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 24
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Mr. Skinner was educated in a common school, and worked in a cotton factory till he was twenty-one years of age. He then removed into Onondaga county,
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where he lived some eight years, and then into Living- ston county, where he now resides. He was engaged in farming from the age of twenty-two until the year 1850, since which time he has been employed in the foundry and lumber business. He has been Supervisor some nine years, and during the past quarter of a cen- tury has filled various other town offices. Politically, he was originally a Whig, and since the establishment of the Republican party has been ranked among its sup- porters. He was chosen to his present position as a straight Republican, by a handsome majority, over a Republican opponent, who had received the Union nomination, and has shown himself a quiet though sub- stantial legislator.
Mr. Skinner was married in 1819 to Miss Lonanna Satterlee, who died in June, 1859, and has since then been single. He belongs to the Baptist church.
ANDREW SMITH.
An old proverb asserts, that the choicest articles are always done up in the smallest packages. So it is with MR. SMITH who is the smallest man in the Assembly, weighing only one hundred and twenty-five pounds, and standing but five feet four in his stockings. He is well- proportioned, active and energetic; and is always at his post, carefully watching the interests of those whom he represents.
Mr. Smith is a native of the county Cavan, Ireland,
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where he was born on the 23d of December, 1822. His parents both died in the old country, and he came to America in 1844, taking up his residence in the city of New York, where he has always since resided. He re- ceived a limited education in the common schools of his native country, and has passed his life chiefly as a mer- chant, or in some public capacity. Politically, he has always been a strong and uncompromising Democrat of the Tammany Hall school, and in the fall of 1859 was triumphantly elected to the Assembly by a majority of two hundred over the combined vote of the Mozart Hall and Republican candidates. He had, previously, in the fall of the same year, been mentioned in connec- tion with the office of State Prison Inspector, and lacked only a few votes of receiving the nomination in the Demo- cratic State Convention at Syracuse. During the session of the Legislature in 1860 he served on the Committee of the Incorporation of Cities and Villages, and was looked upon as one of the best men in the House that winter. He was again a member of that body in 1862, and was re-elected in the contest of last fall by a handsome ma- jority. He is wholly a self-made man, and during his legislative career has shown the ability and perseverance to accomplish almost anything he may undertake.
Mr. Smith was married on the 23d of September, 1847, to Miss Ellen McCaffrey, and belongs to the Catholic Church.
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FRANCIS B. SMITH.
MR. SMITH is one of the most quiet and unobtru- sive men in the House. He is, however, a lawyer of conceded ability, and discharges his duties in a manner that is entitled to very much more praise than the career of many of his more boisterous legislative asso- ciates. He is a native of the town of Union, Broome county, N. Y., where he was born on the 23d of June, 1823. His father, Samuel M. Smith, is still living at an advanced age; his mother, whose maiden name was Betsey Bean, died in Broome county in 1857. He was educated chiefly under the tuition of Miss L. M. Pine, an accomplished teacher, and at the Jefferson Academy, in Schoharie county. He then studied law in the office of the Hon. Ashburn Birdsall at Binghamton, and since his admission to the bar has been successfully engaged in the practice of his profession in his native county. He was chosen Superintendent of Common Schools in 1847, holding the position six years, and in 1852 was elected District Attorney, which office he occupied three years. Previous to the fall of Fort Sum- ter he was a Democrat in regular standing with his party, but since then he has been acting with the Union organization, by which he was chosen to his present position.
Mr. Smith was married in 1854, and is entirely liberal in his views on the subject of religion.
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HAMILTON E. SMITH.
MR. SMITH is a native of Duanesburgh, Schenectady county, N. Y., and is fifty-one years of age. His parents were both natives of this State. After receiving a com- mon English education he learned a mechanical trade, which he followed with considerable success for some years, and he is now engaged in farming, in Livingston county, where he resides. He held the office of Super- visor in 1855, but never occupied any prominent official station till his election to the present House. His politi- cal status was formerly Whig, but his strong anti-slavery sentiments soon converted him to the Republican faith after the organization of that party, in which he is now a faithful and obedient servant.
SAXTON SMITH.
