Rufus Wheeler Peckham (politician)

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Inscription on the Peckham Cenotaph in Albany Rural Cemetery

Rufus Wheeler Peckham (born December 20, 1809 in Rensselaerville , New York , † November 22, 1873 ) was an American lawyer and politician . Between 1853 and 1855 he represented the state of New York in the US House of Representatives .

Life

Rufus Wheeler Peckham was born and raised in Rensselaerville, Albany County , about three years before the outbreak of the British-American War . He was one of five children of Peleg Benjamin Peckham and his wife Desire Watson.

He completed his preliminary studies. In 1827 he graduated from Union College in Schenectady . He studied law . He was admitted to the bar in 1830 and then began practicing in Albany . Between 1838 and 1841 he was a district attorney in Albany County. Politically, he belonged to the Democratic Party .

In the congressional elections of 1852 for the 33rd Congress he was elected to the US House of Representatives in Washington, DC in the 14th Congressional constituency of New York , where he succeeded John H. Boyd on March 4, 1853 . He retired from the after March 3, 1855 Congress of. As a congressman, he chaired the Committee on Revolutionary Claims .

Peckham married Isabella Adaline Lacey in 1831, with whom he had three sons. Isabella died in 1848 at the age of 35. His second marriage was to Mary Elizabeth Foote.

After his time at Congress he went back to his practice as a lawyer. He became a judge on the New York Supreme Court for the Third Judicial District of New York - a position he held between 1861 and 1869. As an associate judge ( associate judge ) at the Court of Appeals , he served from May 17, 1870 until his death. On November 22, 1873, Peckham and his wife Mary died in the sinking of the French ocean liner Ville du Havre in the Atlantic Ocean.

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personal data
SURNAME Peckham, Rufus Wheeler
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American lawyer and politician
DATE OF BIRTH December 20, 1809
PLACE OF BIRTH Rensselaerville , New York
DATE OF DEATH November 22, 1873