Harvey G. Eastman

Harvey Gridley Eastman (November 16, 1832 - July 13, 1878) was an educator, a former mayor of Poughkeepsie, New York and a member of the New York State Assembly.

Born in Marshall, New York, Eastman was the son of Horace Haveland Eastman and Mary A. Gridley.

Eastman began his professional career teaching at the Eastman Commercial College in Rochester, New York, which had been founded by his uncle, George Washington Eastman.

In December 1855, he founded a school of his own in Oswego. He married Mary Minerva Clark on June 5, 1857.

He moved his school to St. Louis in spring of 1858, but due to unfortunate hiring of abolitionist teachers in pro-slavery Missouri, was forced to move again, ultimately establishing the Eastman Business College in Poughkeepsie, New York on November 3, 1859. Through Eastman's tireless promotion, the school eventually became one of the largest commercial schools in the United States.

The school made him rich, and he became one of the leading citizens of Poughkeepsie, serving as mayor from 1871-1874 and again from 1877 until his death. His tenure as mayor is most notable in his ensuring the construction of a water filtration plant that eliminated Poughkeepsie's reputation as "The Sickly City"

Eastman also served in the New York State Assembly from 1873 to 1875, his primary mission there being to secure funding for a bridge across the Hudson River.

Suffering from ill health, Eastman traveled to Denver, Colorado and died there.

Eastman was a first cousin of George Eastman, of Eastman-Kodak fame.

References

"Harvey Gridley Eastman." Dictionary of American Biography Base Set. American Council of Learned Societies, 1928-1936.