Heman J. Redfield
Heman J. Redfield | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Collector of the Port of New York | |
| In office 1853 – July 1, 1857 | |
| Appointed by | Franklin Pierce |
| Preceded by | Greene C. Bronson |
| Succeeded by | Augustus Schell |
| Member of the New York State Senate for the 8th District | |
| In office January 1, 1823 – December 31, 1825 | |
| Succeeded by | Ethan B. Allen |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Heman Judd Redfield December 27, 1788 Suffield, Connecticut |
| Died | July 22, 1877 (aged 88) Batavia, New York |
| Political party | Democratic-Republican Democrat |
| Spouses | Abigail N. Gould
(m. 1817; died 1841)Constance C. Bolles
(m. 1846) |
| Children | 18 |
| Education | Canandaigua Academy |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Rank | Private |
| Battles/wars | War of 1812: • Battle of Queenston Heights |
Heman Judd Redfield (December 27, 1788 – July 22, 1877) was an American politician from New York.
Life
[edit]Redfield was born on December 27, 1788, in Suffield, Hartford County, Connecticut. He was the son of Peleg Redfield (1762–1852) and Mary (Judd) Redfield (1765–1844). The family were neighbors of Oliver Phelps who opened a land sales office in Suffield, Connecticut, after the Phelps and Gorham Purchase. The Redfields exchanged their small property in Suffield for 200 acres (0.81 km2) of land in the Town of Farmington (in that part that was later separated as Manchester, Ontario County, New York) and moved to the West in 1800.[1]
He attended Canandaigua Academy from 1808 to 1810, and then studied law with John Canfield Spencer.[1]
Career
[edit]During the War of 1812, he enlisted as a private and fought in the Battle of Queenston Heights, and in November 1813 at Fort George, Ontario where he received from the commanding general William Henry Harrison a brevet for gallant services.
He was admitted to the bar in 1815, and commenced practice at Le Roy.
He was appointed District Attorney of Genesee County in 1821. He was Postmaster of Le Roy for more than twenty years. He was a member of the New York State Senate from 1823 to 1825, representing the eighth district which consisted of Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie, Genesee, Livingston, Monroe, Niagara and Steuben counties.[2]
In 1826, he was offered the position of Special Counsel to the New York State Attorney General for the trials against the abductors of William Morgan, but declined, recommending John Canfield Spencer who was chosen.
On May 9, 1835, Redfield was elected a Canal Commissioner by the New York State Legislature to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Michael Hoffman, but he declined to take office. The Legislature adjourned on May 11, and left Governor William L. Marcy to appoint John Bowman instead.
When the Holland Land Company sold out their land in 1836, he became land agent for the new proprietors and moved to Batavia, New York.[3]
President Franklin Pierce appointed Redfield Naval Officer of the Port of New York, and on November 1, 1853, Collector of the Port of New York. He resigned on July 1, 1857, and retired from politics.[4]
Personal life
[edit]On January 27, 1817, he married Abigail Noyes Gould (1795–1841), and they had fourteen children.[1][5]
On April 14, 1846, he married Constance Collins Bolles (1813–1909),[6] and they had four children.[1]
Redfield died in Batavia, New York on July 22, 1877.[7]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d Redfield, John Howard; Redfield, William (1860). Genealogical History of the Redfield Family in the United States. Munsell & Rowland. pp. 42ff, 99f. Retrieved 12 November 2018.
- ^ Hough, Benjamin Franklin (1858). The New York Civil List: Containing the names and origin of the civil divisions, and the names and dates of election or appointment of the principal state and county officers from the Revolution to the present time. Weed, Parsons and Co. pp. 42, 125f, 144, 374. Retrieved 12 November 2018.
- ^ Gillet, Ransom Hooker (1868). Democracy in the United States: What it Has Done, what it is Doing, and what it Will Do. D. Appleton. p. 218ff. Retrieved 12 November 2018.
- ^ "NEW-YORK'S CUSTOMS OFFICERS.; THE COLLECTORS, NAVAL OFFICERS, AND SURVEYORS SINCE THE FOUNDATION OF THE GOVERNMENT". The New York Times. July 20, 1878. Retrieved 23 February 2018.
- ^ Revolution, Daughters of the American (1899). Lineage Book - National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution. Daughters of the American Revolution. p. 296. Retrieved 12 November 2018.
- ^ "REDFIELD" (PDF). The New York Times. April 9, 1909. Retrieved 12 November 2018.
- ^ Beers, Frederick W. (1890). Gazetteer and Biographical Record of Genesee County, N.Y., 1788-1890. J.W. Vose & Company. p. 198. Retrieved 12 November 2018.
External links
[edit]
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
- 1788 births
- 1877 deaths
- People from Le Roy, New York
- Erie Canal Commissioners
- New York (state) state senators
- County district attorneys in New York (state)
- Collectors of the Port of New York
- New York (state) postmasters
- People from Suffield, Connecticut
- 19th-century American legislators
- 19th-century New York (state) politicians