" An honest man is the noblest work of God ;" and in MR. SMITH we have an exemplification of the fact, that truth and poetry are sometimes identical. His name is a familiar one in the annals of New York legislation, and yet no stain rests upon it - a rare occurrence. In the years 1838, '40 and '44 he was a Member of the Assembly ; and from 1846 to 1849, inclusive, a Member of the Senate. His whole legislative career has been marked with entire devotedness to the interests of his constituents, and the welfare of the State. He is a man
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of great purity of character, a warm heart, generous impulses and unswerving integrity. No lobbyist can, or dare, approach him for a corrupt purpose, for there is that in his eye and countenance that repels at once all such advances ; and the tempter would stand rebuked and belittled in his presence. In his political views he is firm, decided and uncompromising; yet so strong is the conviction of his entire honesty that his opponents respect him as highly as do his most intimate party friends. He was a member of the first Senate under the present Constitution, composed of twenty-four Whigs and eight Democrats, yet no one of the majority com- manded more fully the confidence of the whole body than did he. This was not because of his superior ability - though he is a man of strong intellect ; nor for any brilliant oratorical powers, as he rarely speaks, but what he has to say is couched in brief, terse, com- mon sense remarks, speaking directly to the point, and in language not to be misunderstood. He is respected because he is known to be a man of unbending integrity, high sense of honor, and of great moral worth. In poli- tics he is a Jeffersonian Democrat, "steadfast and im- movable."
Mr. Smith was born in Putnam county, and is fifty- nine years old. He is of English extraction. His pa- rents were both born in Putnam county, and are both dead. His father, Abraham Smith, died in 1813, at the age of forty-nine; his mother died in 1850 aged eighty- six. He received an academical education ; was brought up a farmer, and still pursues that honorable calling - improving the identical farm on which he was born. He
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has been chosen Supervisor of his town, Putnam Valley, some ten or twelve times, and has held other important trusts. He was elected a member of the present Assem- bly by a majority of four hundred and forty-one ; attends the Presbyterian Church, and, we are sorry to say it, is a bachelor - for such a man should leave the world a " copy of himself."
WILLIAM J. SNYDER.
MR. SNYDER was born in Albany county, N. Y., in 1825, and is now thirty-eight years old. His grand- father was a soldier of the Revolution. His father, John Snyder, died in 1848, at the age of sixty-three ; his mother, whose maiden name was Elizabeth Frazer, died in 1852, aged sixty-two. His education was obtained at the district school, and was sufficient for ordinary business. In addition to farming, which has been his occupation since boyhood, he has kept a hotel in Bethlehem Centre, and has maintained a good repu- tation. He never held an office until his election to the present Assembly, of which he is a substantial and intelligent member. He is not a speaker, but is never- theless a man of considerable influence, and is indefati- gable in the performance of his duties, never missing an opportunity to benefit his constituents.
During the existence of the American party Mr. Snyder was a member of that organization, and since its extinction he has acted with the Democrats, by whom
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he was sent to the Legislature. He is a man of very considerable influence in his town, and is respected as a man of integrity and honor. He was married in 1850 to Miss Jane Ann McGill, who died in 1856; and in 1858 he was again married to Miss Amelia Safford. He is an attendant on the Dutch Reformed Church.
EBENEZER S. STRAIT.
This gentleman is the son of Meshach Strait, who was one of three brothers named Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and great uncle of three triplets bearing the same names. He was born in Stephentown, Rensselaer county, N. Y., on the 28th of May, 1824, and is now thirty-nine years old. He is of English extraction on his paternal and Dutch on his maternal side. His mother's maiden name was Aphia Smith, who is still living at an advanced age, as is also his father, who is eighty-two years old. He received an academical edu- cation ; studied law the usual time; was admitted to the bar, and has been in the practice of his profession at Nassau since 1849. He is a man of great energy, prudence and sagacity, and, as a consequence, has met with large success in his professional business. By his own energy, tact and perseverance he has acquired a very handsome property, never having received any pecuniary aid from his relatives and friends. He is now considered wealthy, and has the satisfaction of knowing,
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what any man might be proud to say, that his fortune is the work of his own hands, and the sweat of his own brow.
