Noble S. Elderkin
Noble Strong Elderkin(August 28, 1810 inPotsdam,St. Lawrence County, New York– December 29, 1875 in Potsdam, St. Lawrence County, New York) was an American politician from New York. He wasSpeaker of the New York State Assemblyin 1850.
Life[edit]
He was the son of Anthony Y. Elderkin, a wheelwright (c.1785 inWillimantic, Connecticut– 19 May 1850 inMadrid, New York) and Parmela Fuller Elderkin. His parents married in 1807 atMiddlebury, Vermont.Their first child Elmira L. Elderkin (1807–1880) was born there. In 1808, the family removed to Potsdam, New York, where Noble and his other siblings were born.
He wasSheriff of St. Lawrence County, New Yorkfrom 1843 to 1846.
He was aDemocraticmember from St. Lawrence County of theNew York State Assemblyfrom 1849 to 1851. In 1850, Democrats andWhigshad a tie vote in the Assembly, but it having become apparent toRobert H. Pruyn,the Whig candidate for Speaker, that one of the Whig members could not properly hold his seat, Pruyn abstained from voting, and Elderkin was chosen Speaker. The appreciation of this high-minded course was shown shortly afterward: The Speaker was called home when his wife Eliza was very ill, and the Democrats voted for Pruyn to become the new Speaker. Shortly thereafter, both Elderkin's wife and father died, his wife at Potsdam, N.Y., on April 8, aged 38 years, his father on May 19 at neighboring Madrid, N.Y., and Elderkin did not return to the Assembly for the remainder of this session.
He was President of the village of Potsdam from 1857 until 1858.
In1859,he ran on the Democratic andAmericantickets forNew York State Prison Inspectorbut was narrowly defeated by RepublicanDavid P. Forrest.
Sources[edit]
- [1]Elderkin genealogy at Genforum
- [2]His wife's death notice
- [3]Potsdam History
- [4]Mention in Census 1870
- [5]Noble and Eliza mentioned in birth records 1847
- [6]Bio of Robert H. Pruyn at Schenectady History
- Google BooksThe New York Civil Listcompiled by Franklin Benjamin Hough (pages 272 and 406; Weed, Parsons and Co., 1858)