Erastus Cornelius Benedict (March 19, 1800 – October 22, 1880) was an American lawyer and politician from New York.

Life

He was born on March 19, 1800, in Branford,

New Haven County, Connecticut New Haven County is a county in the south central part of the U.S. state of Connecticut. As of the 2020 census, the population was 864,835, making it the third-most populous county in Connecticut. Two of the state's top 5 largest cities, New ...

, the son of Rev. Joel Tyler Benedict (1772–1833) and Currance (Wheeler) Benedict (1772–1862). He attended the common schools, and then taught school. He graduated from

Williams College Williams College is a private liberal arts college in Williamstown, Massachusetts. It was established as a men's college in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim Williams, a colonist from the Province of Massachusetts Bay who was kill ...

in 1821. Then he taught school again, and studied law. He was admitted to the bar in 1824, and practiced in New York City. On May 7, 1833, he married Caroline Margaret Bloodgood (1809–1886), and they had two children. He was an Assistant Alderman (15th Ward) of New York City in 1841; a member of the New York State Assembly (New York Co., 13th D.) in

1848 1848 is historically famous for the wave of revolutions, a series of widespread struggles for more liberal governments, which broke out from Brazil to Hungary; although most failed in their immediate aims, they significantly altered the polit ...

; a member of the New York City Board of Education from 1850 to 1863; and a Regent of the

University of the State of New York The University of the State of New York (USNY, ) is the state of New York's governmental umbrella organization for both public and private institutions in New York State. The "university" is not an educational institution: it is, in fact, a lic ...

from 1855 until his death. He was again a member of the State Assembly (New York Co., 7th D.) in 1864; and a member of the New York State Senate (5th D.) in

1872 Events January–March * January 12 – Yohannes IV is crowned Emperor of Ethiopia in Axum, the first ruler crowned in that city in over 500 years. * February 2 – The government of the United Kingdom buys a number of forts on ...

and

1873 Events January–March * January 1 ** Japan adopts the Gregorian calendar. ** The California Penal Code goes into effect. * January 17 – American Indian Wars: Modoc War: First Battle of the Stronghold – Modoc Indians defe ...

. After the death of

John V. L. Pruyn John Van Schaick Lansing Pruyn (June 22, 1811 – November 21, 1877) was a lawyer, businessman and politician from Albany, New York. His business ventures included banking and railroads, often in partnership with longtime friend Erastus Corning, ...

, Benedict was elected Chancellor of USNY in January 1878. He died on October 22, 1880, in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

; and was buried at the

Green-Wood Cemetery Green-Wood Cemetery is a cemetery in the western portion of Brooklyn, New York City. The cemetery is located between South Slope/ Greenwood Heights, Park Slope, Windsor Terrace, Borough Park, Kensington, and Sunset Park, and lies several blo ...

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

. His niece, Margaret Bloodgood Peeke, was an author.

Sources

''Life Sketches of Executive Officers and Members of the Legislature of the State of New York''
by William H. McElroy & Alexander McBride (1873; pg. 57ff) -book
''Manual of the Corporation of New York''
by Joseph Shannon (1869; pg. 592)

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Benedict, Erastus C 1800 births 1880 deaths New York (state) state senators New York (state) Republicans Members of the New York State Assembly New York (state) Whigs 19th-century American politicians New York City Council members Williams College alumni Regents of the University of the State of New York Burials at Green-Wood Cemetery People from Branford, Connecticut