USA > New York > Biographical sketches of the state officers and members of the legislature of the state of New York in 1862 and '63 > Part 21
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Mr. Johnson was educated at the Flushing Institute, under the care of the Rev. Dr. Mulenburg, and gradu- ated at Columbia College in 1834. He afterwards studied law with Peter A. Jay, and has since then been engaged in the practice of his profession in Brooklyn. He " was admitted to the bar in 1837, and visited Europe the year following. He was appointed Master in Chan- cery by Governor Bouck, holding the position until it was abolished by the new Constitution. In 1844 he was appointed Superintendent of Common Schools in . Kings county by a Board of Supervisor's politically op- posed to him. In 1849 he was elected County Judge, the only successful candidate on the Democratic ticket, and ran over a thousand ahead of his ticket. He was elected to the Assembly in 1852, and in 1856 City Judge of Brooklyn, his opponent, however, E. D. Cul- ver, receiving the certificate of election in the latter case. Subsequently he became Corporation Counsel; and it can be said of him that no decision of his while County Judge was ever reversed, and that no suit of his while Corporation Counsel was ever reversed upon its merits, when carried to a higher court. He was elected to the
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present House by a handsome majority, and is one of the best men in that body.
The wife of Mr. Johnson is a daughter of the late Jacob Foster, of Brooklyn, by whom he has two sons, and one daughter who is married to Alfred Becar, Esq.
VINCENT C. KING.
In personal appearance and affability of manner, this gentleman has, perhaps, not a superior in the House. He is particular in his costume, evidently having a passion for nicely-fitting apparel and clean linen. The bright eyes that look down from 'the ladies' gallery, beam with satis- faction, as they rest upon the gentleman from New York.
It is a matter of regret that we have been unable to obtain so little information in regard to the history of his ยท life. ' When applied to for such information he has been as silent as a lobster.
We have, however, succeeded in ascertaining that he first squared himself against existence in the town of Wil- ton, Saratoga county, some thirty and odd years ago. His parents were both natives of this State. He is at present a merchant in New York, representing the seventh district of that city, and of course, a Democrat. His competitors for the Assembly were Thomas E. Stewart, Union, and Edward V. Price, People's Union, receiving a majority over both of three hundred and twenty-nine.
This is his first appearance in any public station, so far as we can learn. As yet he has made but little, if any,
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attempt at debate. His qualities as a speaker are yet unde- veloped, yet judging phrenologically, we doubt not he could maintain himself with credit should an emergency demand it. He is somewhat reserved, and yet remarkably social in his nature, and one of that class who improve upon acquaintance.
PETER G. KISSELBRACK.
This gentleman has a Dutch name, and it may there- fore be safely concluded that he is of Dutch extraction, which is the fact. He was born in Ancram, Columbia county, N. Y., some thirty-eight years ago, be the same more or less, and has always lived in that county. He was an Assessor of his town three years, and Town Clerk two years, and is held in high esteem by his neighbors and townsmen.
He was elected last fall to the Assembly of 1863, and is a faithful and industrious member. He is not a man of show, either in his person or by his many words; but he is a man of sense, intelligence and capacity. Hence he justly appreciates the several subjects that come be- fore the Assembly, and accurately discriminates when the ayes and noes are called. He is never taken at fault, but weighs every matter deliberately, and judges and votes upon it according to its merits.
Mr. Kisselbrack is a staunch Democrat, of the Jeffer- sonian stamp. As such he was elected to the Assembly
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by a very flattering majority over Hon. Samuel Lasher, a member last year, who was sustained by Republicans and Union Democrats. He was married in 1846, to Miss Cornelia Ann Killmore. He attends the Methodist and Dutch Reformed Churches.
JULIUS KORN.
' This gentleman is a native of Prussia. He was born in Breslau, Silesia, in 1813, and is now forty-nine years old. His ancestry were Prussians, and his parents are still living. For a period of three hundred years, his ancestors, in a direct line, have been ministers of the Gospel-the son following the father in each succeeding generation, in the duties of that sacred calling. In his own family the mantle of the father fell upon a brother, who now officiates in the sacred desk. He received a classical education, and since he came to this country has been connected with the public press, as the editor of the German Democratic paper, the Staats Zeitung, published in the city of New York. He has also held the position of Port Warden in New York. He passed some time in California, and held a public position in that State.
