Compiled by Russell Bastedo
State Curator
1998

Moody Currier (1885-1887). Born Boscawen; Manchester lawyer, banker. In state politics from 1843.

Currier (1806-1898) was largely self educated, attending Hopkinton Academy for a few months but graduating from Dartmouth College (1834). He taught school at Concord and edited the New Hampshire Literary Gazette with Asa Fowler for a year. Then Currier taught school and studied law at Hopkinton (NH) and Lowell (MA) before settling at Manchester (NH) to practice lawn (1841).

In Manchester Currier was an anti-slavery Democrat in his politics, and (1842) owner and editor of the Manchester Democrat newspaper. In 1843/4 he served as Clerk of the New Hampshire Senate; in 1848 he gave up law and became Clerk of Amoskeag Bank. Currier stayed with banking the rest of his life, with interests in Manchester railroads and businesses.

In 1852 Currier joined the Free Soil political party, and then became a Republican. He was elected a member of the State Senate (1856/7), then President of the Senate (1857). He was a member of the Governor's Council (1860/1) and chairman of the War Committee. Then he stepped away from state politics. He did not run for political office again until 1882, when he lost the Republican nomination for governor to Samuel W. Hale. A split in the party was avoided when the party nominated Currier for governor in 1884. He defeated Democrat, Prohibition, and Greenback Party opponents and took office in 1885.

Governor Currier advocated economy in government in a time of business recession. The legislature passed an 1885 law requiring fire insurance companies to pay full value for losses on their NH policies; this resulted in 58 fire insurance companies leaving New Hampshire simultaneously. A year later many had returned, though in different forms. Currier, exhausted, appointed State Senator Henry W. Blair to fill out his term in office, after which the legislature reelected Currier to office. Currier then appointed former governor Cheney to fill out the unexpired U.S. Senate term of Austin Pike who had died in office.

Currier died August 23, 1889. His widow published a volume of his political papers (Manchester, 1899), and founded Manchester's Currier Gallery of Art in his memory.

Location: State House, Second Floor
Portrait by Robert Vonnoh, 1887; Presented by Mr. Currier