Edward Sanford (1805 – 1876) was an American lawyer, poet, essayist, political writer and politician from New York.

Life

He was the son of Chancellor

Nathan Sanford Nathan Sanford (November 5, 1777 – October 17, 1838) was an American politician. Early life Sanford was born on November 5, 1777, in Bridgehampton, New York. He was the son of Thomas Sanford and Phebe (née Baker) Sanford, a family of farme ...

(1777–1838). He graduated from

Union College Union College is a private liberal arts college in Schenectady, New York. Founded in 1795, it was the first institution of higher learning chartered by the New York State Board of Regents, and second in the state of New York, after Columbia Co ...

in 1824. Then he studied law with Benjamin F. Butler, and was admitted to the bar in 1825. He practiced law for a few years, but abandoned this to become a writer and newspaper editor. Edward Sanford 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 ...

(New York Co.) in 1843 and 1844; 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 ...

(1st D.) in

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' ...

and 1847. In the

New York state election, 1847 The 1847 New York state election was held on November 2, 1847, to elect the lieutenant governor, the secretary state, the state comptroller, the attorney general, the state treasurer, the state engineer, three Canal Commissioners and three In ...

, he ran on the Democratic and Anti-Rent tickets for

Secretary of State of New York The secretary of state of New York is a cabinet officer in the government of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York who leads the New York State Department of State, Department of State (NYSDOS). The current secretary of state of New York ...

, but was defeated by Whig Christopher Morgan. His sister Mary Sanford (1814–1841) was married to State Senator

Peter Gansevoort Peter Gansevoort (July 17, 1749 – July 2, 1812) was a Colonel in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. He is best known for leading the resistance to Barry St. Leger's Siege of Fort Stanwix in 1777. Gansevoort was also ...

(1788–1876).

Sources

''The New York Civil List''
compiled by Franklin Benjamin Hough (pages 135, 145, 227, 229 and 301; Weed, Parsons and Co., 1858)
''Edward Sanford''
in ''Cyclopaedia of American Literature'' by Evert A. & George L. Duyckinck (Charles Scribner, New York City, 1856; Vol. II, pg. 406–412) {{DEFAULTSORT:Sanford, Edward 1805 births 1876 deaths Democratic Party New York (state) state senators Democratic Party members of the New York State Assembly Union College (New York) alumni 19th-century American politicians