Mr. Korn was elected to the Assembly of 1863, by a majority exceeding two thousand. He is a man of superior ability and attainments, and is a busy, active member. He is a fluent and eloquent speaker, but does not often address the House, for the reason, it is supposed, of his imperfect utterance of the English language. He has spoken enough,
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however, to show that he is a scholar and a man of taste. If permitted to speak in his own language, he would, doubt- less, make the hall of the Assembly ring with his eloquence.
Mr. Korn is a single man, and a follower of the Great Reformer, Martin Luther.
HENRY C. LAKE.
MR. LAKE is a native of Gerry, Chautauqua county, N. Y., where he has always resided. He is descended from pure English stock, and was born on the 30th of May, 1823. His father, Calvin Lake, who was a gentle- man of character and influence in Western New York, died in 1842, at the age of fifty-seven, and his mother, whose maiden name was Sarah Mather, is still living at the age of sixty-two.
Mr. Lake passed a few months in an academy while a boy, but received most of his education in the " back- woods " of his native county. He taught school several terms from the age of seventeen until twenty-two, and then read law some two years without intending to practise. In 1847 he embarked in farming, which he successfully followed till 1855, and has since then been extensively engaged in the manufacture of horse-power machinery, his business extending over all the free states. In politics, he was originally a Democrat of the Free Soil school, voting for Mr. Van Buren in 1848, and in 1852 supported Pierce for the Presidency. In 1854 he
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acted with the American party, and since 1856 has been a Republican with strong conservative proclivities. He held the office of Justice of the Peace from 1854 till 1858, and was also Supervisor in 1858 and 1861, besides having held other unimportant town offices.
Mr. Lake is a gentleman of exemplary habits - al- ways promptly in his seat, as well as patient and laborious on the several committees to which he belongs. He is matter-of-fact in his mode of thinking - seldom deals in mere theory, and although capable of expressing himself unequivocally and to the point, has avoided the unfortu- nate habit, so common to new members, of speaking when there is nothing to be said. While others, therefore, who have figured conspicuously in the House, have accomplished scarcely anything of immediate interest to their constituencies, he has been quietly laying the foundation for certain success, and has succeeded in triumphantly carrying through both Houses nearly every measure he has undertaken.
In his impulses, Mr. Lake is kind and generous. He seldom makes an enemy where friendship is a real virtue, and though decided and unyielding in the maintenance of right and justice, tempers all his acts with mercy and good fellowship. Rarely has his district sent as good a man to the Legislature - certainly none more faithfully devoted to her best interests, and he certainly deserves far higher distinction at the hands of his fellow citizens.
Mr. Lake was married on the 31st of August, 1847, to Miss Margaret M. Ames, and attends the Universalist Church.
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SAMUEL LAWRENCE.
MR. LAWRENCE is a native of the city of New York, and is fifty three years of age. He is a merchant doing business in Havanna, Schuyler county, where he resides, and is one of the leading men in that place. His poli- tics are strongly Republican, and he was elected to the Assembly, and was elected on a Union ticket, by a majority of more than five hundred over a straight De- mocratic opponent. He has occupied almost every office in the militia service of the State, from Corporal to Brigadier-General, and was a prominent member of the House in 1846. He is considered one of the most reliable men in the Legislature this winter.
DANIEL LEAMY.
MR. LEAMY is a native of old Ireland, and is thirty- two years of age. He came to America in 1834 with his parents, who first settled at Montreal, Canada, where they resided some eight years. His father, Thomas Murphy, died some five years ago in the city of New York, and his mother, whose maiden name was Mary Murphy, is still living. He is a brother of Patrick C. Leamy, a young gentleman of unusual promise, who was educated at St. John's College.
Mr. Leamy received a common English education, and since leaving Montreal has been a resident of the
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Metropolitan city. He is a practical mechanic, and like most poor boys coming to this country, has been the successful architect of his own fortune. Politically, he has always been a firm and unyielding Democrat of the Tammany Hall school, and was four times an unsuc- cessful independent candidate for the Assembly before his election to the House of 1862. He is a very quiet and attentive member, and made many personal friends at Albany, during this and last winter, by his uniform courtesy and good conduct towards all with whom he has come in contact.
