Francis Smith EDWARDS, Congress, NY (1817-1899)

EDWARDS, Francis Smith, a Representative from New York; born in Windsor, Broome County, N.Y., May 28, 1817; completed preparatory studies; attended Hamilton (N.Y.) College (now Colgate University), but did not graduate; studied law; was admitted to the bar in New York City May 20, 1840, and practiced in Sherburne and Albany; moved to Fredonia in 1851 and continued the practice of law; appointed master and examiner in chancery for Chenango County in 1842; appointed special county surrogate of Chautauqua County in 1853, and served until November 1, 1855; elected as the candidate of the American Party to the Thirty-fourth Congress and served from March 4, 1855, to February 28, 1857, when he resigned; unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1856 to the Thirty-fifth Congress; settled in Dunkirk, N.Y., in 1859, and resumed the practice of his profession; city attorney for nine years; retired from the practice of law in 1892; elected police justice in 1895 and served until ten days before his death; died in Dunkirk, N.Y., on May 20, 1899; interment in Forest Hill Cemetery, Fredonia, N.Y.

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