John Canfield Spencer
John Spencer | |
---|---|
16th Speaker of the New York State Assembly | |
In office January 4, 1820 – June 30, 1820 | |
Preceded by | Obadiah German |
Succeeded by | Peter Sharpe |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York's 21st district | |
In office March 4, 1817 – March 3, 1819 | |
Preceded by | Archibald S. Clarke |
Succeeded by | Albert H. Tracy |
Personal details | |
Born | John Canfield Spencer January 8, 1788 Hudson, New York, U.S. |
Died | May 17, 1855 Albany, New York, U.S. | (aged 67)
Political party | Democratic-Republican (Before 1825) Whig (1825–1855) |
Spouse |
Elizabeth Scott Smith
(m. 1809) |
Relatives | Ambrose Spencer (Father) |
Education | Williams College Union College (BA) |
Military service | |
Allegiance | United States |
Branch/service | United States Army |
Years of service | 1812–1814 |
Battles/wars | War of 1812 |
John Canfield Spencer (January 8, 1788 – May 17, 1855) was an American lawyer, politician, judge and
After graduating from Union College in 1806, Spencer practiced law and held various positions, including master of chancery, postmaster, and attorney general. Spencer served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1817 to 1819 and the New York State Assembly and Senate in various years between 1820 and 1833. As an anti-Mason, he investigated the disappearance of William Morgan, which sparked the Anti-Masonic movement.
In 1841, President John Tyler appointed Spencer as Secretary of War, and in 1843, he became Secretary of the Treasury. Spencer faced challenges in his role as Treasury Secretary, including a deficit, tariffs, and the development of a plan for a Board of Exchequer. President Tyler nominated Spencer for open Associate Justice seats on the Supreme Court twice in 1844, but both attempts failed. Spencer resigned as Treasury Secretary in May 1844 and returned to Albany.
Spencer married Elizabeth Scott Smith in 1809, and they had several children, many of whom died young or under unfortunate circumstances.
Early life
John Canfield Spencer was born on January 8, 1788, in Hudson, New York. He was the oldest child of Ambrose Spencer, Chief Justice of the New York Supreme Court, and his first wife, Laura Canfield (1768–1807).[2] His sister, Abby Spencer (1790–1839), was married to Albany Mayor John Townsend.[3] His younger brother, William Augustus Spencer (1792–1854),[4] was married to Eleanora Eliza Lorillard (1801–1843), the daughter of Peter Abraham Lorillard.[5] His brother, Ambrose Spencer, Jr., was killed at the Battle of Lundy's Lane.[6]
After the death of his mother in 1807, his father married Mary Clinton (1773–1808) in 1808. Mary was the daughter of James Clinton and sister of New York Governor DeWitt Clinton.[2] After Mary's death later that same year, his father remarried again to Katherine Clinton (1778–1837), Mary's sister.[7]
He graduated from
Career
After commencing practice in Canandaigua, New York, in 1809, Spencer became a master of chancery in 1811.[8]
During the War of 1812, Spencer served in the United States Army where he was appointed brigade judge advocate general for the northern frontier.[1] He was postmaster of Canandaigua, New York in 1814, became assistant attorney general and district attorney for the five western counties of New York in 1815 and was elected a Democratic-Republican to the United States House of Representatives in 1816, serving from March 4, 1817, to March 3, 1819.[8] He was a member of the committee that reported unfavorably on the affairs of the Second Bank of the United States.[1]
In
In 1826, Spencer served as a
Federal government
In 1841,
In 1843, Spencer was appointed
On two occasions in 1844, President Tyler nominated Spencer to fill open
Personal life
In 1809, Spencer married Elizabeth Scott Smith (1789–1868). Together, they were the parents of several children, many of whom died in infancy or under unfortunate circumstances:[14]
- Mary Natalie Spencer (1810–1886), who married Henry Morris (1806-1854), son of Capt. Richard Valentine Morris and grandson of Lewis Morris, in 1831.[7]
- Laura Catherine Spencer (1812–1891), who married George W. Clinton (1807–1885), the 12th Mayor of Buffalo who was the son of DeWitt Clinton.[15]
- Eliza Abby Spencer (1815–1816), who died young.
- Ambrose Canfield Spencer (1817–1876), who was murdered in Linn, Missouri, in 1876.[16]
- John Canfield Spencer, Jr. (d. 1845)
- Philip Spencer (1823–1842), who was executed for mutiny in 1842.[16]
- DeWitt Clinton Spencer (1830–1836), who also died young.
In
He died in Albany, New York, on May 17, 1855. He was interred in Albany Rural Cemetery beside his wife, Elizabeth.[1]
Descendants
His grandson, through his daughter Mary, was Henry Lewis Morris (b. 1845), who married Anna Rutherfurd Russell,
His grandchildren, through his daughter Laura, included Elizabeth Spencer Clinton (1835-1918), Spencer Clinton (1839-1914), Catharine Clinton (1841-1881), and George Clinton (1846-1934).[21]
References
- Notes
- ^ a b c d e f g "SPENCER, John Canfield - Biographical Information". bioguide.congress.gov. Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved 15 August 2017.
