James McCall (January 6, 1774 in Lebanon Springs,

Columbia County, New York Columbia County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 61,570. The county seat is Hudson. The name comes from the Latin feminine form of the name of Christopher Columbus, which was at the ...

– March 26, 1856 in Rushford,

Allegany County, New York Allegany County is a County (United States), county in the Southern Tier of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. As of the United States Census 2020, 2020 census, the population was 46,456. Its county seat is Belmont, New York, Belmont. ...

) was an American merchant and politician 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 * '' ...

Life

He was the son of Benajah McCall (1743–1824) and Abigail (Comstock) McCall (1745–1776). He removed to

Ovid, New York Ovid is a town in Seneca County, New York, United States. The population was 2,919 at the 2020 census. The town is named after the Roman poet Ovid, a name assigned by a clerk interested in the classics. The Town of Ovid contains a village also ...

. On December 19, 1799, he married Elizabeth Dye (1783–1833), and they had 14 children. McCall was a member of 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 ...

(Seneca Co.) in 1808-09, 1812-13 and

1814 Events January * January 1 – War of the Sixth Coalition – The Royal Prussian Army led by Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher crosses the Rhine. * January 3 ** War of the Sixth Coalition – Siege of Cattaro: French garrison s ...

, In 1814, he removed to Rushford where he kept a store and ran a

grist mill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and Wheat middlings, middlings. The term can refer to either the Mill (grinding), grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist i ...

. He was again a member of the State Assembly (Allegany & Steuben Co.) in 1818 and

1819 Events January–March * January 2 – The Panic of 1819, the first major peacetime financial crisis in the United States, begins. * January 25 – Thomas Jefferson founds the University of Virginia. * January 29 – Si ...

; and a delegate to the

New York State Constitutional Convention The Constitution of the State of New York establishes the structure of the government of the State of New York, and enumerates the basic rights of the citizens of New York. Like most state constitutions in the United States, New York's constituti ...

of 1821. He was again a member of the State Assembly (Allegany Co.) in

1823 Events January–March * January 22 – By secret treaty signed at the Congress of Verona, the Quintuple Alliance gives France a mandate to invade Spain for the purpose of restoring Ferdinand VII (who has been captured by armed revolutio ...

; and a member of the

New York State Senate The New York State Senate is the upper house of the New York State Legislature; the New York State Assembly is its lower house. Its members are elected to two-year terms; there are no term limits. There are 63 seats in the Senate. Partisan com ...

(8th D.) from 1824 to 1827, sitting in the 47th, 48th, 49th and

50th New York State Legislature The 50th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 2 to December 4, 1827, during the third year of DeWitt Clinton's second tenure as Governor of New York, in Albany. B ...

s. On June 2, 1836, he married Lydia Washburn (ca. 1780–1850). In November 1836, McCall was elected a

presidential elector The United States Electoral College is the group of presidential electors required by the Constitution to form every four years for the sole purpose of appointing the president and vice president. Each state and the District of Columbia appo ...

, but did not attend the meeting of the New York Electoral College, and Jacob Sutherland was chosen to fill the vacancy. He was buried at the McCall Cemetery in Podonque, a hamlet in Rushford.

Sources

''The New York Civil List''
compiled by Franklin Benjamin Hough (pages 57, 125ff, 143, 182, 187, 189, 193f, 199, 289 and 328; Weed, Parsons and Co., 1858)

at Allegany Co. Local History

at Family Tree Maker {{DEFAULTSORT:McCall, James 1774 births 1856 deaths People from Columbia County, New York People from Ovid, New York People from Allegany County, New York Members of the New York State Assembly New York (state) state senators 1836 United States presidential electors