Elbert Floyd-Jones (February 7, 1817 – February 17, 1901) was an American politician.

Early life

A descendant of an old

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...

family, he was born at the family mansion on the Fort Neck estate in South Oyster Bay, New York (then

Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

, now Nassau County). He was the youngest son of Brig.-Gen. Thomas Floyd-Jones (1788–1851) and Cornelia Haring ( Jones) Floyd-Jones (1796–1839). Among his siblings were Lt.-Gov. of New York

David R. Floyd-Jones David Richard Floyd-Jones (April 6, 1813 – January 8, 1871) was an American lawyer and politician. Early life A descendant of an old Long Island family, he was born at the family mansion on the Fort Neck estate in South Oyster Bay, New York ( ...

, merchant William Floyd-Jones, and Sarah Maria Floyd-Jones (wife of Coleman Williams). His paternal grandparents were David Richard Floyd-Jones and Sarah ( Onderdonk) Floyd-Jones and his maternal grandfather was Maj. William Jones. Among his extended family was his uncle,

New York State Senator 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 compo ...

Henry Floyd-Jones Henry Onderdonk Floyd-Jones (January 3, 1792 — December 20, 1862) was an American politician from New York. Life He was born at the family mansion on the Fort Neck estate in South Oyster Bay, New York (then Queens, now Nassau County) as the so ...

, and first cousin, Col.

DeLancey Floyd-Jones DeLancey Floyd-Jones (January 20, 1826 – January 19, 1902) was a career officer in the United States Army, serving in the Mexican–American War and the American Civil War, as well as on frontier duty in the Old West. Early career DeLance ...

. He was a descendant of

William Floyd William Floyd (December 17, 1734 – August 4, 1821) was an American Founding Father, wealthy farmer, and political leader from New York. Floyd served as a delegate to the Continental Congress and was a signer of the Continental Association and ...

, signer of the

Declaration of Independence A declaration of independence or declaration of statehood or proclamation of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of the ...

, and Maj. Thomas Jones who owned what is known today as Jones Beach. Floyd-Jones devoted his early years to "agricultural pursuits and the raising of fine

trotting horse Harness racing is a form of horse racing in which the horses race at a specific gait (a trot or a pace). They usually pull a two-wheeled cart called a sulky, or spider, or chariot occupied by a driver. In Europe, and less frequently in Australia ...

s."

Career

In 1845, Floyd-Jones served as a Democratic 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 ...

, representing all of Queens County, which extended from the

East River The East River is a saltwater tidal estuary in New York City. The waterway, which is actually not a river despite its name, connects Upper New York Bay on its south end to Long Island Sound on its north end. It separates the borough of Queens ...

to Suffolk County, during the

68th New York State Legislature The 68th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 7 to May 14, 1845, during the first year of Silas Wright's governorship, in Albany. Background Under the provisions ...

. During the

U.S. 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 ...

, Floyd-Jones was an ardent supporter of the

Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

, and was a "candidate for the Vice Presidency of the United States." He was again a member of the Assembly in the years 1877 and 1878 in the 100th and

101st New York State Legislature The 101st New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 1 to May 15, 1878, during the second year of Lucius Robinson's governorship, in Albany. Background Under the provis ...

s. By this time, Queen County was split into two districts and he represented District 1. Following the death of

Benjamin D. Silliman Benjamin Douglas Silliman (September 14, 1805 – January 24, 1901) was an American lawyer and politician from New York. Life Silliman was born on September 14, 1805, in Newport, Rhode Island, son of Gold Selleck Silliman and Hepsa Ely. His pa ...

on January 24, 1901, Floyd-Jones became the oldest living former-member of the Assembly.

Personal life

During his lifetime, Floyd-Jones was married four times. His first was marriage was on June 5, 1838 to Emily Glentworth (1815–1845), daughter of Dr. Plunket Fleeson Glentworth and Harriet Straker ( Budden) Glentworth. Together, they were the parents of: * Cornelia Floyd-Jones (1839–1890), who married Richard Van Wyck Thorne. * Thomas Floyd-Jones (1841–1919), who married Julia Haines. * George Floyd-Jones (1842–1927), who married Antoinette Wood, a daughter of Royal and Charlotte ( Kortright) Wood, in 1986. * Emily Glentworth Floyd-Jones (1845–1923), who married Howard Malcolm Giles in 1869. His second marriage was on January 25, 1848 to Mary Caroline Wigham (1828–1867), a daughter of Isaac Wigham and Mary ( Seaman) Wigham of New York City. Together, they were the parents of: * William Floyd-Jones (1851–1857), who died young. * Mary Wigham Floyd-Jones (1853–1855), who died young. * Elizabeth Underhill Floyd-Jones (b. 1858) * Edward Pearsall Floyd-Jones (b. 1860) * Arthur Floyd-Jones * Elbert Floyd-Jones (b. 1867). He married thirdly on October 21, 1869 to Martha A. Thorne (1836–1870), daughter of Mr. Thorne and Sarah ( Townsend) Thorne. Together, they were the parents of: * Sarah Thorne Floyd-Jones (1870–1870), who died young. On January 17, 1872, he married for the fourth time to Elizabeth Morrison Smith (1838–1916), daughter of Jeremiah and Emily Smith of New York. He had an estate on his family's property in

Massapequa, New York Massapequa (, ) is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the Town of Oyster Bay in Nassau County, on the South Shore of Long Island, in New York, United States. It is considered the anchor community of the Greater Massapequa area. The p ...

(also known as South Oyster Bay), and for many years, spent his winters at the Park Avenue Hotel in New York City. He was responsible for construction of Old Grace Church in 1844. Floyd-Jones died at the Park Avenue Hotel in New York City on February 17, 1901. He was buried in the Floyd-Jones family cemetery in Massapequa. After his death, his estate on South Country road was sold to Senator James H. McCabe. The house was destroyed by fire in 1926 as a result of the a Fourth of July fireworks celebration.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Floyd-Jones, Elbert 1817 births 1901 deaths Democratic Party members of the New York State Assembly 19th-century American politicians