Although MR. STRAIT has been twice elected to the Assembly, he has never sought office, but the office has sought him. He was a Member in 1857, but was nomi- nated, very unexpectedly to himself, in his absence, and elected by a handsome majority. His nomination for the present House was, in the same manner, in his absence from home, without ballot and with entire una- nimity on the part of the Convention. He was elected by a majority of six hundred and fifty-two votes over Ex-Senator A. J. Colvin. He is a good Member, distinguished for his entire devotion to the public business, and the good sense and good judgment that characterizes his legislative action.
Mr. Strait has been honored by his townsmen with various trusts, and held the office of Superintendent of Common Schools some five terms. He was President of the village of Nassau in 1861, and is held in high esteem in the community of his residence. He has always been a Democrat. He was married in the town of New Lebanon, Columbia county, N. Y., Dec. 25, 1859, to Miss Louisa Hand, of a very respectable family.
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JOHN STEWARD.
MR. STEWARD was born in the town of Frankfort, Herki- mer county, N. Y., on the 21st of October, 1806, and is now in his fifty-seventh year. He is of Scotch extrac- tion. His father, John Steward, died April 15, 1826, at the age of thirty-nine. His mother, whose maiden name was Wilcox, is still living, at the age of seventy-five. When he was six years old, his father removed to Chau- tauqua county, where he received his education in the com- mon schools of the town of Harmony, his present place of residence. He was brought up a farmer, but for many years has been also engaged in the mercantile business, in which he has prospered. He is a man of considerable dis- tinction in his town, and has held the office of Supervisor ten years. He was elected to the present House last fall, in a close and warmly contested election, by a majority of one hundred and fifty-one.
Mr. Steward is a very fine, dignified-looking man, and an excellent member. He never speaks, but is attentive to the business of the House, and faithful to his constituents. He is intelligent, agreeable, and of that cast of character which corrupt men dare not approach. He was married on the 15th of September, 1851, to Miss Joanna Glidden, and attends the Methodist Episcopal Church.
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GRIFFIN SWEET.
DR. SWEET was born in the town of Norway, Her- kimer county, N. Y., on the 5th of March, 1814. He is of pure English descent. His father, Wanton Sweet, died in 1850, at the age of seventy-three, and his mother, whose maiden name was Olive Carr, died at the same age, in 1857. His parents were both natives of Wor- cester county, Mass.
Dr. Sweet received an academical education, and studied medicine at the Fairfield Medical School, in Herkimer county, where he graduated in 1840. He then engaged in the practice of his profession some seven years, after which he attended a course of medical lectures at Jefferson College, Philadelphia. He then returned again to his native county, where he has always since resided in the successful practice of his profession. He has held various unimportant town offices where he resides, and in 1857 was a member of the Board of Supervisors. In politics, he was originally a Democrat, voting for Van Buren in 1848, and was one of the very first in his town to engage in the organi- zation of the Republican party. He was chosen a Mem- ber of the Assembly on a straight Republican ticket, and although a quiet man, has proven himself a safe legislator.
Dr. Sweet has never been married, and occupies a high position in all the social relations of private life.
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JOHN W. TAGGART.
MR. TAGGART is a native of Middleburgh, Schoharie county, N. Y., where he was born in 1812. He is of Eng- lish descent. His father, Henry Clark Taggart, died in that county in 1828, at the age of forty ; and his mother, whose maiden name was Catharine Almy, died in Otsego county in 1850, at the age of sixty-two. His parents were both natives of Rhode Island.
Mr. Taggart was educated in the common schools of Otsego county, and has passed most of his life in farming and lumbering, in both of which he has met with gratify- ing success. He has held the office of Supervisor in the town of Urbana, Steuben county, where he now resides, and was elected to his present position by a majority of nearly five hundred. Politically, he was originally a Whig, of the Seward school, and at the disorganization of that party became a Republican. He is one of the most efficient and influential members in the House, being an earnest, intelligent and untiring worker, and is a man of strong, practical, common sense, and an unexceptionable character.
