Henry Wetherby Benchley


Henry Wetherby Benchley was an American politician who served in the Massachusetts Senate and as the 22nd Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts. In the 1850s, he was one of the founders of the Republican Party.

Biography

Benchley's immigrant ancestor was William Benchley, who had settled in Rhode Island from Wales. By the 1840s, Benchley's line had moved from Smithfield, Rhode Island to Worcester, Massachusetts. He married Julia and they had two sons, Charles and Julian. Benchley became active in regional politics, helping found the Republican Party in the 1850s. He also served in the Massachusetts Senate from Worcester, and was elected as Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts in the mid-1850s.
After Julia's death in 1854, Benchley arranged for relatives to care for his sons and went to Texas to oppose the institution of slavery. He was arrested and jailed in Houston for helping run an Underground Railroad station. This was after the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850 was passed, which increased penalties for anti-slavery activism. He died in Houston in 1867 after the Civil War ended.

Legacy