Erastus ROOT, Congress, NY (1773-1846)

ROOT, Erastus, a Representative from New York; born in Hebron, Conn., March 16, 1773; graduated from Dartmouth College, Hanover, N.H., in 1793; taught school for several years; studied law; was admitted to the bar in 1796 and commenced practice in Delhi, N.Y.; member of the New York state assembly, 1798-1802; elected as a Republican to the Eighth Congress (March 4, 1803-March 3, 1805); resumed the practice of law; elected to the Eleventh Congress (March 4, 1809-March 3, 1811); chairman, Committee on Claims (Eleventh Congress); appointed in 1811 a member of the commission to revise and codify the laws of New York State; served in the New York state senate, 1812-1815; successfully contested the election of John Adams to the Fourteenth Congress and served from December 26, 1815-March 3, 1817; chairman, Committee on Expenditures in the Department of War (Fourteenth Congress); again a member of the New York state assembly, 1818-1822; member of the New York state constitutional convention of 1821; lieutenant governor of New York State, 1822-1824; unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1824; again became a member of the New York state assembly, 1826-1828, and in 1830, and served as speaker during the terms in 1827 and 1828; elected as a Jacksonian to the Twenty-second Congress (March 4, 1831-March 3, 1833); chairman, Committee on Agriculture (Twenty-second Congress); unsuccessful Whig candidate for election to the Twenty-sixth Congress in 1838; again served in the New York state senate 1840-1844; died on December 24, 1846, in New York City; interment in the Old (High Street) Cemetery, Delhi, N.Y.; reinterment in Woodland Cemetery, Delhi, N.Y.

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