Garnett Bowditch Adrain (December 15, 1815 in New York City – August 17, 1878 in New Brunswick, New Jersey) was an American

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

politician, who was a two-term member of the

United States House of Representatives 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 ...

from

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

from 1857 to 1861.

Early life and education

Adrain was born to

Robert Adrain Robert Adrain (30 September 1775 – 10 August 1843) was an Irish political exile who won renown as a mathematician in the United States. He left Ireland after leading republican insurgents in the Rebellion of 1798, and settled in New Jersey an ...

and Ann Pollock in a family of seven children. He moved with his parents to New Brunswick, New Jersey where he attended public schools before he graduated from

Rutgers College Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and was ...

, New Brunswick, in 1833. He went on to study law in his brother's office. Adrain was licensed as an attorney in 1836 and as a counselor in 1839. He married Mary Smith Griggs (1817–1886).

U.S. House of Representatives

He was elected as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

to the Thirty-fifth Congress and as an Anti-Lecompton Democrat to the

Thirty-sixth Congress The 36th 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, 1859, ...

, serving in Congress from March 4, 1857 to March 3, 1861, where he represented

New Jersey's 3rd congressional district New Jersey's 3rd congressional district is represented by Democratic Party (United States), Democrat Andy Kim (politician), Andy Kim of Moorestown, New Jersey, Moorestown who has served in Congress since 2019. It is one of seven districts that ...

. He was chairman of the Engraving Committee in both congresses. He was not a candidate for reelection in 1860 and went back to his profession as an attorney.

Death

He died in New Brunswick on August 17, 1878, and was buried in Van Liew Cemetery,

North Brunswick, New Jersey North Brunswick is a township in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States. It is centrally located in the Raritan Valley region within the New York Metropolitan area. At the 2020 United States census, the population was 43,905, reflecting ...

Quotes

*''Secession—peaceable secession, as it is called ... in fact rebellion.'' *''Nothing but a rope of sand, of no strength whatever to hold the States together, and which may be broken at any moment.''

Name

The name Bowditch in his name originates from

Nathaniel Bowditch Nathaniel Bowditch (March 26, 1773 – March 16, 1838) was an early American mathematician remembered for his work on ocean navigation. He is often credited as the founder of modern maritime navigation; his book '' The New American Practical Navi ...

, a prominent author who worked with his father.Richard William Farebrother, ''Fitting Linear Relationships: A History of the Calculus of Observations 1750-1900'' (New York, 1998), 83, .

References

External links

State of the Union Address
* * 1815 births 1878 deaths Politicians from New York City Politicians from New Brunswick, New Jersey Rutgers University alumni Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New Jersey 19th-century American politicians {{NewJersey-politician-stub