Levi Beardsley (November 13, 1785 – March 19, 1857) was an American lawyer 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 Obadiah Beardsley (1763–1841) and Eunice (Moore) Beardsley (1765–1811). He was born on the Beardsley's farm where most of the

Battle of Bennington The Battle of Bennington was a battle of the American Revolutionary War, part of the Saratoga campaign, that took place on August 16, 1777, on a farm owned by John Green in Walloomsac, New York, about from its namesake, Bennington, Vermont. A r ...

was fought in August 1777. At the time of Beardsley's birth, the area belonged to the District of Hoosick in Albany County, and since 1791 has been in the Town of Hoosick in

Rensselaer County Rensselaer County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 161,130. Its county seat is Troy. The county is named in honor of the family of Kiliaen van Rensselaer, the original Dutch owner of the la ...

. In 1790, the family removed to a farm in an area which became part of the Town of Richfield, Otsego County, in 1792. In 1810, he removed to Cherry Valley and studied law there with Jabez D. Hammond. Beardsley was admitted to the bar in 1812, and practiced in partnership with Hammond until 1822. On July 4, 1813, Beardsley married Elizabeth Raymond (1790–1864), and they had several children. He 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 ...

(Otsego Co.) in

1826 Events January–March * January 15 – The French newspaper ''Le Figaro'' begins publication in Paris, initially as a weekly. * January 30 – The Menai Suspension Bridge, built by engineer Thomas Telford, is opened between the island o ...

. He was 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 ...

(6th D.) from 1830 to 1833, and from 1835 to 1838, sitting in the 53rd, 54th, 55th, 56th, 58th, 59th, 60th and

61st New York State Legislature The 61st New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 2 to April 18, 1838, during the sixth year of William L. Marcy's governorship, in Albany. Background Under the pr ...

s. In 1839, he removed to Oswego and became President of the Commercial Bank there, but the bank—in the wake of the

Panic of 1837 The Panic of 1837 was a financial crisis in the United States that touched off a major depression, which lasted until the mid-1840s. Profits, prices, and wages went down, westward expansion was stalled, unemployment went up, and pessimism abound ...

—went bankrupt and was liquidated in 1841. In 1842, he removed to

Columbus, Ohio Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and t ...

, and pursued agricultural interests there. After a big fire destroyed his farm, he sold the lands and removed to

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 ...

in 1846. There he resumed the practice of law, and ran in

1847 Events January–March * January 4 – Samuel Colt sells his first revolver pistol to the U.S. government. * January 13 – The Treaty of Cahuenga ends fighting in the Mexican–American War in California. * January 16 – John C. Frémont ...

for the

New York Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the State of New York is the trial-level court of general jurisdiction in the New York State Unified Court System. (Its Appellate Division is also the highest intermediate appellate court.) It is vested with unlimited civ ...

, but was defeated. In 1852, he published hi
''Reminiscences''
(on-line version; 575 pg.). He died in Oswego and was buried at the Riverside Cemetery in

Scriba, New York Scriba is a town in Oswego County, New York, United States. The population was 6,840 at the 2010 census. The town is named after landowner George Scriba. The Town of Scriba is east of the City of Oswego. The town was created in 1811 from the To ...

. Chief Justice

Samuel Beardsley Samuel Beardsley (February 6, 1790 – May 6, 1860) was an American attorney, judge and legislator from New York. During his career he served as a member of the United States House of Representatives, New York Attorney General, United States Att ...

(1790–1860) was his brother, and Clergyman John Beardsley (1732–1809) was his great-uncle.

Sources

''The New York Civil List''
compiled by Franklin Benjamin Hough (pages 128ff, 138, 204, 258; Weed, Parsons and Co., 1858)

at

RootsWeb Ancestry.com LLC is an American genealogy company based in Lehi, Utah. The largest for-profit genealogy company in the world, it operates a network of genealogical, historical records, and related genetic genealogy websites. In November 2018, ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beardsley, Levi 1785 births 1857 deaths People from Hoosick, New York People from Cherry Valley, New York Politicians from Columbus, Ohio Members of the New York State Assembly New York (state) state senators New York (state) Democratic-Republicans New York (state) Jacksonians 19th-century American politicians People from Richfield, New York Politicians from Oswego, New York Lawyers from Columbus, Ohio