Mr. Taggart was married, in 1841, to Miss Mary Ann Brundage, and attends the Episcopal Church.
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PIERRE C. TALMAN.
MR. TALMAN is from the "Sunny South," having been ushered into this busy world in Charleston, South Caro- lina, in the year of our Lord, one thousand eight hun- dred and thirty-two, and is now, therefore, thirty-one years of age. He is of Dutch descent, his father being a Knickerbocker of good family, though his mother was a South Carolinian. He left his native city when about fifteen years old, for the North ; and when of suitable age he engaged in mercantile pursuits. His genius was not, however, adapted to measuring tape, and selling calico; and, as a consequence, he did not succeed very well. He, therefore, abandoned the business, and com- menced the study of law, which was more to his taste. In 1850 he removed to Westchester county; and in 1853 commenced the practice of his profession in Mor- risania, in which he has been very successful. In 1860 he received the nomination for Member of Assembly but was not elected; but in 1861 having again been put on the course, he succeeded by a majority of six hun- dred. His legislative course having been satisfactory to his constituents, his name was again placed before the people, and he was elected by the magnificent majority of twelve hundred and seventy-two votes-a significant demonstration of approbation by the electors of his district.
Mr. Talman is greatly respected in the House, not only for his ability, but for his genial good nature, and agreeable social qualities. In debate, whatever may be
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the subject, he is sure to " set the House in a roar," by a well-timed witticism, or an adroit turning of the point of an assailant, and flooring an antagonist with his own weapon. He is a ready, and forcible speaker, and al- ways commands the attention of the House. His voice is strong, and well modulated ; bis utterance clear, dis- tinct, and of sufficient capacity to be heard in every part of the hall. He is vigilant and active, thoroughly versed in the rules of legislation, and seldom or never at fault on a "point of order." He is an honest and capable legislator, and a zealous Democrat.
In person, Mr. Talman is of medium height, but unusually fleshy, with reddish brown hair, fresh coun- tenance, and an animated, pleasant expression. He possesses all the requisites of good companionship, yet has one glaring fault; he is a -bachelor.
ASA C. TEFFT.
MR. TEFFT is a substantial farmer of Washington county, of which he is a native, having been born in the town of Greenwich, about the year 1800. His ancestors came from Rhode Island. He resides at present at Fort Miller, a small village on the east bank of the Hudson, within the limits of the town of Fort Edward.
Mr. Tefft is quiet and unobtrusive in his manners, seldom, if ever, indulging in debate, but remarkably attentive to his duties, and possessing the respect and esteem of his associates. Politically, he is a Republican
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of the most earnest stamp, in every respect loyal in his sentiments, and zealous to contribute the utmost in his power towards the suppression of the Rebellion. This is his first appearance in the Assembly, and we cannot learn that he has ever held any other public station of importance. He was elected over Edwin B. Nash, a Democrat of the Atlas and Argus school, by the em- phatic majority of nine hundred and fifty-three. In his personal appearance, he is one of the most venerable gentlemen in the House, and bears the impress of intel- ligence and solidity of character. He belongs to that class of thrifty and enlightened farmers which forms so large a portion of the population of the rich agricultural district of Washington county, and is a worthy speci- men and representative of the class.
ELIAS P. TOWNSLEY.
MR. TOWNSLEY was born in the town of De Kalb, St. Lawrence county, N. Y., in 1814, and is now forty- eight years old. He is of English descent. His father, Gideon Townsley, was a native of Massachusetts, and died in 1842, at the age of fifty-eight. His mother, whose maiden name was Elvira Page, was a native of Connecticut, and died in 1852, aged sixty-six. She was a cousin of Harlan Page, who was distinguished in the city of New York as a philanthropist. His father first settled in Cooperstown, Otsego county, where he re-
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mained a few years and removed to St. Lawrence county, just previous to the war of 1812.
