Benjamin Welch Jr. (c. 1818 – April 14, 1863) was an American politician.

Life

He studied law with Judge Mann in

Utica, New York Utica () is a Administrative divisions of New York, city in the Mohawk Valley and the county seat of Oneida County, New York, United States. The List of cities in New York, tenth-most-populous city in New York State, its population was 65,283 ...

. Afterwards he edited the ''Utica Democrat'' and then the ''Buffalo Republican'' at

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from South ...

. In

1849 Events January–March * January 1 – France begins issue of the Ceres series, the nation's first postage stamps. * January 5 – Hungarian Revolution of 1848: The Austrian army, led by Alfred I, Prince of Windisch-Grätz, enters in th ...

, he ran for State Treasurer on the Democratic ticket but was defeated by the Whig/ Anti-Rent candidate

Alvah Hunt Alvah Hunt (c. 1798 Seekonk, Bristol County, Massachusetts – October 28, 1858 New York City) was an American merchant and politician. Life He lived at Greene, Chenango County, New York, where he married Anna Birdsall (d. 1878). He was a mem ...

. In

1851 Events January–March * January 11 – Hong Xiuquan officially begins the Taiping Rebellion. * January 15 – Christian Female College, modern-day Columbia College, receives its charter from the Missouri General Assembly. ...

, he ran again on the Democratic ticket for

New York State Treasurer The New York State Treasurer was a state cabinet officer in the State of New York between 1776 and 1926. During the re-organization of the state government under Governor Al Smith, the office was abolished and its responsibilities transferred to the ...

. This time he was defeated by James M. Cook by a margin of only 228 votes (200,693 for Cook; 200,465 for Welch Jr.), but he contested successfully the election on the ground that the ballots cast for "B. Welch", "Benjamin Welch" (without the "Jr.") and "Benjamin C. Welch Jr." (with erroneous middle initial) had not been counted, but had been cast for him. On November 20, 1852, he succeeded to the office for the remainder of the term. In 1855, he joined the American Party, and later the

Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa *Republican Party (Liberia) * Republican Part ...

. In 1859, he was appointed Commissary-General of the State Militia by Governor

Edwin D. Morgan Edwin Denison Morgan (February 8, 1811February 14, 1883) was the 21st governor of New York from 1859 to 1862 and served in the United States Senate from 1863 to 1869. He was the first and longest-serving chairman of the Republican National Comm ...

. In 1862 he joined the staff of General John Pope, but soon after contracted a disease of which he died on April 14, 1863, in Clifton Springs,

Ontario County, New York Ontario County is a county in the U.S. State of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 112,458. The county seat is Canandaigua. Ontario County is part of the Rochester, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area. In 2006, ''Progressive ...

Sources

Official state canvass, in NYT on January 1, 1852
Google Books
''The New York Civil List'' compiled by Franklin Benjamin Hough (page 35; Weed, Parsons and Co., 1858)

Know Nothing convention, in NYT on May 10, 1855

Appointed Commissary-General, in NYT on January 13, 1859

''The People vs. James M. Cook'' in ''Reports of Cases in Law and Equity in the Supreme Court of the State of New York'' by Oliver L. Barbour (Vol. XIV, pages 259ff; Gould, Banks & Co., Albany NY, 1853)

''The Military and Naval History of the Rebellion in the United States'' by William Jewett Tenney (1865; page 749) {{DEFAULTSORT:Welch, Benjamin Jr. 1810 births 1863 deaths New York State Treasurers Politicians from Buffalo, New York American newspaper editors Politicians from Utica, New York New York (state) Democrats New York (state) Know Nothings 19th-century American politicians New York (state) Republicans People from Clifton Springs, New York 19th-century American journalists American male journalists 19th-century American male writers Journalists from New York (state)