Jurist; born in
Nantucket, Mass., April 16, 1818; graduated at
Geneva (now Hobart) College in 1836; studied law in
Canandaigua, N. Y.; was admitted to the bar in
Albany in 1839; and returned to
Geneva to practise in 1840.
He was judge of the court of common pleas in
Ontario county in 1843-46, and was county judge in 1852–
56.
Shortly after the formation of the Republican party he left the Democrats and joined the new organization.
He served as State
Senator in 1861-69; for four years of that period he was president
pro tem., and during the whole period was chairman of the judiciary committee.
In 1869-70 he was
United States assistant treasurer in New York City; in 1871 was elected associate judge of the New York Court of Appeals; and in 1880 became chief-justice.
In November of the latter year he was re-elected to the Court of Appeals, but resigned in 1881 to accept the office of
Secretary of the United States Treasury.
In 1882 he was the
Republican candidate for governor of New York, but was defeated by
Grover Cleveland, who had a majority of nearly 200,000 votes.
He died in
Geneva, N. Y., Sept. 4, 1884.
