Van Rensselaer Richmond

Van Rensselaer Richmond (January 1812 Preston, New York, Chenango County, New York - November 20, 1883 Lyons, Wayne County, New York) was an American civil engineer and politician from New York.

Life

He was the son of Oliver Richmond (d. 1853). He was educated at the Oxford Academy, and in 1834 began work as a chainman at the construction of the Chenango Canal. In 1837 he married Anna A. Dennison (d. 1854), and they had four children.

In 1837, he was appointed Resident Engineer of the Erie Canal at Lyons, New York. In 1842, he was appointed Division Engineer of the Middle Division of the State Canals at Syracuse, New York. In 1848, he resigned and began to work for the Oswego and Syracuse Railroad, but soon after returned to canal work as Chief Engineer of the construction of the canal from Jordan, New York to the Cayuga Marshes. In 1850 he left the canal works and became Division Engineer of the Rochester and Syracuse Railroad. In 1852, he was appointed again Division Engineer of the Middle Division of the State Canals by William J. McAlpine, was maintained in office by Whig State Engineer John T. Clark, but was removed in 1856 by the American Party majority of the Canal Board.

He was New York State Engineer and Surveyor from 1858 to 1861, and from 1868 to 1871, elected four times on the Democratic ticket.

He died from a "sudden stroke of apoplexy".

His son Dennison Richmond (ca. 1842-1888) was also Division Engineer of the Middle Division.

ources

* [http://books.google.com.br/books?id=eYkDAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA29] "Biographical Sketches of the State Officers and Members of the Legislature in the State of New York in 1859" by Wm. D. Murphy (pages 29ff; C. Van Benthuysen, Albany NY, 1859)
* [http://www.history.rochester.edu/canal/bib/whitford/old1906/vol2/chapter3.htm] Engineers bios, at Rochester history (giving Oxford, NY, as birthplace)
* [http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/richmond.html] Political Graveyard
* [http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9D02E0DD103BE033A25751C2A9679D94629FD7CF] Obit in NYT on November 22, 1883
* [http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9C04E4D81F38E033A25756C0A9669D94699FD7CF] His son's death notice, in NYT on October 5, 1888