Beriah PALMER, Congress, NY (1740-1812)

PALMER, Beriah, a Representative from New York; born in Bristol County, Mass., in 1740; attended the common schools; moved to Cornwall, Orange County, N.Y., in 1769; studied law; was admitted to the bar and practiced in New York; engaged in surveying and farming near Burnt Hills; moved to Ballston Spa, Saratoga County, N.Y., in 1774; served in the Twelfth Regiment of the New York Militia during the Revolutionary War; served as assessor in 1779; commissioner of roads, district of Ballston, in 1780, 1783, and 1784; served as postmaster in 1784; member of the committee of safety of Albany County; supervisor of Saratoga County in 1790, 1791, and 1799; moderator of the first board of supervisors of Saratoga County in 1791; appointed judge of the court of common pleas in 1791; member of the State assembly in 1792-1795; delegate to the State constitutional convention in 1801; elected as a Republican to the Eighth Congress (March 4, 1803-March 3, 1805); surrogate of Saratoga County 1808-1812; died in Ballston Spa, N.Y., May 20, 1812; interment in the Village Cemetery.

Source: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1771-Present