Erastus Dean Culver (March 15, 1803 – October 13, 1889) was an attorney, politician, judge, and diplomat from

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 ...

. Culver was active in the

anti-slavery movement Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people. The British ...

and, while in Congress in the 1840s, opposed the extension of slavery to Texas and the

Oregon Territory The Territory of Oregon was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from August 14, 1848, until February 14, 1859, when the southwestern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Oregon. O ...

. As an attorney, Culver was part of a team that defended eight Virginia slaves in a

freedom suit Freedom suits were lawsuits in the Thirteen Colonies and the United States filed by slaves against slaveholders to assert claims to freedom, often based on descent from a free maternal ancestor, or time held as a resident in a free state or ter ...

, '' Lemmon v. New York'' (1852), successfully gaining their freedom in New York City's Superior Court. Culver was later elected judge of Brooklyn's City Court, serving from 1854 to 1861. In 1857 Culver decided the well-known

of a fugitive slave named "Jeems" and set him free by ruling against the people who had detained him, including police officers who hoped to collect a bounty under the

Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 The Fugitive Slave Act or Fugitive Slave Law was passed by the United States Congress on September 18, 1850, as part of the Compromise of 1850 between Southern interests in slavery and Northern Free-Soilers. The Act was one of the most con ...

. From 1862 to 1866 Culver served as Minister to Venezuela. He later returned to his former hometown of Greenwich, New York, where he was active in several business ventures until his death in 1889.

Early life and start of career

Culver was born in

Champlain, New York Champlain is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in Clinton County, New York, Clinton County, New York (state), New York, United States. The population was 5,754 at the 2010 census. The town is located on the western shore of Lake Ch ...

on March 15, 1803. He graduated from the

University of Vermont The University of Vermont (UVM), officially the University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, is a public land-grant research university in Burlington, Vermont. It was founded in 1791 and is among the oldest universities in the United ...

in 1826, taught school for a period, and read the law with an established firm. He was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

in 1831 and commenced practice in Fort Ann, New York. He joined the Whig Party and became active in government and politics, including winning election as Fort Ann's Town Clerk and serving from 1833 to 1835. In 1836 Culver moved to Greenwich, New York. He was elected the New York State Assembly 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 ...

Congressional career

In 1844 Culver was elected to

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

, and he served one term, March 4, 1845 to March 3, 1847. He was an anti-slavery advocate in the House, and his first act as a Congressman was to present a petition from residents of New York, which asked for slavery to be abolished in the

District of Columbia ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

. He also drew attention for his speech opposing the extension of slavery to

and the Republic of Texas when they joined the United States.

Judicial career

Culver moved to

Brooklyn, New York 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 ...

in 1850, where he established a law practice and became prominent as an advocate for

and Brooklyn

abolitionists Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people. The Britis ...

. Chester Alan Arthur studied law with Culver, and later became a partner in Culver's firm. Together Culver, Arthur and

John Jay John Jay (December 12, 1745 – May 17, 1829) was an American statesman, patriot, diplomat, abolitionist, signatory of the Treaty of Paris, and a Founding Father of the United States. He served as the second governor of New York and the f ...

(grandson of the chief justice of the same name) successfully argued '' Lemmon v. New York'' (1852), a

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

slave owners had brought slaves with them and stopped temporarily in New York, from where they intended to travel to Texas. The slaves were discovered to be in New York by an African-American activist, who petitioned the court by a writ of

Habeas corpus ''Habeas corpus'' (; from Medieval Latin, ) is a recourse in law through which a person can report an unlawful detention or imprisonment to a court and request that the court order the custodian of the person, usually a prison official, t ...

. They were temporarily freed and Culver, Arthur and Jay successfully argued that the slaves could not be considered property in New York, which had abolished slavery, and should remain free. Culver became a

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 ...

when the party was founded in the 1850s. In 1854 he was elected judge of Brooklyn's city court, and he served until 1861. One of Culver's prominent cases took place in 1857, soon after the decision in the Dred Scott case, and as tensions over slavery were rising before the

American 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 ...

. He ruled in a

in favor of a fugitive slave owned by James Stead of

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

. The slave Jeems, described as "nearly white," had escaped and traveled by steamship from

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

to New York City. Upon arrival, Jeems was detained by police officers (alerted by the ship's captain), who put him in irons and detained him at a house in Brooklyn, intending to return him under the

and claim the bounty. Upon being detected and cited into court, the police officers and Stead's attorney argued that New York's laws against slavery did not apply because Stead and Jeems were residents of another state. Culver disagreed and issued a writ of ''habeas corpus.'' Jeems was freed, and activists aided him in reaching the

Underground Railroad The Underground Railroad was a network of clandestine routes and safe houses established in the United States during the early- to mid-19th century. It was used by enslaved African Americans primarily to escape into free states and Canada. ...

and relocating to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. The steamship captain, the owner of the house were Jeems was held, and the two police officers were charged with conspiracy and kidnapping.

Diplomatic career

Culver was a popular orator. He was seated on the dais when

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...

gave his 1860

Cooper Union speech The Cooper Union speech or address, known at the time as the Cooper Institute speech, was delivered by Abraham Lincoln on February 27, 1860, at Cooper Union, in New York City. Lincoln was not yet the Republican nominee for the presidency, as the ...

and, by popular demand, he gave a speech after Lincoln's. In 1862 Culver was appointed by President Lincoln as Minister to Venezuela, and he served until 1866. Upon arriving to begin his duties, Culver unwittingly caused a diplomatic faux pas by presenting his credentials to

José Antonio Páez José Antonio Páez Herrera (; 13 June 1790 – 6 May 1873) was a Venezuelan leader who fought against the Spanish Crown for Simón Bolívar during the Venezuelan War of Independence. He later led Venezuela's independence from Gran Colombia. ...

, whose government was not recognized by the United States. Culver's instructions had not been clear, and after he provided ''de facto'' recognition of the Páez government by this action, Secretary of State Seward wrote to him with instructions to formally withdraw it. Official diplomatic relations were broken off, but Culver had become friendly with Páez, who allowed him to remain.

Later life

Upon returning to the United States, Culver again took up residence in Greenwich, where he continued to practice law. He also became involved in several business ventures, including serving as president of the First National Bank of Greenwich and member of the board of directors of the Greenwich and Johnsonville Railway.

Death and burial

Culver lived in Greenwich during his retirement. He died there on October 13, 1889, and was interred in the Culver vault at Greenwich Cemetery.Thomas E. Spencer
''Where They're Buried''
1998, page 236

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Culver, Erastus Dean 1803 births 1889 deaths New York (state) lawyers New York (state) state court judges University of Vermont alumni Republican Party members of the New York State Assembly 19th-century American diplomats People from Fort Ann, New York Ambassadors of the United States to Venezuela Burials in New York (state) Whig Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state) People from Champlain, New York 19th-century American politicians 19th-century American judges 19th-century American lawyers American abolitionists