Samuel Bigger
| Samuel Bigger | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Indiana House of Representatives | |
|
In office December 5, 1834 – December 4, 1835 |
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| Indiana Circuit Court Judge | |
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In office 1835–1840 |
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| 7th Governor of Indiana | |
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In office December 9, 1840 – December 6, 1843 |
|
| Lieutenant | Samuel Hall |
| Preceded by | David Wallace |
| Succeeded by | James Whitcomb |
| Personal details | |
| Born | March 20, 1802 Franklin, Ohio |
| Died | September 9, 1846 (aged 44) Fort Wayne, Indiana |
| Political party | Whig Party |
| Spouse(s) | Ellen Williamson |
| Religion | Presbyterian |
Samuel Bigger (March 20, 1802 – September 9, 1846) was the seventh Governor of the U.S. state of Indiana from December 9, 1840 to December 6, 1843. Bigger was nominated to run for governor because he had no connection to the failed public works program. The state had entered a severe financial crisis in his predecessor's term and the government became insolvent during his first year in office. He oversaw the state's bankruptcy negotiations, but the bankruptcy he negotiated was only able to return the state to solvency briefly. By the time of his reelection campaign, the Whig Party had become the target of public blame for the debacle, and Bigger was defeated.
Samuel Bigger was born in Franklin, Ohio on March 20, 1802, the son of John Bigger, a veteran of the American Revolutionary War and an Ohio House of Representatives Speaker of the House. Because of his father he regularly encountered many of the leading men of the frontier. He attended a log cabin school in Ohio. As a boy, Bigger enjoyed reading books. At age eighteen he contracted a severe cold from which he nearly died. Because of the sickness he was constantly in poor health and his father decided he was unfit for manual labor on the farm and sent him to school where he could learn a profession. Bigger was enrolled as a student at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio in the 1820s where he studied law.
Bigger moved to Liberty, Indiana in 1829 after completing school and entered a law practice. There he married Ellen Williamson; the couple never had children. He lived only a short time in Liberty before moving to Rushville where he began his public career. He was partnered in his law office with future United States Senator Oliver H. Smith for a period of time, and later with James Whitcomb and Joseph A. Wright.
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