Albert Gallatin Dow (August 16, 1808 Plainfield, then in Cheshire Co., now in

Sullivan County, New Hampshire Sullivan County is a county in the U.S. state of New Hampshire. As of the 2020 census, the population was 43,063, making it the second-least populous county in New Hampshire. Its county seat is Newport. Sullivan County is included in the Cl ...

– May 23, 1908) was an American merchant, banker and politician from New York.

Life

He was the son of Solomon Dow (died 1822) and Phebe Dow. The family removed to Hartland, Vermont, in 1811; and to a farm about nine miles from

Batavia, New York Batavia is a city in and the county seat of Genesee County, New York, United States. It is near the center of the county, surrounded by the Town of Batavia, which is a separate municipality. Batavia's population as of the 2020 census was 15,6 ...

in 1816. He attended the common schools, and then became a store clerk. In 1827, he removed to

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cos ...

, and the next year to Silver Creek where he ran first a shoe and leather shop, then a hardware store. On October 4, 1829, he married Freelove Mason (1806–1847), and they had five children. In 1845, he removed to

Randolph Randolph may refer to: Places In the United States * Randolph, Alabama, an unincorporated community * Randolph, Arizona, a populated place * Randolph, California, a village merged into the city of Brea * Randolph, Illinois, an unincorporated commun ...

, and ran there a dry-goods store and a hardware store. On April 23, 1850, he married Lydia Ann Mason (1814–1891), a sister of his first wife, and they had a son. From 1860 on, he engaged in banking, and from 1881 to 1890 was President of the First National Bank of Salamanca. He entered politics as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

, became a War Democrat at the beginning of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

, and remained a Republican thereafter. He was Supervisor of the Town of Randolph in 1851, 1853, 1856 to 1859, and 1862; a member of the

New York State Assembly The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits. The Assem ...

(Cattaraugus Co., 2nd D.) in

1863 Events January–March * January 1 – Abraham Lincoln signs the Emancipation Proclamation during the third year of the American Civil War, making the abolition of slavery in the Confederate states an official war goal. It proclaims t ...

and

1864 Events January–March * January 13 – American songwriter Stephen Foster ("Oh! Susanna", "Old Folks at Home") dies aged 37 in New York City, leaving a scrap of paper reading "Dear friends and gentle hearts". His parlor song " ...

; and a member of the

New York State Senate The New York State Senate is the upper house of the New York State Legislature; the New York State Assembly is its lower house. Its members are elected to two-year terms; there are no term limits. There are 63 seats in the Senate. Partisan com ...

(32nd D.) in

1874 Events January–March * January 1 – New York City annexes The Bronx. * January 2 – Ignacio María González becomes head of state of the Dominican Republic for the first time. * January 3 – Third Carlist War &ndas ...

and

1875 Events January–March * January 1 – The Midland Railway of England abolishes the Second Class passenger category, leaving First Class and Third Class. Other British railway companies follow Midland's lead during the rest of the ...

. He died on May 23, 1908, aged 99, and was buried at the Randolph Cemetery.

Sources

''Biographical Sketches of the State Officers and the Members of the Legislature of the State of New York in 1862 and '63''
by William D. Murphy (1863)
''Life Sketches of Government Officers and Members of the Legislature of the State of New York in 1875''
by W. H. McElroy and Alexander McBride (pg. 57f) -book
''The New York Civil List''
compiled by Franklin Benjamin Hough, Stephen C. Hutchins and Edgar Albert Werner (1870; pg. 497 and 499)
''Albert Gallatin Dow (1808–1908)''
(e-book)

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dow, Albert G 1808 births 1908 deaths Republican Party New York (state) state senators Republican Party members of the New York State Assembly People from Randolph, New York People from Plainfield, New Hampshire Town supervisors in New York (state) American bankers People from Silver Creek, New York 19th-century American legislators 19th-century American businesspeople