Hovey Everitt Copley (May 2, 1869 – September 11, 1946) was an American farmer and politician from New York.
Life
Copley was born on May 2, 1869, in
Chemung, New York
Chemung is a town in Chemung County, New York, United States. The population was 2,368 at the 2020 census. The town name is derived from the Chemung River, which means "Big Horn" in the native language.
The town is in the southeast corner of th ...
, the son of Major John Gilbert Copley and Sarah Frances Everitt. His father was a county clerk and an American Civil War veteran who served with the
86th New York Infantry Regiment and lost an arm in the
Second Battle of Bull Run
The Second Battle of Bull Run or Battle of Second Manassas was fought August 28–30, 1862, in Prince William County, Virginia, as part of the American Civil War. It was the culmination of the Northern Virginia Campaign waged by Confederate ...
.
Copley attended the
Elmira Free Academy. He initially worked in the coal office of General Charles J. Langdon in
Elmira. When he was 17, he became the personal secretary of
Mark Twain
Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has p ...
, who at the time was living at
Quarry Farm
Quarry Farm is located on East Hill overlooking Elmira, New York and the Chemung River Valley. In 1869, Jervis Langdon purchased the property as a vacation home for his family. When he died the following year, it was inherited by his eldest dau ...
. In 1904, he purchased the Lowman farm in
Lowman and worked as a farmer. In 1914, he became a deputy county clerk. In 1916, he was elected county clerk, an office he held until 1923. He was also a secretary and director of the Elmira Mechanic's Savings Bank.
He served on the city council for six years.
In 1923, Copley 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
Republican, representing
Chemung County
Chemung County is a county in the southern tier of the U.S. state of New York. The population was 84,148 as of the 2020 census. Its county seat is Elmira. Its name is derived from a Delaware Indian village whose name meant "big horn".
Chemung ...
. He served in the Assembly in
1924
Events
January
* January 12 – Gopinath Saha shoots Ernest Day, whom he has mistaken for Sir Charles Tegart, the police commissioner of Calcutta, and is arrested soon after.
* January 20– 30 – Kuomintang in China hol ...
,
1925
Events January
* January 1
** The Syrian Federation is officially dissolved, the State of Aleppo and the State of Damascus having been replaced by the State of Syria.
* January 3 – Benito Mussolini makes a pivotal speech in the Italia ...
,
and
1926
Events January
* January 3 – Theodoros Pangalos declares himself dictator in Greece.
* January 8
**Abdul-Aziz ibn Saud is crowned King of Hejaz.
** Crown Prince Nguyễn Phúc Vĩnh Thuy ascends the throne, the last monarch of V ...
.
Copley attended the First
Presbyterian Church
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 ...
. He was a member of the
Freemasons
Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...
and the
Elks.
In 1905, he married Eleanor M. Lowman. Their children were John Gilbert and Mary Elizabeth.
Copley died at home on September 11, 1946.
He was buried in
Riverside Cemetery in Chemung.
References
External links
*
The Political Graveyard'
Hovey E. Copleyat ''
Find a Grave
Find a Grave is a website that allows the public to search and add to an online database of cemetery records. It is owned by Ancestry.com. Its stated mission is "to help people from all over the world work together to find, record and present fin ...
''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Copley, Hovey E.
1869 births
1946 deaths
People from Chemung, New York
Politicians from Elmira, New York
Farmers from New York (state)
20th-century American legislators
Republican Party members of the New York State Assembly
Presbyterians from New York (state)
American Freemasons
20th-century New York (state) politicians