Chauncey Boughton (January 21, 1805 – April 3, 1895) was an American physician and politician from New York.

Life

Boughton was born on January 21, 1805, in Nassau, New York, the son of John Boughton and Elizabeth Roberts. Boughton initially considered a career in law, but when he was seventeen he began studying medicine in the Fairfield Medical College. He began practicing medicine when he was twenty-one, initially practicing in Mechanicville. He moved to

Halfmoon The halfmoon (''Medialuna californiensis''), also known as the blue perch, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a sea chub from the subfamily Scorpidinae, part of the family Kyphosidae. It is native to the coasts of the eastern Pacific Ocean ...

shortly afterwards and practiced medicine with his brother-in-law Dr. William Shaw. He attended lectures in New York City and Philadelphia in 1833, returning home and resuming his practice later that year. Until 1845, he spent nearly twenty years active in military affairs, serving as sergeant, major, lieutenant colonel, and colonel for the 144th Regiment of Infantry. Boughton held various town offices, including

town supervisor The administrative divisions of New York are the various units of government that provide local services in the State of New York. The state is divided into boroughs, counties, cities, townships called "towns", and villages. (The only borou ...

. He was initially a Free Soil Whig, but later came to support the American Party. He was 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 ...

1846 Events January–March * January 5 – The United States House of Representatives votes to stop sharing the Oregon Country with the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom. * January 13 – The Milan–Venice railway' ...

, serving as one of the two representatives of

Saratoga County Saratoga County is a county in the U.S. state of New York, and is the fastest-growing county in Upstate New York. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the county's population was enumerated at 235,509, representing a 7.2% increase from the 2010 popul ...

. He was re-elected to the Assembly in 1857 with support from the American and

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

Parties, representing the Saratoga County 1st District. He served again in the Assembly in

1858 Events January–March * January – **Benito Juárez (1806–1872) becomes Liberal President of Mexico. At the same time, conservatives install Félix María Zuloaga (1813–1898) as president. **William I of Prussia becomes regent f ...

and

1859 Events January–March * January 21 – José Mariano Salas (1797–1867) becomes Conservative interim President of Mexico. * January 24 ( O. S.) – Wallachia and Moldavia are united under Alexandru Ioan Cuza (Romania since 1866, final u ...

. Boughton was president of the board of education and active in organizing the Halfmoon Academy. He had a 300-acre farm in Halfmoon. He was interested in

Crescent Bridge Crescent Bridge (also known as the Bridge 6) is a bridge over the Mohawk River and the Erie Canal. It is in Crescent, New York, a hamlet in the town of Halfmoon in southern Saratoga County on the northern side of the Mohawk River. The Crescent B ...

for over thirty years, serving as its vice-president for twenty-seven years and then as its president and replacing the original wooden bridge with an iron bridge. He later moved to

Waterford "Waterford remains the untaken city" , mapsize = 220px , pushpin_map = Ireland#Europe , pushpin_map_caption = Location within Ireland##Location within Europe , pushpin_relief = 1 , coordinates ...

following his retirement. He was a member of the school board there, and during his presidency there from 1865 to 1887 he introduced regents and enlarged the old schoolhouse. He was director of the Waterford bank for thirty years and its vice-president when it was robbed in 1871. An active

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compete ...

since he was twenty-one, Boughton helped build the Baptist church in Halfmoon, was superintendent of the Waterford Baptist Sunday school for thirty years, and at one point was in charge of two Sunday schools in Waterford and a third in Northside. A strong supporter of the

temperance movement The temperance movement is a social movement promoting temperance or complete abstinence from consumption of alcoholic beverages. Participants in the movement typically criticize alcohol intoxication or promote teetotalism, and its leaders emph ...

, he was a member, state deputy, and deputy to the grand chief templar of the

International Organisation of Good Templars The International Organisation of Good Templars (IOGT; founded as the Independent Order of Good Templars), whose international body is known as Movendi International, is a fraternal organization which is part of the temperance movement, promotin ...

. He was a member of the

Freemasons Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

and the

Knights Templar , colors = White mantle with a red cross , colors_label = Attire , march = , mascot = Two knights riding a single horse , equipment ...

. In 1828, he married Ida J. Smith of

Vergennes, Vermont Vergennes is a city located in the northwest quadrant of Addison County, Vermont, United States. The municipality is bordered by the towns of Ferrisburgh, Panton, and Waltham. As of the 2020 census, its population was 2,553. It is the smalle ...

. Their children were Esther Margaret, Margaret Esther, and Smith C. Boughton died from

apoplexy Apoplexy () is rupture of an internal organ and the accompanying symptoms. The term formerly referred to what is now called a stroke. Nowadays, health care professionals do not use the term, but instead specify the anatomic location of the bleedi ...

on April 3, 1895. He was buried in the Waterford Rural Cemetery.

References

External links

*
The Political Graveyard
' {{DEFAULTSORT:Boughton, Chauncey 1805 births 1895 deaths People from Rensselaer County, New York People from Halfmoon, New York People from Waterford, New York 19th-century American physicians Physicians from New York (state) Town supervisors in New York (state) New York (state) Whigs New York (state) Know Nothings New York (state) Republicans Members of the New York State Assembly School board members in New York (state) Baptists from New York (state) American temperance activists American Freemasons Burials in Saratoga County, New York International Organisation of Good Templars