THOMAS A. LEDWITH.
MR. LEDWITH is the youngest man in the Legislature. He is a native of the city of New York, where he has always resided, and is twenty-three years of age. He is of pure Irish extraction. After receiving a good substantial business education, he studied law, and is now successfully engaged in the practice of his profes- sion in his native city. Politically, he has always been an industrious and hard-working Democrat, and was elected to his present position by over two thousand majority. He is said to be a young gentleman of excel- lent attainments, and promises fair to rise early in his profession. He possesses a pleasant exterior ; never attempts any forensic display ; has many friends in the legislative circle ; and serves his constituents truly and faithfully, being in every way worthy of their confidence and esteem.
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JACOB LE FEVER.
The county of Ulster is widely known as the Huguenot county-having been peopled by the French Huguenots, who, at the revocation of the edict of Nantes, fled to Hol- land, and thence, about the year 1680, resolved to avoid per- secution by escaping to the New World. Accordingly they appeared on this side of the Atlantic; and while some of them settled in Pennsylvania and others at New Rochelle, in Westchester county, still others of them settled in the county of Ulster. And from the latter, the present subject of our sketch is a direct descendant, having been born on the very premises where his ancestors first settled nearly two hundred years ago. By vocation he is a farmer; and judging by his address and general appearance, we presume it is carried on by him upon a liberal scale, and with a return of liberal profits. The town of New Paltz and that portion of the county which he represents, is one of the most beauti- ful and productive farming sections of the State. Those of our readers who have formed their judgment of the county of Ulster by what appears to them as they pass up and down the Hudson, would be surprised and delighted could they behold the fine valley of the Wallkill, as the latter winds through the southern towns of that county on its way to tide water.
In point of area of territory, Mr. Le Fever represents nine of the nineteen towns of the county. It is the district heretofore represented by James G. Graham, Esq., and more recently by the " Gentleman from Ulster," whom our readers who have been in the habit of attending upon the sessions
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of the Legislature will not soon forget, the Hon. George T. Pierce. Therefore the district may be said to have exer- cised as much influence over the legislation of the State of late years as any other district within her limits, and, from the flattering opinions expressed by his fellow-members, we think the interests of his constituents, and of the people of the State, will not suffer at the hands of its present repre- sentative.
Mr. Le Fever was mainly educated at the New Paltz Academy, under that extraordinary man and popular ora- tor, Eliphas Fay, who was candidate for Secretary of State of New York upon the incoming of the Whig administra- tion in 1838. The State officers were at that time appointed by the Legislature, and Mr. Fay was defeated by a few votes in legislative caucus by John C. Spencer. It was honor enough to be beat by such an opponent, it will be said. Aye ! "There were giants in those times," and to be Secretary of State at that day, amounted to something.
Mr. Le Fever has served in the Board of Supervisors of his county for two consecutive years, and took a high posi- tion in a body of which some of the ablest men of Ulster were members-among them Ex-Sheriff Deyo, Abner Has- brouck, Esq., late candidate for State Senator in that district, Thaddeus Hait, Esq., of Plattekill, and others. The last year of his service he was Chairman of the Committee on Equalization, a most responsible position, and the duty of which he discharged to the entire satisfaction of the Board and of the people. His election to the Legislature shows the importance of a discreet and proper exercise of the elec- tive franchise, and what important results come out of apparently unimportant events. For while his Assembly
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District gave fifty-one majority for Horatio Seymour, for Governor, Mr. Le Fever had one hundred and ninety-nine majority for Member of the Assembly. His opponent in the canvass was John Griffith, Esq., former Sheriff of the county, by no means a weak or unpopular candidate. But Young America was obviously against him; while the character and conduct of Mr. Le Fever had been such as to secure to him the respect and confidence of the staid and solid portion of the community. In the Legislature, he enjoys the full confidence of his fellows and of all who know him.
CHARLES P. LESLIE.
