Samuel Rossiter BETTS, Congress, NY (1787-1868)

BETTS, Samuel Rossiter, a Representative from New York; born in Richmond, Berkshire County, Mass., June 8, 1787; was graduated from Williams College, Williamstown, Mass., in 1806; studied law in Hudson, N.Y.; was admitted to the bar in 1807 and commenced practice in Monticello, Sullivan County, N.Y.; served as judge advocate of Volunteers in the War of 1812; elected as a Republican to the Fourteenth Congress (March 4, 1815-March 3, 1817); was not a candidate for renomination in 1816; moved to Newburgh, Orange County, N.Y., where he continued the practice of law; appointed circuit judge under the new State constitution in 1823; appointed and subsequently elected judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York and served from 1826 until 1867, when he resigned; died in New Haven, Conn., November 2, 1868; interment in Woodlawn Cemetery, New York City.

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