Homer D. Call (September 19, 1843 in Truxton,

Cortland County, New York Cortland County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population of Cortland County was 46,809. The county seat is Cortland. The county is named after Pierre Van Cortlandt, president of the convention at ...

– April 1929) was an American labor leader and politician.

Life

On October 1, 1861, he enrolled at

Cortland, New York Cortland is a city and the county seat of Cortland County, New York. Known as the Crown City, Cortland is in New York's Southern Tier region. As of the 2020 census it had a population of 17,556. The city of Cortland, near the county's western bo ...

, and was mustered in as

corporal Corporal is a military rank in use in some form by many militaries and by some police forces or other uniformed organizations. The word is derived from the medieval Italian phrase ("head of a body"). The rank is usually the lowest ranking non- ...

of the 76th NY Volunteers to fight in 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 ...

. On December 13, 1862, he was wounded in the Battle of Fredericksburg. In July 1863, he was commissioned a second lieutenant, and in February 1864 a

first lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a ...

. He was captured in action on May 5, 1864, during the Battle of the Wilderness, later paroled, and discharged in February 1865. After the war, he settled in Syracuse, New York, and worked as a meat cutter, and later ran a meat market and grocery. He was Secretary and Treasurer of the Butchers and Meat Cutters of North America from 1897 to 1917, and a vice president of the American Federation of Labor. In 1912, he ran on the Progressive and

Independence League The Independence Party, established as the Independence League, was a short-lived minor American political party sponsored by newspaper publisher and politician William Randolph Hearst in 1906. The organization was the successor to the Munici ...

tickets for

Secretary of State of New York The secretary of state of New York is a cabinet officer in the government of the U.S. state of New York who leads the Department of State (NYSDOS). The current secretary of state of New York is Robert J. Rodriguez, a Democrat. Duties The secre ...

, but was defeated by

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 ...

Mitchell May. After the suicide of Treasurer John J. Kennedy on February 15, 1914, neither Democrats nor Republicans had a majority on joint ballot in the

New York State Legislature The New York State Legislature consists of the two houses that act as the state legislature of the U.S. state of New York: The New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly. The Constitution of New York does not designate an officia ...

due to the presence of 19 Progressive members. The Progressives offered the Republicans a deal, but were turned down. Then they combined with the Democrats and, on February 25, elected Call New York State Treasurer to fill Kennedy's unexpired term (98 votes for Call, 96 votes for the Republican candidate William Archer) with the understanding that the Democratic officials, including Deputy Treasurer George W. Batten would continue at their posts in the Treasury. In November 1914, Call ran on the Progressive and Independence League tickets for re-election, but was defeated by Republican James L. Wells.

References

The Political Graveyard: Index to Politicians: Cali to Callaghan
at

Political Graveyard The Political Graveyard is a website and database that catalogues information on more than 277,000 American political figures and political families, along with other information. The name comes from the website's inclusion of burial locations of ...

The Progressive ticket, in NYT on September 7, 1912

Call elected, in NYT on February 26, 1914

The Progressive ticket, in NYT on August 28, 1914

The Citizens' Union's endorsements of candidates for delegate to the Constitutional Convention, in NYT on October 25, 1914

Quits "Friends of Peace", in NYT on August 24, 1915 * ''The Samuel Gompers Papers'' (page 506) (gives birth 1842 in Fabius (town), New York, Fabius, NY)
''American Blue-book of Biography: Prominent Americans of 1914''
by

Thomas William Herringshaw Thomas William Herringshaw (January 27, 1858 – June 27, 1927) was an American journalist, publisher, genealogist and biographical author, best known for editing and publishing biographical reference works.'Herringshaw, Thomas William', ''He ...

(American Publishers Association, 1914) ives birth 1843 in Truxtonbr>76th NYSV – Roster C
at www.bpmlegal.com Transcription of war records from the Adjutant General's Office, New York (age given as 20 in 1861) {{DEFAULTSORT:Call, Homer D 1843 births 1929 deaths New York State Treasurers Politicians from Syracuse, New York Trade unionists from New York (state) American Federation of Labor people People from Truxton, New York Union Army officers People of New York (state) in the American Civil War New York (state) Progressives (1912) 20th-century American politicians United States Independence Party politicians Military personnel from Syracuse, New York Amalgamated Meat Cutters people