Mr. Townsley received a common school education in his native town; and at a suitable age went to work with his father, who was a tanner and currier, and pre- pared himself for the business of life. He carried on this business a few years, when he relinquished it, purchased a farm, and for ten years was engaged in agricultural pursuits. In 1850 he established a land agency, and has since been engaged in buying and selling lands. He has served in his town as Supervisor four years, Justice of the Peace eight years, and has filled several other impor- tant town offices. In the fall of 1861 he was elected a Member of Assembly, having been nominated by the Republicans, adopted by the Union party as their can- didate, and ran without opposition. He was elected to the present House by a majority of seventeen hundred and three votes over William J. Averill, the Democratic nominee. Originally, he was a Whig, but became a Republican on the organization of that party. He was a delegate to the Republican State Convention in 1862, and is considered a sagacious politician. He is a good business member, and is much respected in the House.
He was married in 1840 to Miss Dora B. Griffin, of Hartford, Connecticut, who died in December, 1850. In 1853 he was married to Miss Louisa E. Thompson, of Massachusetts. He attends the Presbyterian Church.
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ELIPHAZ TRIMMER.
This is Col. TRIMMER's third term in the Assembly. He was a Member in 1856, and again in 1862, serving with distinction during both sessions, and was re-elected at the last election by a largely increased majority over a strong Republican opponent. Although seldom ad- dressing the House, he is a lawyer of decided ability, ranking prominently at the bar in the city of Rochester, where he resides, and exerts a quiet influence upon the proceedings of the Legislature which enables him almost always to succeed in carrying his points. He possesses a sound, discriminating judgment, and is one of those practical men whose voice and vote on practical every- day business matters are worth tenfold more than all the' eloquence and erudition of men who are merely professional. He is a great friend of the Canals, occu- pying the position of Chairman of the Canal Committee in the House, and is always at his post carefully guard- ing them against the encroachments of private monopo- lies, and the intrigues and corruption of individual schemes and enterprises.
Col. Trimmer is a staunch Democrat, and although not a strict partisan, has always been found true to the principles and policy of that party. He was promi- nently spoken of as a candidate for Speaker at the opening of the present session, and was finally nomina- ted for that position, after a large number of unsuccessful ballotings had been taken with Judge Dean as the Democratic candidate, but not until his success had been rendered entirely impossible by the indiscriminate
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denunciation of some of those who assumed to be the leaders of his party upon the floor of the House. If he had been nominated earlier in the contest, he would, doubtless, have been successful, but it is well understood, that when the ranks of his opponents had been rendered compact and determined by the insane and lawless violence of a certain self-constituted, though brainless, leader from the city of New York, the success of his party was rendered utterly hopeless, no matter what may have been the individual strength of its candidate.
Col. Trimmer is a native of Lebanon, Hunterdon county, New Jersey, and is forty-eight years of age. He was liberally educated for the law, and has always been successfully engaged in the practice of his pro- fession. He is a gentleman of stout build, broad- shouldered, with a fully developed body, black hair and eyes, a full, smooth face, and a countenance denoting great firmness and decision of character and warm and generous impulses. He is, personally, one of the most popular men in the Legislature, and occupies a high position in the estimation of the people of Albany, among whom he is no longer a stranger.
JOHN D. VAN BUREN.
MR. VAN BUREN is a small man, of only five feet and five inches in height, but large in his own conceit. He plumes himself upon his dignity ; and is aristocratic in
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his feelings -looking, not exactly down, that being impossible, but - up on his fellows as inferiors. He has not distinguished himself particularly in the present Assembly, otherwise than by having proposed a Com- mittee on the Callicot Investigation, which the House did not accept. He is a native of the city of New York, a resident of Newburgh, Orange county, and is fifty-two years old. He is a Democrat.
HENRY D. VAN HOESEN.
MR. VAN HOESEN is one of the largest men in the House, weighing two hundred pounds, and standing six feet two. He is a native of the town of Preble, Cort- land county, N. Y., and is thirty-four years of age. He received a pretty good education, and is now a practical farmer and surveyor in his native place, where he still resides. He belongs to the Republican party, and was chosen a Member of Assembly by a majority of sixteen hundred and eighty-one over Anson Peck, his Democratic opponent. He is married, and is said to be a gentleman of some personal popularity in the commu- nity where he resides. His course in the House has been exceedingly quiet, but he sustains the reputation of a thorough worker and a good representative.
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