Jesse Buel

Jesse Buel

Jesse Buel (born January 4, 1778 in Coventry , Connecticut , † October 6, 1839 in Danbury , Connecticut) was an American printer , newspaper owner, judge and politician .

Career

Jesse Buel moved at the age of twelve years with his family to Rutland ( Vermont ), where he started two years later trained as a printer. After his training, he worked as a journeyman for newspapers in New York City and in upstate New York . Finally he began to publish his own newspapers in 1797 and operated until 1821. During this time he brought out newspapers in Lansingburgh , Troy , Poughkeepsie , Kingston and Albany , where he was employed as a state printer during his stay in Albany. By then he had built a considerable reputation as an editor and made a substantial fortune.

Then he devoted himself to improving American agriculture . He was of the opinion that this was uneconomical, too often the soil was depleted due to successive cultivation, as with the cotton plantations in the southern states . To counteract this, Buel set up an experimental farm on 85 acres west of Albany. There he used scientific farming methods including deep plowing, drainage, the use of native crops as fertilizer, and crop rotation. The farm became extremely productive and soon became known as the Albany Nursery . After proving how successful his farming methods were, he advocated their dissemination.

Buel became a member of the New York State Assembly in 1823 . Then he served as New York Secretary of Agriculture. In this position he campaigned for the creation of state agricultural schools and was instrumental in founding the state Agricultural Society in 1832 , of which he became the first recording secretary . In 1834 he began to publish the Cultivator , a well-known agricultural magazine. This had a major impact on farmers and led to effective improvements.

Two years later he ran unsuccessfully as a Whig for governor of New York. He also served as a judge for many years and, shortly before his death, as regent at State University .

Works

• Farmer's Instructor
• Farmer's Companion, or Essays on the Principles and Practice of American Husbandry

Remarks

1. ^ Member of the board of directors of a university

Web links

• Biography on the Virtual American Biographies page