Albert Haller Tracy (June 17, 1793 – September 19, 1859) was an American lawyer and politician from

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

Life

Tracy pursued

classical studies Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...

, and later studied

medicine Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pr ...

. In 1811, Tracy removed to

, where he stopped studying medicine and studied

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...

. He was admitted to the bar in 1815, commenced practice in Buffalo, and became a prominent attorney. In 1825, Tracy married Harriet Foote Norton, daughter of Ebenezer F. Norton, a New York state Assemblyman and later U.S. Representative. The couple had two sons: Albert Haller Tracy (b. 1834) and Francis Walsingham Tracy (b. 1839). Tracy was elected as a

Democratic-Republican The Democratic-Republican Party, known at the time as the Republican Party and also referred to as the Jeffersonian Republican Party among other names, was an American political party founded by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in the early ...

to the 16th, 17th and

18th United States Congress The 18th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1823, ...

es, holding office from March 4, 1819, to March 3, 1825. He was Chairman of the Committee on Expenditures in the Department of the Treasury (17th Congress). In February 1825, Tracy was brought forward as a compromise candidate for

U.S. Senator from New York Below is a list of U.S. senators who have represented the State of New York in the United States Senate since 1789. The date of the start of the tenure is either the first day of the legislative term (Senators who were elected regularly before th ...

, and was nominated by resolution in the State Senate, but the different majority in the State Assembly refused to concur, and nobody was elected. In March 1826, Tracy was appointed as Judge of the Eighth Circuit Court, but declined to take office. He was 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 ...

from 1830 to 1838, and was aligned politically with the Anti-Masons and later the Whigs. Tracy sat in the 53rd, 54th, 55th, 56th, 57th, 58th, 59th and

60th New York State Legislature The 60th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 3 to May 16, 1837, during the fifth year of William L. Marcy's governorship, in Albany. Background Under the provis ...

s. Tracy was involved in business and cultural organizations within Buffalo throughout his life. He was one of the nine original members of the Buffalo Harbor Company, which was organized in 1819. Tracy was a member of the first board of directors of the branch of the United States Bank, which was established in Buffalo in 1826. He was one of the incorporators in 1846 of the

University at Buffalo The State University of New York at Buffalo, commonly called the University at Buffalo (UB) and sometimes called SUNY Buffalo, is a public research university with campuses in Buffalo and Amherst, New York. The university was founded in 1846 ...

. Tracy was also the president of the Buffalo Water Works Company from 1855 to 1859. He died in Buffalo on September 19, 1859, and was buried at Forest Lawn Cemetery.

Family

Albert Tracy was the son of Dr. Philemon Tracy (1757–1837, a physician) and Abigail (Trott) Tracy. Congressman

Phineas L. Tracy Phineas Lyman Tracy (December 25, 1786 – December 22, 1876) was a U.S. Representative from New York, brother of Albert Haller Tracy. Born in Norwich, Connecticut, Tracy graduated from Yale College in 1806. He engaged in teaching for two ye ...

was his brother.

Sources

''The New York Civil List''
compiled by Franklin Benjamin Hough (pages 71, 128ff, 146 and 356; Weed, Parsons and Co., 1858)
''Genealogy of the Family of Lt. Thomas Tracy, of Norwich Connecticut''
by Matilda O. Abbey (pages 101, 118ff and 125) ncorrectly gives September 12 as death date*

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tracy, Albert Haller 1793 births 1859 deaths Politicians from Norwich, Connecticut New York (state) Whigs 19th-century American politicians New York (state) state senators Politicians from Buffalo, New York Anti-Masonic Party politicians from New York (state) Democratic-Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state) Burials at Forest Lawn Cemetery (Buffalo)

Life

Family

See also

Sources

References