Esbon Blackmar (June 19, 1805 – November 19, 1857) was an American politician and a Whig Party

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

from New York.

Biography

Born in

Freehold, New York Freehold is a hamlet in the town of Greenville in Greene County, New York, United States. It has the ZIP Code 12431, and its own fire district. The hamlet is centered on the junction of New York State Route 32 and Greene County Route 67. ...

, Blackmar was the son of Abel and Polly Trowbridge Blackmar. He attended local schools, and moved to

Wayne County, New York Wayne County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 91,283. The county seat is Lyons. The name honors General Anthony Wayne, an American Revolutionary War hero and American statesman. Wayne Coun ...

in 1826, living first in

Arcadia, New York Arcadia is a town in Wayne County, New York, United States. The population was 14,244 at the 2010 census. The Town of Arcadia is on the south border of the county and is east of Rochester, New York. The primary postal district covering the Town ...

and later in

Newark, New York Newark is a village in Wayne County, New York, United States, south east of Rochester and west of Syracuse. The population was 9,017 at the 2020 census. The Village of Newark is in the south part of the Town of Arcadia and is in the south of W ...

. He married Arabella Reed and they had two children, Jane Augusta, and Frank.

Career

Blackmar was a merchant and farmer in partnership with his brother, and their endeavors included buying and selling grain and produce, boat building, and shipping grain and other commodities on the

Erie Canal The Erie Canal is a historic canal in upstate New York that runs east-west between the Hudson River and Lake Erie. Completed in 1825, the canal was the first navigable waterway connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes, vastly reducing t ...

. He was active in the

New York Militia The New York Guard (NYG) is the State Defense Force, state defense force of New York State, also called The New York State Military Reserve. Originally called the New York State Militia it can trace its lineage back to the American Revolution and ...

, serving as Quartermaster of the 5th Horse Artillery Regiment, and later holding the position of regimental

Lieutenant Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

and second-in-command. From 1834 to 1835 Blackmar served as Newark's

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 ...

. Blackmar 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 ...

(Wayne County) in 1838 and

1841 Events January–March * January 20 – Charles Elliot of the United Kingdom, and Qishan of the Qing dynasty, agree to the Convention of Chuenpi. * January 26 – Britain occupies Hong Kong. Later in the year, the first census of the i ...

. His business expanded to include shipping produce to

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

and

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

. In 1844 he donated the land for the original campus of

Hillsdale College Hillsdale College is a Private university, private Conservatism in the United States, conservative Christian liberal arts college in Hillsdale, Michigan. It was founded in 1844 by Abolitionism, abolitionists known as Free Will Baptists. Its missio ...

in Michigan. He also served as Treasurer and a member of the board of directors of the Sodus Point and Southern Railroad. Elected as a Whig to the

30th United States Congress The 30th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1847, ...

to fill the vacancy caused by the death of

John M. Holley John Milton Holley (November 10, 1802 – March 8, 1848) was a U.S. Representative from New York. Born in Salisbury, Connecticut, Holley was graduated from Yale College in 1822. He studied law. He was admitted to the bar and commenced practice in ...

, Blackmar held the office of United States Representative for the 27th district of New York from December 4, 1848, to March 4, 1849. Afterwards he resumed his former business activities in Newark. Blackmar served again as Town Supervisor from 1852 to 1853.

Death

Blackmar died by drowning in a well at his home in Newark on November 19, 1857 (age 52 years, 153 days). According to published accounts, his business failed in the

Panic of 1857 The Panic of 1857 was a financial panic in the United States caused by the declining international economy and over-expansion of the domestic economy. Because of the invention of the telegraph by Samuel F. Morse in 1844, the Panic of 1857 was ...

, and he was in debt for more than $150,000 (about $3.7 million in 2014). He is

interred Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and objec ...

at Willow Avenue Cemetery in Newark.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Blackmar, Esbon 1805 births 1857 deaths American militia officers 19th-century American businesspeople Members of the New York State Assembly Town supervisors in New York (state) Whig Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state) People from Greenville (town), New York People from Wayne County, New York People from Newark, New York 19th-century American legislators