Presidents and Faith: Millard Fillmore
Millard Fillmore was the second of nine children and the eldest son of Nathaniel and Phoebe Fillmore. Millard was his mother's maiden name. He was born in Cayuga County, New York. Fillmore's ancestors were Scottish Presbyterians on his father's side and English dissenters on his mother's. Little is known about Millard's religious upbringing. His father was a farmer but not a prosperous one. Millard was apprenticed initially as a cloth maker. Later, in 1819 he was apprenticed to Judge Walter Wood of Montville, New York, and began to study law. He was admitted to the bar in 1823. After a six year courtship, he married the former Abigail Powers on February 5, 1826 in a ceremony presided over by the Reverend H. H. Smith and the couple moved to East Aurora, New York.
In 1830 Fillmore moved to Buffalo, N. Y. where he continued his law practice and began his public career. In Buffalo, the Fillmores joined the First Unitarian Society in 1831. This appears to be the first historical record of Fillmore's involvement with an organized religion. Pew rental records from the original church shows that a pew belonged to the Fillmore family. The church building burned around the year 1870, and most of the church records were burned too.
Fillmore served in the New York State Assembly and later in the U. S. House of Representatives. In 1834 he joined the Whig Party and was three times elected to the House. While active in New York politics prior to the presidency, Fillmore found himself at odds with New York Governor William Seward in the debate over whether public money should be used to support Catholic schools. Seward advocated finding a compromise to give money to sectarian institutions, while Fillmore contended that no sectarian institution should be supported by public tax money.
When Zachary Taylor was nominated for President, Millard Fillmore was selected as the party's candidate for Vice President. Fillmore became the thirteenth President when Zachary Taylor died on July 9. 1850.
During this time many Fillmore supported "The Compromise of 1850", a package that attempted to keep the peace between northern and southern interests over slavery. It included the Fugitive Slave Act, which obligated northern states to capture and return runaway slaves. It was also Millard Fillmore who, in 1851, appointed Mormon leader Brigham Young and the first governor of the Utah Territory. In return, Young named the territory's first capital city Fillmore.
While in Washington, D. C., the Fillmores attended the Unitarian Church. One of their ministers was the Rev. Joseph Henry Allen, a graduate of Harvard Divinity School, who was with that particular church from 1847-1850. Allen's sermons dealt with many topical issues including slavery. Though many preachers were avoiding discussion of this matter, Allan never hesitated to express himself on the side of freedom. Slavery was a conflicting and divisive issue within the church, but this issue does not appear to have affected the Fillmores' loyalty to their church.
After Fillmore's presidency ended, he travelled to Europe where he met Pope Pius IX in Rome in 1855. In 1856 he ran for president once again as the candidate for the American Party, also called the "Know-Nothing Party". While campaigning, he said "In my opinion, Church and State should be separate, not only in form, but fact -- religion and politics should not be mingled." By this time the Whig Party had broken up over slavery issues and most former northern Whigs, including Fillmore's old mentor Weed, joined the new Republican Party. Instead, Fillmore followed conservative and southern Whigs by joining the American Party. This was the party of the anti-immigrant and anti-Catholic sentiments. Fillmore was not personally anti-Catholic. In fact his daughter Mary had attended a girls' Catholic boarding school for a year and he had contributed to the construction of St. Joseph Cathedral in Buffalo. Fillmore justified his joining of the American Party by stating that he considered it to be the only alternative for non-Democrats who were not militantly anti-slavery. He finished third in popular vote and his party captured the electoral votes of only one state, the state of Maryland.
In early 1861, Abraham Lincoln attended the Unitarian Church in Buffalo with Millard Fillmore on Lincoln's way to his inauguration. Lincoln was Fillmore's overnight guest. Millard Fillmore died at 11:10 pm on March 8, 1874, of the aftereffects of a stroke.
In 1830 Fillmore moved to Buffalo, N. Y. where he continued his law practice and began his public career. In Buffalo, the Fillmores joined the First Unitarian Society in 1831. This appears to be the first historical record of Fillmore's involvement with an organized religion. Pew rental records from the original church shows that a pew belonged to the Fillmore family. The church building burned around the year 1870, and most of the church records were burned too.
Fillmore served in the New York State Assembly and later in the U. S. House of Representatives. In 1834 he joined the Whig Party and was three times elected to the House. While active in New York politics prior to the presidency, Fillmore found himself at odds with New York Governor William Seward in the debate over whether public money should be used to support Catholic schools. Seward advocated finding a compromise to give money to sectarian institutions, while Fillmore contended that no sectarian institution should be supported by public tax money.
When Zachary Taylor was nominated for President, Millard Fillmore was selected as the party's candidate for Vice President. Fillmore became the thirteenth President when Zachary Taylor died on July 9. 1850.
During this time many Fillmore supported "The Compromise of 1850", a package that attempted to keep the peace between northern and southern interests over slavery. It included the Fugitive Slave Act, which obligated northern states to capture and return runaway slaves. It was also Millard Fillmore who, in 1851, appointed Mormon leader Brigham Young and the first governor of the Utah Territory. In return, Young named the territory's first capital city Fillmore.
While in Washington, D. C., the Fillmores attended the Unitarian Church. One of their ministers was the Rev. Joseph Henry Allen, a graduate of Harvard Divinity School, who was with that particular church from 1847-1850. Allen's sermons dealt with many topical issues including slavery. Though many preachers were avoiding discussion of this matter, Allan never hesitated to express himself on the side of freedom. Slavery was a conflicting and divisive issue within the church, but this issue does not appear to have affected the Fillmores' loyalty to their church.
After Fillmore's presidency ended, he travelled to Europe where he met Pope Pius IX in Rome in 1855. In 1856 he ran for president once again as the candidate for the American Party, also called the "Know-Nothing Party". While campaigning, he said "In my opinion, Church and State should be separate, not only in form, but fact -- religion and politics should not be mingled." By this time the Whig Party had broken up over slavery issues and most former northern Whigs, including Fillmore's old mentor Weed, joined the new Republican Party. Instead, Fillmore followed conservative and southern Whigs by joining the American Party. This was the party of the anti-immigrant and anti-Catholic sentiments. Fillmore was not personally anti-Catholic. In fact his daughter Mary had attended a girls' Catholic boarding school for a year and he had contributed to the construction of St. Joseph Cathedral in Buffalo. Fillmore justified his joining of the American Party by stating that he considered it to be the only alternative for non-Democrats who were not militantly anti-slavery. He finished third in popular vote and his party captured the electoral votes of only one state, the state of Maryland.
In early 1861, Abraham Lincoln attended the Unitarian Church in Buffalo with Millard Fillmore on Lincoln's way to his inauguration. Lincoln was Fillmore's overnight guest. Millard Fillmore died at 11:10 pm on March 8, 1874, of the aftereffects of a stroke.