James Jerome Belden (September 30, 1825 – January 1, 1904) was an American politician and 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 * '' ...

Biography

Born in

Fabius, New York Fabius is a town in Onondaga County, New York, United States. The population was 1,964 at the 2010 census. The classical name of the town was assigned by a clerk interested in the classics. The Town of Fabius contains a village of Fabius. It i ...

, Belden was the son of Royal Denison Belding and Olive Cadwell and attended the common schools. He married Mary Anna Gere and they had a daughter, Harriet Anna Belden. He lived in the luxurious ''Belden House'' at 620 W. Genesee St. in Syracuse.

Career

After completing his education in local schools, Belden worked in a Jefferson County store to learn bookkeeping and accounting. He went into banking in

Syracuse, New York Syracuse ( ) is a City (New York), city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, Onondaga County, New York, United States. It is the fifth-most populous city in the state of New York following New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffa ...

, in 1880. Later he was active in construction, completing many railroads and public works projects. He was also President of the company that published the Syracuse Post and was a hotel owner. In 1877 and 1878, he served as

mayor of Syracuse, New York This is a complete list of mayors of Syracuse, New York. List of mayors External links"Mayors of Syracuse, New York,"City of Syracuse, New York References {{Syracuse, New York * Syracuse Mayors ...

. Among his activities as mayor, he formed a committee of citizens to look after the interests of St. Joseph's Hospital. He later left the hospital a bequest of $50,000. Belden was elected as a Republican to the Fiftieth Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of

Frank Hiscock Frank Hiscock (September 6, 1834June 18, 1914) was a U.S. Representative and Senator from New York. He served in the United States Congress from 1877 to 1893. Hiscock was a native of Pompey, New York, and graduated from Pompey Academy. After ...

, who had been elected to the office of United States Senator. Reelected to the Fifty-first and Fifty-second Congresses, Belden served as U. S. Representative for the twenty-fifth district of New York from November 8, 1887, to March 3, 1893. He was then elected for the Fifty-third Congress and served as U. S. Representative for the twenty-seventh district of New York from March 4, 1893, to March 3, 1895. He was not a candidate for renomination in 1894. Again elected to the Fifty-fifth Congress, Belden served as U. S. Representative for the twenty-seventh district of New York from March 4, 1897, to March 3, 1899. He was not a candidate for renomination in 1898, but retired to Syracuse.

Death

Belden died, of uremic poisoning, in

, on January 1, 1904 (age 78 years, 93 days). He is

interred Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and objec ...

Oakwood Cemetery (Syracuse, New York) Oakwood Cemetery is a historic cemetery located in Syracuse, New York. It was designed by Howard Daniels and built in 1859. Oakwood Cemetery was created during a time period in the nineteenth century when the rural cemetery was becoming a dist ...

. When he died, he was Syracuse's richest citizen with his wealth being estimated at $10 million ($330 million in 2022 dollars), according to an obituary in ''The Sheffield Observer'' on January 7, 1914.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Belden, James Jerome 1825 births 1904 deaths People from Fabius, New York Burials at Oakwood Cemetery (Syracuse, New York) Mayors of Syracuse, New York Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state) 19th-century American politicians