Samuel Bigger (20 March 1802-9 September 1846) was the Whig Governor of Indiana from 9 December 1840 to 6 December 1843, succeeding David Wallace and preceding James Whitcomb.
Biography[]
Samuel Bigger was born in Franklin, Ohio in 1802, the son of John Bigger. He moved to Liberty, Indiana in 1829 and then to Rushville, where he practiced law. He served in the state house from 1833 to 1835, as a circuit court judge from 1835 to 1840, and as Governor from 1840 to 1843, being election because of his lack of association with the under-funded Whig public works program. Still, the state became insolvent during his first year in office, and he negotiated bankruptcy to return the state to solvency briefly. He was defeated for re-election due to the Whigs' association with the budget debacle, and he later moved to Fort Wayne and died in 1846.