Hamilton Ward Sr. (July 3, 1829– December 28, 1898) was an American lawyer and politician who served as a judge on the
Supreme Court of New York, the
attorney general of New York, and 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 ...
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 ...
.
Education
He attended the common schools and was privately tutored. He studied law in
Elmira, New York, was admitted to the
bar.
Early career
He commenced legal practice in
Philipsville in 1851.
Beginning in 1858 Ward was regularly selected as a delegate to New York's Republican state conventions, and he attended almost every one until 1890.
He was
district attorney of Allegany County from 1856 to 1859 and again from 1862 to 1865. He was appointed in 1862 by the
governor of New York as commissioner to raise and equip troops for the
Civil War
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
.
United States House of Representatives
Ward was elected as 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 ...
to the
39th,
40th and
41st United States Congress
The 41st 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, 186 ...
es, serving from March 4, 1865 to March 3, 1871. While a Representative, he was Chairman of the Committee on Revolutionary Claims (Fortieth Congress).
In 1868, Ward was on the seven-person committee tasked with authoring
the articles of impeachment against President
Andrew Johnson after
Johnson was impeached.
Ward was not a candidate for renomination to the House in 1870.
Post-congressional career in New York State politics
Ward was
attorney general of New York from 1880 to 1881, elected in
1879.
Ward was a delegate to the
New York State Constitutional Convention
The Constitution of the State of New York establishes the structure of the government of the State of New York, and enumerates the basic rights of the citizens of New York. Like most state constitutions in the United States, New York's constituti ...
of 1890, and was appointed (and subsequently elected) a justice of the
New York Supreme Court and served from 1891 to 1895, and in the
Appellate Division from 1895 until his death in 1898.
Personal life
Ward's son
Hamilton Ward Jr. would go on to serve as attorney general of New York himself (1929–1930).
Ward was buried at the Forest Hill Cemetery in Belmont.
References
Sources
Obituaryin the ''
New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' on December 29, 1898
External links
Additional biographic material*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ward, Hamilton Sr.
1829 births
1898 deaths
People from Salisbury, Herkimer County, New York
People from Wellsville, New York
County district attorneys in New York (state)
New York State Attorneys General
New York Supreme Court Justices
Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state)
19th-century American politicians
19th-century American judges
Impeachment of Andrew Johnson