Lawrence Brainerd

Lawrence Brainerd
United States Senator from Vermont
In office October 14, 1854 – March 3, 1855
Preceded by	Samuel S. Phelps
Succeeded by	Jacob Collamer
Member of the Republican National Committee from Vermont
In office 1856–1864
Preceded by	None (position created)
Succeeded by	Abraham B. Gardner
Chairman of the Vermont Republican Party
In office 1856–1857
Preceded by	None (position created)
Succeeded by	Henry G. Root
Member of the Vermont House of Representatives from St. Albans
In office 1834–1835
Preceded by	John Smith
Succeeded by	John Smith
Personal details
Born	(1794-03-16)March 16, 1794 East Hartford, Connecticut, U.S.
Died	May 9, 1870(1870-05-09) (aged 76) St. Albans, Vermont, U.S.
Resting place	Greenwood Cemetery, St. Albans, Vermont
Political party	Republican
Other political affiliations	Jacksonian Whig Liberty Free Soil
Spouse	Fidelia B. Gadcomb (m. 1819-1852, her death)
Relations	Joseph Hungerford Brainerd (cousin) J. Gregory Smith (son in law) F. Stewart Stranahan (son in law)
Children	12 (including Ann Eliza Smith)
Profession	Businessman
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch/service	Vermont Militia
Years of service	1812-
Rank	Captain
Unit	Dixon's Regiment 1st Artillery Company, 1st Regiment, 3rd Brigade
Battles/wars	War of 1812

Lawrence Brainerd (March 16, 1794 – May 9, 1870) was an American businessman, abolitionist and United States Senator from Vermont. A longtime anti-slavery activist, after leaving the Jacksonians in the 1830s, Brainerd was active in the Whig, Liberty, and Free Soil parties, and was one of the organizers of the Republican Party when it was formed as the main anti-slavery party in the mid-1850s. Brainerd's longtime commitment to the cause of abolition was recognized in 1854, when opponents of slavery in the Vermont General Assembly chose him to fill a five-month vacancy in the United States Senate.

A native of East Hartford, Connecticut, Brainerd was raised by an uncle from the age of nine, and grew up in Troy, New York and St. Albans, Vermont. He taught school and worked as a store clerk, then began a business career of his own while still a teenager. He operated a successful store, then expanded his holdings to include a successful farm, as well as interests in banking, railroads, railroad construction, and steamships on Lake Champlain. Brainerd had extensive real estate holdings in and around St. Albans, including farms where he raised horses. In 1856, he was chosen to serve as president of the Vermont Agricultural Society. Brainerd became involved in the Congregational church at a young age and was a prominent advocate of temperance.

Brainerd became active in politics first as a Jacksonian, and he represented St. Albans in the Vermont House of Representatives from 1834 to 1835. An opponent of slavery, Brainerd joined the Whigs, but became dissatisfied with the party's attempts to chart a middle ground on the issue, and became an adherent of the abolitionist Liberty Party, and later the Free Soil Party. Brainerd was the unsuccessful Liberty Party candidate for governor of Vermont in 1846, 1847, 1848, 1852, and 1854, but his candidacies served to increase awareness of the abolitionist position on slavery. In October 1854, Brainerd's years of advocacy in the cause of anti-slavery were recognized when anti-slavery Whigs, Liberty Party members, and Free Soil Party members in the Vermont General Assembly combined to elect Brainerd to fill a short term vacancy in the United States Senate. He served until March 1854, and was succeeded by Jacob Collamer.

In 1855, Brainerd was one of the organizers of the new Republican Party when it was created as the main anti-slavery political organization. He served as the first chairman of Vermont's Republican Party, and was one of the handful of state chairmen who issued the call for the party's first national convention in 1856. Brainerd was a delegate, and called the convention to order as its temporary chairman.

Brainerd died in St. Albans on May 9, 1870. He was buried at Greenwood Cemetery in St. Albans.