

Liberian Declaration of Independence

The Liberian Declaration of Independence is a document adopted by the Liberian Constitutional Convention on 16 July 1847 to announce that the Commonwealth of Liberia, a colony founded and controlled by the private American Colonization Society, was now an independent state known as the Republic of...

, Brander was elected as the first vice president in the 1847 elections

Liberian general election, 1847

Presidential elections were held for the first time in newly independent Liberia on 5 October 1847. The result was a victory for Governor Joseph Jenkins Roberts of the Pro-Administration Party, who defeated Samuel Benedict of the Anti-Administration Party. Roberts was sworn into office as the...

. He served as Robert's vice president, and served as Acting President

Acting president

An Acting President is a person who temporarily fills the role of an organization's or country's president, either when the real president is unavailable or when the post is vacant .-See also:*Acting *Acting President of Pakistan*Acting President of Malta*Acting President of...

 in 1849 during Robert's diplomatic mission to the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

. Brander was challenged for the vice presidency in the 1849 elections

Liberian general election, 1849

Presidential elections were held in Liberia in 1849. The result was a victory for incumbent President Joseph Jenkins Roberts....

 by Secretary of State Daniel Bashiel Warner

Daniel Bashiel Warner

Daniel Bashiel Warner served as the 3rd President of Liberia from 1864 to 1868. Prior to this, he served as the 5th Vice President of Liberia under President Stephen Allen Benson from 1860 to 1864, and as the 3rd Secretary of State in the cabinet of Joseph Jenkins Roberts from 1854 to...

, former Colonial Agent Anthony D. Williams

Anthony D. Williams (politician)

Anthony David Williams was a Liberian politician who served as the Vice President of Liberia from 1850 to 1854 under President Joseph Jenkins Roberts. Born free in the United States in 1795, he immigrated as a Methodist preacher from Petersburg, Virginia to Liberia in 1823. Williams served as the...

, and Beverly R. Wilson, a member of the Legislature. No candidate received a majority of the vote, sending the election to the House of Representatives

House of Representatives of Liberia

The House of Representatives is the lower chamber of the bicameral Liberian Legislature. Legislative elections took place on 11 October 2005, and the elected members took office in January 2006.-Candidate eligibility:...

, who elected Williams as vice president.