Mr. LESLIE is one of the four youngest members of the Assembly. Mr. Mckeon of Rensselaer being of the same age -twenty-seven, Mr. Hill of New York, twenty-five, and Mr. Ledwith twenty-three. Of his history, we have only been able to glean, from the statistical list, the fact that he was born in Still- water, Saratoga county ; has a residence in Brook- lyn, and a law office in New York; and from other sources, that he is the son of "Old Oswego," the cele- brated stump campaigner during the existence of the American party. It can hardly be said, however, that the son is a " chip of the old block," as the father never failed in the performance of any duty, but went ahead with a degree of energy and perseverance worthy of all praise. Young Leslie, however, is sometimes in his seat,
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and doubtless supposes, very justly, too, that the public business advances quite as rapidly in his absence, as it would if he was present.
Mr. Leslie's political antecedents are American, and he adhered to that organization during the whole period of its existence. On its demise he went over to the Democrats, and was elected by them to his present po- sition in the Assembly. His legislative career is not marked with any special service to the public, although he has sufficient capacity to have made a useful mem- ber; but a few more years will ripen him, and it is not improbable but that he may yet become a bright par- ticular star in the political heavens.
HIRAM W. LOOMIS.
MR. LOOMIS is a native of the town of Warren, Herkimer county, and is thirty-three years of age. His present place of residence is Palermo, Oswego county, where he is a tiller of the ground, and a popular and worthy citizen. He has been Town Superintendent of Common Schools, and in 1855 was one of the marshals for taking the census. He is also an Assistant Assessor of the United States, for the twenty- second district, under the law of 1862. He was elected a Member of the present Assembly, over Hon. Willard John- son, former member, after a very close contest, his majority being thirty-four. He is a member of the Committee on Railroads and Joint Library.
Mr. Loomis is a gentleman of high standing in the com- munity in which he lives, and is a man of great energy and
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perseverance. As a shrewd political manager, he has no superior. In politics he is a Republican. He is a married man.
HENRY S. LOTT.
MR. LOTT is one of the largest men in the House, weigh- ing about two hundred and thirty-five pounds, and standing six feet in his stockings. He is a plain, honest, unpretend- ing, straightforward man, a hater of flams and shams and proud pretensions, and is a lover of the right. The hand may be rough, the mind uncultivated, but the heart is kind, the person brave, and the spirit undaunted and un- flagging.
Mr. Lott is a native of Jamaica, Queens county, N. Y., and is forty-one years of age. He received a common school education, and has passed his life, thus far, in the honest occupation of a farmer. He has always been a bold, uncompromising Democrat of the old school, and was chosen to his seat in the Assembly by a majority of over five hundred, in a closely contested district. He is very quiet in the discharge of his duties, but is an honest and faithful representative. He has been Assessor of his town for fifteen consecutive years.
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GEORGE L. LOUTREL.
MR. LOUTREL was a Member of the last Assembly. He served as a member of the Committees on Trade and Manufactures and Expenditures of the House. He was re-elected at the last election by a largely increased vote, and is now, as he was then, one of the leading Demo- cratic members of that body.
He is a native of the city of New York, where he now resides, and is thirty-five years of age. He is engaged in the coal business, and possesses considera- ble industry and business capacity. His politics have always been thoroughly Democratic, and he is ever true and unfaltering in his devotion to its interests and policy. He is one of the most witty, sarcastic and good-natured men in the House, and always makes a point when he speaks.
EDWARD D. LOVERIDGE.
MR. LOVERIDGE was born in New Milford, Litchfield county, Connecticut, on the 11th of December, 1824, and came to New York in 1852. He was educated at Trinity College, pursuing a partial course, and began the practice of the law in 1854, in Wyoming county, in this State. In 1856, he removed into Allegany county, where he entered into copartnership with his brother, N. P. Loveridge, who had been practising there some three or four years, and where the two are now prosecuting a successful business.
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Mr. Loveridge is descended from pure English stock. His father and mother are still living, the former, Erastus Loveridge, having attained the age of seventy, and the lat- ter, the age of sixty-six. Politically, he was formerly a Democrat, but since the repeal of the Missouri Compromise, has been a staunch, consistent, and unyielding Republican. Always devotedly attached to the pursuit of his profession, he has but seldom participated actively in politics, but whenever he has done so, his personal and political popu- larity have rendered him quite successful. He has held several town offices, including that of Supervisor in 1860 and '61, and was a Member of Assembly in 1862. He is a gentleman of some ability, but is evidently on pretty good terms with himself.
