John W. Dana (courtesy, Maine State Archives)
(1808-1867) born in Fryeburg on June 21, 1808. He was educated at Fryeburg Academy and later became a trustee of that institution.
Dana became a business person rather than the lawyer his father had hoped he would be. Later he developed an interest in public affairs.
A member of both houses of the Legislature, he served in the State Senate in 1843 and in 1844 when he was also President of the Senate. Dana, a Democrat, was Governor in 1844 and again 1847-1850. Dana was the second of only two people to be reelected after being out of the governor’s office; the other was Edward Kent.
During the Civil War he became doubtful about the country’s future. The former Governor sold his land in Fryeburg and went to South America to raise sheep. Soon after, on December 22, 1867, he died of cholera near Buenos Aires while acting as a nurse to others. Several years later, his remains were brought to Fryeburg and buried in the village cemetery near his home.
Additional resources
Chase, Henry, ed. Representative Men of Maine.
*“Gov. John W. Dana,” Maine Historical and Genealogical Recorder. Bangor, December, 1898, pp. 353-355.
“John W. Dana,” Portland Transcript, April 11, 1868, p. 12
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*Cited in Friends of the Blaine House at http://blainehouse.org/governors (accessed April 26, 2011)