Samuel BEARDSLEY, Congress, NY (1790-1860)

BEARDSLEY, Samuel, a Representative from New York; born in Hoosick, Rensselaer County, N.Y., February 6, 1790; pursued academic studies; taught school; studied law in Rome, N.Y.; served as a lieutenant in the War of 1812 and took part in the defense of Sackets Harbor in 1813; was admitted to the bar in 1815 and commenced practice in Watertown; judge advocate in the State militia; returned to Rome in 1816 and continued the practice of law; prosecuting attorney in 1821; member of the State senate in 1823; moved to Utica, Oneida County, in 1823; United States attorney for the northern district of New York 1823-1830; elected as a Jacksonian to the Twenty-second, Twenty-third, and Twenty-fourth Congresses and served from March 4, 1831, to March 29, 1836, when he resigned; chairman, Committee on the Judiciary (Twenty-fourth Congress); appointed circuit judge in 1836; attorney general of the State of New York 1836-1838; elected as a Democrat to the Twenty-eighth Congress and served from March 4, 1843, to February 29, 1844, when he resigned to accept a judicial appointment; served as associate judge of the New York Supreme Court from 1844 to 1847, and was appointed chief justice in the latter year; declined another term of service and resumed the practice of law; died in Utica, N.Y., May 6, 1860; interment in Forest Hill Cemetery.

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