James Way COVERT, Congress, NY (1842-1910)

COVERT, James Way, a Representative from New York; born at Oyster Bay, Long Island, N.Y., September 2, 1842; attended the public schools and received an academic education in Locust Valley, N.Y.; studied law; was admitted to the bar in 1863 and commenced practice in Flushing, Long Island, N.Y.; district school commissioner 1867-1870; assistant prosecuting attorney of Queens County; surrogate of Queens County 1870-1874; unsuccessful candidate for election in 1872 to the Forty-third Congress; elected as a Democrat to the Forty-fifth and Forty-sixth Congresses (March 4, 1877-March 3, 1881); chairman, Committee on Agriculture (Forty-sixth Congress); member of the State senate in 1882 and 1883; elected to the Fifty-first, Fifty-second, and Fifty-third Congresses (March 4, 1889-March 3, 1895); chairman, Committee on Patents (Fifty-third Congress); moved to Brooklyn, N.Y., in 1896 and resumed the practice of law; died in Brooklyn, N.Y., May 16, 1910; interment in Mount Olivet Cemetery, Maspeth, N.Y.

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