Diedrich Willers

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Diedrich Willers junior (born November 3, 1833 in Varick , New York , † June 25, 1908 there ) was an American politician ( Democratic Party ). He was Secretary of State of New York from 1874 to 1876 .

Early years

Diedrich Willers junior, sixth of eight children of the Reverend and Doctor of Divinity Diedrich Willers (1798-1883), a German immigrant from Bremen , was born in Seneca County (New York) in 1833 . His father fought in the Hanoverian army in 1815 during the Battle of Waterloo . In 1819 he immigrated to Baltimore ( Maryland ). He began preaching in various Seneca County wards in 1821. In this context he was a major critic of Mormonism . His mother was in New Holland ( Pennsylvania born). She was descended from Pennsylvania Dutch .

Diedrich Willers junior's youth were difficult. They were overshadowed by the economic crisis of 1837 and the Mexican-American War . His time was divided between working on the family farm in the summer and attending the district schools in winter. With the exception of two semesters at Seneca Falls Academy , he attended no other school than the district school. At the age of 16 he started teaching at the district school and at the age of 22 he went to the printing trade , but had to give it up again because of his poor health.

Political career

After his father, he was supposed to take up a clerical position, but his interest in politics became apparent early on. Willers contrived over time a degree in law at Albany Law School to obtain. He was admitted to the bar but never actively practiced as an attorney. At the age of 21 he supported Greene C. Bronson as a hard-shell Democrat in 1854 in his candidacy for governor of New York, which was defeated by Whig Myron H. Clark . Willers was appointed trainee lawyer by Secretary of State of New York Gideon J. Tucker in 1857 . He held the post during the tenures of his successors, David R. Floyd-Jones and Horatio Ballard, until 1863, when the Governor of New York Horatio Seymour appointed him his private secretary.

He later returned to farming in Varick. During this time he chaired the Board of Supervisors in 1865 and 1866 . President Andrew Johnson appointed him second auditor in the Treasury in March 1867 . For this, Willers moved to Washington, DC , but returned to New York after the success of the Democrats in the state elections in 1867, where he was appointed Deputy Secretary of State. In 1871 he ran for the post of Secretary of State of New York despite objections from nearly everyone because of his age or the direction of party politicians. He suffered a defeat to Republican G. Hilton Scribner . Willers ran again for Secretary of State in 1873 and won this time. He sat in the New York State Assembly for Seneca County in 1878 .

Willers became Deputy Secretary of State under Frederick Cook - a post he held until his resignation in late 1889. In the same year, 1889, there was talk of a renewed nomination of Willers for the post of Secretary of State. But he decided against this because of his deteriorating health.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Diedrich Willers Dead , The New York Times, June 26, 1908
  2. ↑ a b c d e H.H. Boone and Theodore Pease Cook: Life Sketches of Government Officers and Members of the Legislature of the State of New York ... , J. Munsell, 1875
  3. ↑ Quinn, D. Michael, trans. and ed .: The First Months of Mormonism: A Contemporary View by Rev. Diedrich Willers , New York History, July 1973, pp. 317–333
  4. ↑ Nymonroe - Diedrich Willers junior
  5. ↑ Gov. Hill Interferes , The New York Times, November 29, 1889
  6. ↑ Mr. Willers Not A Candidate , The New York Times, September 18, 1889
personal data
SURNAME Willers, Diedrich
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Willers, Diedrich junior (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American politician (Democratic Party)
DATE OF BIRTH November 3, 1833
PLACE OF BIRTH Varick , New York
DATE OF DEATH June 25, 1908
Place of death Varick , New York