Alfred Conkling
Alfred Conkling | |
|---|---|
 | |
| United States Minister to Mexico | |
| In office August 6, 1852 – August 17, 1853 | |
| Appointed by | Millard Fillmore |
| Preceded by | Robert P. Letcher |
| Succeeded by | James Gadsden |
| Judge of theUnited States District Court for the Northern District of New York | |
| In office December 14, 1825 – August 25, 1852 | |
| Appointed by | John Quincy Adams |
| Preceded by | Roger Skinner |
| Succeeded by | Nathan K. Hall |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromNew York's14thdistrict | |
| In office March 4, 1821 – March 3, 1823 | |
| Preceded by | John Fay |
| Succeeded by | Henry R. Storrs |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Alfred Conkling October 12, 1789 Amagansett, New York,U.S. |
| Died | February 5, 1874(aged 84) Utica, New York,U.S. |
| Resting place | Forest Hill Cemetery Utica, New York, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic-Republican Whig |
| Spouse |
Eliza Cockburn (after1812) |
| Children | 5, includingFrederick,Roscoe |
| Relatives | Alfred Conkling Coxe Sr.(grandson) |
| Education | Union College |
| Profession | Attorney |
Alfred Conkling(October 12, 1789 – February 5, 1874) was aUnited States representativefromNew York,aUnited States district judgeof theUnited States District Court for the Northern District of New YorkandUnited States Minister to Mexico.
Early life
[edit]Conkling was born on October 12, 1789, inAmagansett,New York.[1][2]He was the son of Benjamin Conkling and Esther Hand.[3]
He graduated fromUnion Collegein 1810 andread lawin 1812.[1]
Career
[edit]He was admitted to the bar and entered private practice inJohnstown,New York, from 1812 to 1813.[1]He continued private practice inCanajoharie,New York, from 1813 to 1819.[1]He was district attorney forMontgomery County,New York, from 1819 to 1821.[1]
Congressional service
[edit]Conkling was elected as aDemocratic-RepublicanfromNew York's 14th congressional districtto theUnited States House of Representativesof the17th United States Congress,serving from March 4, 1821, to March 3, 1823.[4]Following his departure from Congress, he resumed private practice inAlbany,New York, from 1823 to 1825.[1]
Federal judicial service
[edit]Conkling received arecess appointmentfrom PresidentJohn Quincy Adamson August 27, 1825, to a seat on theUnited States District Court for the Northern District of New Yorkvacated by JudgeRoger Skinner.[1]He was nominated to the same position by President Adams on December 13, 1825.[1]He was confirmed by theUnited States Senateon December 14, 1825, and received his commission the same day.[1]While on the bench, he moved from Albany toAuburn,New York, in 1839.[4]There were several attempts to impeach him, but they failed. His service terminated on August 25, 1852, due to his resignation.[1]
Later career
[edit]Conkling wasUnited States Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to Mexicofor theUnited States Department of Statefrom August 6, 1852, to August 17, 1853.[1]He resumed private practice inOmaha,Nebraska,from 1853 to 1861.[1]He was a writer inRochesterandGeneseo,New York, from 1861 to 1872.[1]He was a writer inUtica,New York, from 1872 to 1874.[1]
Personal life
[edit]On May 5, 1812, Conkling was married to Elizabeth "Eliza" Cockburn (1791–1851). Together, they were the parents of five children, including:[5]
- Margaret Cockburn Conkling (1814–1890), who became an accomplished author, with works such asThe American Gentleman's Guide To Politeness and Fashion,[6]Memoirs of the Mother and Wife of Washington,Isabel; or, Trials of the Heartand a translation ofFlorian'sHistory of the Moors of Spain.[7][8]
- Frederick Augustus Conkling(1816–1891), aUnited States representativefrom New York.[9]
- Aurelian Conkling (1819–1861), who studied law and served as the Clerk of Court for theNorthern District of New YorkinBuffalountil his death in May 1860.[citation needed]He married Harriet Adriana Schermerhorn (1815–1886), a daughter ofCommissionerJohn F. Schermerhorn.[10]
- Eliza Conkling (1820–1868), who married Reverend Samuel Hanson Coxe, the son of abolitionist minister, author, and educatorSamuel Hanson Cox.[citation needed]
- Roscoe Conkling(1829–1888), a United States Representative andUnited States Senatorfrom New York.[3]
Conkling died on February 5, 1874, in Utica.[1]He was interred inForest Hill Cemeteryin Utica.[4]
Descendants and legacy
[edit]Conkling's grandsonAlfred Conkling Coxe Sr.also served as United States District Judge in the Northern District of New York, and later a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit;[5]Coxe's own son (Conkling's great-grandson)Alfred Conkling Coxe Jr.was a Judge of theUnited States District Court for the Southern District of New York.[5]
A photograph of Judge Conkling hangs in the courtroom at the United States District Court in Utica, New York.[citation needed]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^abcdefghijklmnoAlfred Conklingat theBiographical Directory of Federal Judges,a publication of theFederal Judicial Center.
- ^Genealogies of the State of New York: A Record of the Achievements of Her People in the Making of a Commonwealth and the Founding of a Nation.Lewis Historical Publishing Company. 1915.Retrieved30 March2020.
- ^abConkling, Alfred Ronald (1889).The Life and Letters of Roscoe Conkling: Orator, Statesman, Advocate.C.L. Webster. p.5.Retrieved30 March2020.
- ^abcUnited States Congress."Alfred Conkling (id: C000679)".Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
- ^abcCutter, William Richard (1913).Genealogical and Family History of Southern New York and the Hudson River Valley: A Record of the Achievements of Her People in the Making of a Commonwealth and the Building of a Nation...Lewis Historical Publishing Company. p. 57.Retrieved30 March2020.
- ^Conkling, Margaret Cockburn (1860).The American Gentleman's Guide to Politeness and Fashion, Or, Familiar Letters to His Nephews: Containing Rules of Etiquette, Directions for the Formation of Character, Etc., Etc., Illustrated by Sketches Drawn from Life, of the Men and Manners of Our Times.Derby & Jackson.Retrieved30 March2020.
- ^Conkling, Margaret Cockburn (1850).Memoirs of the Mother and Wife of Washington.Derby, Miller & Company.Retrieved30 March2020.
- ^Brown, John Howard (1900).Lamb's Biographical Dictionary of the United States.James H. Lamb Company.Retrieved30 March2020.
- ^"Frederic Augustus Conkling".The New York Times.19 September 1891.Retrieved23 January2018.
- ^"NYC Marriage & Death Notices 1843-1856 | New York Society Library".www.nysoclib.org.Retrieved25 January2017.
Sources
[edit]- United States Congress."Alfred Conkling (id: C000679)".Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
- Alfred Conklingat theBiographical Directory of Federal Judges,a publication of theFederal Judicial Center.
- Wilson, J. G.;Fiske, J.,eds. (1900)..Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography.New York: D. Appleton.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
- 1789 births
- 1874 deaths
- People from Amagansett, New York
- People from Canajoharie, New York
- County district attorneys in New York (state)
- Judges of the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York
- United States federal judges appointed by John Quincy Adams
- 19th-century American judges
- Union College (New York) alumni
- 19th-century American diplomats
- Ambassadors of the United States to Mexico
- New York (state) Republicans
- Nebraska Republicans
- Democratic-Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state)
- Gardiner family
- 19th-century American politicians
- Conkling family
- Burials at Forest Hill Cemetery (Utica, New York)