Mr. Loveridge was married on the 19th of October, 1854, to Miss Frances E. Bartlett. He attends the Epis- copal Church, and is a gentleman of high standing in all the social relations of private life.
MICHAEL McCANN.
MR. McCANN is a genial, clever and agreeable young gentleman of prepossessing personal appearance, and numbers his personal friends by scores. This is his first prominent appearance in public life, but the degree of ability and industry exhibited by him in the discharge of his duties shows that his constituents have not mis- taken their man, and that he is destined to rise still higher in the scale of honorable distinction.
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Mr. McCann was born in Brooklyn, Kings county, N. Y., and is thirty-one years of age. He is descended from pure Irish stock. He received a liberal education, and turned his attention to the law, in the practice of which he is now engaged in the city of New York, where he resides. Politically, he has always been a Democrat of the Fernando Wood school, and has been a member of the Mozart General Committee during the past three years. He was unanimously nominated at the last election by the Democracy of his district for the position he now holds, and was triumphantly elected by a handsome plurality over two opponents, one of whom was Dennis McCabe, a member of the last House.
ISAAC MCDOUGALL.
MR. MCDOUGALL was born in Bethlehem, Albany county, on the 25th of October, 1825, and is now in the thirty-eighth year of his age. His father, John McDou- gall, is still living; his mother, whose maiden name was Hannah Jillson, died in 1841. His occupation has generally been that of farming, but he has been en- gaged a good deal in lumbering; and now carries on the business of refining kerosene oil, under the firm of N. B. Foot & Co. He resides in the town of Delta, Oneida county, and was married in 1850 to Miss Hannah M. Jones, of Boonville, of the same county.
Mr. McDougall has attained some distinction in his town, and has been elected to the office of Justice of
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the Peace. In politics, he was a Democrat up to the time of the repeal of the Missouri Compromise, when he joined the Republicans, by whom he was elected as a Member of the present House. He is a very respecta- ble citizen, and makes an excellent Member of the Legislature, being a man of great sagacity, sound judg- ment and energy.
GEORGE MCGONEGAL.
This gentleman is one of the working men of the Assembly, and is one of the most reliable members of that body. He is a quiet, but an observant member, always attentive to his duties, and well posted in the business of legislation. In whatever concerns his im- mediate constituents, he is energetic and persevering, never slumbering at his post, but diligent, prompt and ready to seize the opportune moment, when success seems to be within his reach, for decisive action. Nor is he less attentive in matters of general interest, but is ready at all times in accelerating the public business.
MR. MCGONEGAL was born in the town of Hillsdale, Columbia county, N. Y., on the 8th of April, 1828, and is now thirty-five years old. In 1834 his parents removed to Monroe county, where he still resides. He is of Scotch descent, his grandfather being from the North of Ireland, which is settled mostly. by emigrants from Scotland. His father was a Member of the As-
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sembly from Monroe county in 1847; and died in the town of Irondequoit in that county, in August, 1855, at the age of sixty-seven. His mother, whose maiden name was Mary Hoyt, is still living, at the age of sixty- six. He has a good common English education, which he obtained in the district school, and in the Rochester Academy. He has always followed the plow, and is an experienced farmer. In 1860 and '61 he was elected Supervisor of his town; and in the fall of 1862 was elected a Member of the Assembly, on the Republican ticket. Originally, he was a Whig, and adhered to the fortunes of that party as long as it had an existence, and on its demise he joined the Republican organization. He was married on the 31st day of March, 1853, to Miss Louisa E. Loder, daughter of Daniel B. Loder of Rochester, and attends the Baptist Church.
ARCHIBALD C. McGOWAN.
MR. MCGOWAN was born in Pownal, Bennington county, Vermont, on the 26th day of August, 1822, and is now forty years old. His paternal grandfather was a native of Scotland ; was born in 1750; emigrated to this country before the Revolution, and when the war broke out, joined the Continental army and partici- pated in the battle of Bennington. After the war he settled in Hoosick, Rensselaer county, N. Y., where Clark McGowan, the father of the subject of this sketch,
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