David Hanson Buffum (1820 - 1882)
Born at North Berwick (ME); died at
Businessman, banker, mill owner, local and state legislator.
Portrait by U.D. Tenney, 1879.
Presented to the State by the family, date unknown.

David Buffum's father died when the boy was six years old, and Buffum was raised by his uncle. He was educated in the common schools and at Berwick (ME) Academy. The young man taught in the district schools during the winters; at age nineteen (1839) he began work as a store clerk at Great Falls (now Somersworth), New Hampshire, at a wage of eight dollars per month. Within two years, at age twenty-one, Buffum had become a partner in the store.

Buffum stayed with the store two more years; then (1843) he sold out and built a brick block with three stores in it. One of the stores was Buffum's; he sold general merchandise.

On December 5, 1846 Buffum was chosen to be Cashier for Great Falls Savings Bank. He held the prestigious position for seventeen years (1846/63), while also serving in a number of local political offices. He was elected to the New Hampshire House of Representatives (1861/2). He also served as treasurer of Somersworth Savings Bank (1857/63). Buffum resigned from both banking positions in 1863.

In 1857 Buffum and John Burleigh had organized the Newichawannock Woolen Company at Berwick (ME). Now (1862) Buffum helped organize Great Falls Woolen Company, serving as Treasurer and General Manager. He also owned a felt mill at Milton (NH), and was a partner in L.R. Herron & Co. (Berwick, ME).

By 1873 the strain of all this work had exhausted Buffum. He withdrew from active roles in his businesses, and during 1873/4 took a trip to Colorado and California. When he returned Buffum had recovered his health, and in 1875 friends proposed him as a candidate for the State Senate. Buffum lost, but his name was brought up again in 1876. This time he was successful. Buffum served two years in the New Hampshire State Senate (1877/8; President of the Senate, 1878). In 1880 he was a delegate to the Republican National Convention, at Chicago. This was the final event of his political career.

References: John Scales, History of Strafford County (1914); "The Senate and Its Presidents - Hon. David H. Buffum" [Granite Monthly, vol. II no. 4 (July 1878)].