Henry Parsons Hedges (October 13, 1817 – September 26, 1911) was an American lawyer, politician, and judge from New York.

Life

Hedges was born on October 13, 1817, in

Wainscott, New York Wainscott is a census-designated place (CDP) that roughly corresponds to the hamlet with the same name in the Town of East Hampton in Suffolk County, New York, United States, on the South Fork of Long Island. As of the 2010 United States Censu ...

, the son of Zephaniah Hedges and Phebe P. Osborn. His grandfather was Deacon David Hedges. Hedges entered the Clinton Academy in East Hampton when he was fourteen, studying there for three years. In 1835, he entered the sophomore class in

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, ...

, graduating from there in 1838. He studied in

Yale Law School Yale Law School (Yale Law or YLS) is the law school of Yale University, a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was established in 1824 and has been ranked as the best law school in the United States by ''U ...

from 1839 to 1840. He spent the previous year at home. He then studied law with David L. Seymour of

Troy Troy ( el, Τροία and Latin: Troia, Hittite language, Hittite: 𒋫𒊒𒄿𒊭 ''Truwiša'') or Ilion ( el, Ίλιον and Latin: Ilium, Hittite language, Hittite: 𒃾𒇻𒊭 ''Wiluša'') was an ancient city located at Hisarlik in prese ...

, Judge George Miller of Riverhead, and J. C. Albertson of

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 was admitted to the bar in 1842. In the spring 1843, he went to

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

and intended to settle there. He returned to

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...

that September and opened a law office in Sag Harbor, which he maintained until 1893. In 1854, he moved to

Bridgehampton Bridgehampton is a Hamlet (New York), hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) on the South Fork, Suffolk County, New York, South Fork of Suffolk County, New York, Suffolk County, New York (state), New York, United States. The population was 1,7 ...

and opened a law office there as well. He was executor of many estates and owned a large farm and other valuable land. He also served as president of Sag Harbor Savings Bank from 1869 to 1899. In 1851, Hedges was elected to 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 ...

as a Whig, representing the Suffolk County 1st District. He served in the Assembly in

1852 Events January–March * January 14 – President Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte proclaims a new constitution for the French Second Republic. * January 15 – Nine men representing various Jewish charitable organizations come tog ...

. In 1856, he became one of the founders of the

Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa *Republican Party (Liberia) * Republican Part ...

and became. In 1861, he became

district attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a l ...

of Suffolk County, an office he was re-elected to in 1864. In 1865, he was elected county judge, an office he held for four years. He was re-elected to the office in 1873 and held it for another six years. After his term as county judge and surrogate ended in 1880, he returned to his private practice, working mainly in executing large financial trusts and being president of the Sag Harbor Savings Bank. Hedges was an authority on the history of eastern Long Island, where his ancestors lived since its first settlement. When he was eighty, he published "A History of the Town of East Hampton." He united with the

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

Church in 1840, and he served as an elder in Sag Harbor or Bridgehampton from 1849 until his death. When he died, he was the oldest living Yale graduate and the last survivor of his class. In 1843, he married Gloriana Osborn. Their children were farmer Samuel O., lawyer Edwin, and Congregational minister William. Gloriana died in 1891, and in 1892 Hedges married Mary G. Hildreth. Hedges died at home on September 26, 1911. He was buried in Bridgehampton Cemetery.

References

External links

*
The Political Graveyard
'
Henry P. Hedges
at ''

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'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Hedges, Henry P. 1817 births 1911 deaths Politicians from Suffolk County, New York Suffolk County district attorneys People from Sag Harbor, New York People from Bridgehampton, New York Yale College alumni Yale Law School alumni 20th-century American lawyers New York (state) state court judges American bank presidents New York (state) Whigs New York (state) Republicans Members of the New York State Assembly 19th-century American judges County judges in the United States Presbyterians from New York (state) Burials in New York (state)