- Erastus Root
Erastus Root (
March 16 ,1773 Hebron, then Windham County, nowTolland County, Connecticut -December 24 ,1846 New York City ) was an American lawyer andpolitician fromNew York .Life
He graduated from
Dartmouth College in 1793 and became a teacher. Then he studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1796, and commenced practice inDelhi, New York .He was a member of the
New York State Assembly from 1798 to 1802.In 1802, he was elected as a Democratic-Republican in the 14th District to the
8th United States Congress , and served from March 4, 1803 to March 3, 1805. Afterwards he resumed his law practice.In 1808, he was elected in the 12th District to the
11th United States Congress , and served from March 4, 1809 to March 3, 1811, and was chairman of the Committee on Claims.He was a member from the Middle District of the
New York State Senate from 1811 to 1815.In 1815, he contested successfully the election of John Adams in the 8th District to the
14th United States Congress , and took his seat on December 26, 1815, served until March 3, 1817, and was chairman of the Committee on Expenditures in the War Department.He was again a member of the State Assembly from 1818 to 1822, and was a delegate to the
New York State Constitutional Convention of 1821.He was
Lieutenant Governor of New York underJoseph C. Yates (1823-1824), but was defeated when running for reelection on the ticket with Samuel Young.He returned to the State Assembly again from 1826 to 1828, and in 1830, and was Speaker in 1827, 1828 and 1830.
In 1830, he was elected as a Jacksonian in the 11th District to the
22nd United States Congress , and served from March 4, 1831 to March 3, 1833, and was chairman of the Committee on Agriculture.In 1838, this time as a Whig, he ran again for the House but was defeated.
He was again a member of the State Senate from 1840 to 1844.
He served for many years as Major-General of the
New York State Militia .He was originally buried at the Old Cemetery, but later re-interred at Woodland Cemetery, both in Delhi, N.Y.
ources
* [http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/root.html#R9M0JBBNX] Political Graveyard
*CongBio|R000431
*John Stilwell Jenkins: "History of Political Parties in the State of New-York" (Alden & Markham, Auburn NY, 1846)
* [http://virtualology.com/aperastusroot/] Bio at Virtual American BiographiesExternal links
*
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