George Gilman Fogg

Background

George Gilman Fogg the son of David and Hannah Gilman (Vickery) Fogg was born at Meredith Center, New Hampshire.

Education

He attended New Hampton Academy, graduated from Dartmouth College in 1839, studied law at Harvard and in the office of Judge Warren Lovell in Meredith Village, and began practise at Gilrnanton Iron Works in 1842.

Career

After four years he moved to Concord and maintained a residence there for the rest of his life.

From 1855 to 1859 he was state law reporter and for some years state printer as well. As a delegate to the Republican Convention of 1860, he was a strong supporter of Lincoln and in 1861 was appointed minister to Switzerland, holding the post until October 16, 1865.

Switzerland offered few of the problems found at London or Paris where belligerent rights, neutral duties, and the ever present possibility of intervention required so much diplomatic activity.

In July 1861, he reported that, “here . .. the rebels have no friends, ” and on the close of the war, that Lee’s surrender caused almost as much rejoicing as though it had been a Swiss victory. The dispatches published in Papers Relating to Foreign Affairs show that his work was largely of routine character, but performed to the satisfaction of both countries. In 1864 he represented the United States at the Geneva conference on the amelioration of conditions for the sick and wounded in time of war.

In 1866-67 Fogg served out the unexpired term of Daniel Clark in, the United States Senate. He resumed editorial work but was now on bad terms with several of his party leaders, due, in part at least, to his failure to secure another diplomatic post.

Although he continued to be active in both journalism and party management for some years longer, his influence seems to have declined. He was interested in the New Hampshire Historical Society and many local organizations in Concord, and was a trustee of Bates College.

For several years prior to his death he was broken in health and able to do little work. He was one of the ablest journalists in the history of the state, and it was as a newspaper editor that he made his chief contribution to political history.

Achievements

• He was the founder of the Independent Democrat of Concord and from 1846 to 1861 devoted himself largely to journalism. Under his direction the paper became one of the most influential in the state, and his editorial utterances were widely quoted throughout New England.

Works

More photos

• book

  • Reports Of Cases Argued And Determined In The Supreme Judicial Court Of New-hampshire, Volume 45

    (This work has been selected by scholars as being cultural...)

Politics

He was active in politics, being a pioneer in the Free-Soil movement, and in 1846 was chosen secretary of state for a term of one year. A few years later he took an active part in the organization of the Republican party.

Membership

He was interested in the New Hampshire Historical Society and many local organizations in Concord, and was a trustee of Bates College.

Connections

He never married.

Father:

David Fogg

Mother:

Hannah Gilman (Vickery) Fogg