Henry Meigs (October 28, 1782 – May 20, 1861) was a

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 New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. Born in

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,02 ...

, the son of

Josiah Meigs Josiah Meigs (August 21, 1757 – September 4, 1822) was an American academic, journalist and government official. He was the first acting president of the University of Georgia (UGA) in Athens, Georgia, Athens, where he implemented the universit ...

and Clara (Benjamin) Meigs,Henry Meigs
by Rick Meigs, Meigs Family Genealogy and History website Meigs attended the common schools. He was graduated from

Yale College Yale College is the undergraduate college of Yale University. Founded in 1701, it is the original school of the university. Although other Yale schools were founded as early as 1810, all of Yale was officially known as Yale College until 1887, ...

in 1799. He studied law. 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 ...

and commenced practice in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. He served in the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...

with the rank of adjutant. He served as member of the state assembly in 1818. Meigs was elected as a

Democratic-Republican The Democratic-Republican Party, known at the time as the Republican Party and also referred to as the Jeffersonian Republican Party among other names, was an American political party founded by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in the early ...

to the

Sixteenth The 16th century begins with the Julian calendar, Julian year 1501 (Roman numerals, MDI) and ends with either the Julian or the Gregorian calendar, Gregorian year 1600 (Roman numerals, MDC) (depending on the reckoning used; the Gregorian calendar ...

Congress (March 4, 1819 – March 3, 1821). He served as chairman of the Committee on Expenditures on Public Buildings (Sixteenth Congress). He served as president of the board of aldermen of New York City in 1832 and 1833. He served as judge of one of the city courts and afterward clerk of the court of general sessions. Meigs was elected recording secretary of the

American Institute of the City of New York The American Institute of the City of New York, or, The American Institute of the City of New York for the Encouragement of Science and Invention was a civic organization that existed from ca. 1828 – ca. 1980. The institute was an association ...

in 1845, and retained this position in connection with the secretaryship of the Farmers' Club until his death. He died in New York City on May 20, 1861. According to Congressional records, he was interred in St. Ann's Churchyard,

Perth Amboy, New Jersey Perth Amboy is a city (New Jersey), city in Middlesex County, New Jersey, Middlesex County, New Jersey. Perth Amboy is part of the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 55,4 ...

, but church records record that he was originally buried in St. Luke's in New York City and later moved to St. Peter's Churchyard in Perth Amboy. His son, Henry Meigs, Jr. was the first mayor of

Bayonne, New Jersey Bayonne ( ) is a city in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. Located in the Gateway Region, Bayonne is situated on a peninsula located between Newark Bay to the west, the Kill Van Kull to the south, and New York Bay to the east. As of ...

, and the president of the

New York Stock Exchange The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed c ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Meigs, Henry 1782 births 1861 deaths Yale College alumni Politicians from New Haven, Connecticut American military personnel of the War of 1812 Democratic-Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state) 19th-century American politicians