- ^ a b Reynolds, Cuyler (1906). Albany Chronicles: A History of the City Arranged Chronologically, from the Earliest Settlement to the Present Time; Illustrated with Many Historical Pictures of Rarity and Reproductions of the Robert C. Pruyn Collection of the Mayors of Albany, Owned by the Albany Institute and Historical and Art Society. J. B. Lyon Company, printers. p. 448. Retrieved 14 August 2017.
- ^ "Lansing/Townsend/Spencer Family Papers 1717-1903" (PDF). albanyinstitute.org. Albany Institute of History & Art Library. January 2000. Retrieved 14 August 2017.
- ^ Bolton, Theodore; Cortelyou, Irwin F. (1955). Ezra Ames of Albany: Portrait Painter, Craftsman, Royal Arch Mason, Banker, 1768-1836. New-York Historical Society. Retrieved 15 August 2017.
- ^ History of the Buell Family in England: From the Remotest Times Ascertainable from Our Ancient Histories, and in America, from Town, Parish, Church and Family Records. Illustrated with Portraits and Coat Armorial. Society Library. 1881. pp. 216–217. Retrieved 14 August 2017.
- ISBN 9780807838877. Retrieved 15 August 2017.
- ^ a b c Bergen, Tunis Garret (1915). Genealogies of the State of New York: A Record of the Achievements of Her People in the Making of a Commonwealth and the Founding of a Nation. Lewis Historical Publishing Company. p. 1144. Retrieved 15 August 2017.
- ^ a b c d Crosby, D.D., L.L.D., editor, Howard (1889). The Encyclopædia Britannica: Supplement 1884-1889. 9th Edition. New York | Philadelphia | London: J. M. Stoddart. p. 554. Retrieved 15 August 2017.
{{cite book}}
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has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ ISBN 9780313280122. Retrieved 15 August 2017.
- ISBN 9780521859554. Retrieved 15 August 2017.
- ^ Colby, Frank Moore; Sandeman, George (1913). Nelson's Encyclopaedia: Everybody's Book of Reference ... Thomas Nelson. p. 370. Retrieved 15 August 2017.
- ISBN 9780160876356. Retrieved 15 August 2017.
- )
- ^ "Spencer, John C. (1788-1855), Papers, 1835-1843" (PDF). shsmo.org. The State Historical Society of Missouri. Retrieved 15 August 2017.
- ^ "STRICKEN IN A CEMETERY THE SUDDEN DEATH OF VICE CHANCELLOR CLINTON: STRUCK BY APOPLEXY WHILE ENGAGED INA BOTANICAL EXPEDITION — THE STORY OF A USEFUL LIFE". The New York Times. September 8, 1885. Retrieved 9 August 2016.
- ^ a b "COL. SPENCER'S MURDER.; HIS LIFE AND FAMILY HISTORY. INTERESTING REMINISCENCES OF THE MURDERED MAN THE SON OF PRESIDENTTYLER'S SECRETARY OF WAR HISBROTHER HANGED AT THE YARD-ARM OFA BRIG IN 1842". The New York Times. April 24, 1876. p. 5. Retrieved 14 August 2017.
- ISBN 9781623760311. Retrieved 15 August 2017.
- ^ Social Register, New York. Social Register Association. 1901. p. 303. Retrieved 15 August 2017.
- ^ The American Historical Magazine. The Publishing Society of New York. 1906. pp. 435–436. Retrieved 15 August 2017.
- ^ "116 EAST 80TH STREET HOUSE (formerly Lewis Spencer Morris House)" (PDF). nyc.gov. Landmarks Preservation Commission. January 24, 1967. Retrieved 15 August 2017.
- ^ MEMORIAL AND FAMILY HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY NEW YORK, Volume I. 419-421 Lafayette Street: Winthrop Press. 1906–1908. Retrieved 15 August 2017.
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: CS1 maint: location (link)
- Sources
- John Canfield Spencer at the United States Army
- John Canfield Spencer at the United States Department of the Treasury
- "July 17 - Interview with John Canfield Spencer". In Search of Tocqueville. C-SPAN. Archived from the original on 4 November 2012. Retrieved 7 March 2016.
External links
- Media related to John Canfield Spencer at Wikimedia Commons
- United States Congress. "John Canfield Spencer (id: S000727)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
- Works by John Canfield Spencer at Project Gutenberg
- Works by or about John Canfield Spencer at Internet Archive
- John Canfield Spencer letter, c. 1848–1854, at the New York Public Library
- John Canfield Spencer at Find a Grave