Martin Grover (October 20, 1811 Hartwick,

Otsego County, New York Otsego County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 58,524. The county seat is Cooperstown. The name ''Otsego'' is from a Mohawk or Oneida word meaning "place of the rock." History In 178 ...

– August 23, 1875

Angelica ''Angelica'' is a genus of about 60 species of tall biennial and perennial herbs in the family Apiaceae, native to temperate and subarctic regions of the Northern Hemisphere, reaching as far north as Iceland, Lapland, and Greenland. They grow t ...

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 lawyer, jurist, 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 * '' ...

. He served one term in the

United States House of Representatives 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 house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

from 1845 to 1847 and later as a justice on the New York Supreme Court from 1857 to 1867.

Early life and education

He attended the common schools, studied law, was admitted to the

bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...

and commenced practice in Angelica, N.Y.

Political career

U.S. House

He was elected as a

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 ...

to the

29th United States Congress The 29th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1845, ...

, holding office from March 4, 1845, to March 3, 1847. In 1853, he ran for

New York State Attorney General The attorney general of New York is the chief legal officer of the U.S. state of New York and head of the Department of Law of the state government. The office has been in existence in some form since 1626, under the Dutch colonial government of ...

on the Soft ticket, but was defeated by Whig

Ogden Hoffman Ogden Hoffman (October 13, 1794 – May 1, 1856) was an American lawyer and politician who served two terms in the United States House of Representatives. Life Ogden Hoffman was born on October 13, 1794, the son of New York Attorney General Jos ...

Judicial posts

In November 1857, he was elected a justice of 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 ...

to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of James Mullett. He was re-elected in 1859 and remained on the Supreme Court bench until the end of 1867. He was

ex officio An ''ex officio'' member is a member of a body (notably a board, committee, council) who is part of it by virtue of holding another office. The term '' ex officio'' is Latin, meaning literally 'from the office', and the sense intended is 'by right ...

a judge of the

New York Court of Appeals The New York Court of Appeals is the highest court in the Unified Court System of the State of New York. The Court of Appeals consists of seven judges: the Chief Judge and six Associate Judges who are appointed by the Governor and confirmed by t ...

(8th District) in 1859 and 1867. In

1865 Events January–March * January 4 – The New York Stock Exchange opens its first permanent headquarters at Broad Street (Manhattan), 10-12 Broad near Wall Street, in New York City. * January 13 – American Civil War : Sec ...

, he ran for the remaining six years of the term of

Henry R. Selden Henry Rogers Selden (October 14, 1805 – September 18, 1885) was an American lawyer and politician. He was Lieutenant Governor of New York from 1857 to 1858. He defended Susan B. Anthony in her 1873 trial for unlawfully voting as a woman.Alan D ...

on the Court of Appeals but was defeated by

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

John K. Porter John Kilham Porter (January 12, 1819 – April 11, 1892) was an American lawyer and politician from New York (state), New York. He was a leading lawyer during his lifetime on the New York Bar. He was considered a remarkable crack lawyer, who ...

who had been appointed to fill temporarily the vacancy caused by Selden's resignation. In November 1867, he was elected a judge of the

for a term of eight years. Although he was legislated out of office upon the re-organization of the Court of Appeals in 1870, he was the only judge who continued on the Court of Appeals bench, having been re-elected to a 14-year term in May 1870.

Death

He died in office and was buried at the Angelica Cemetery.

Sources

Candidates for office, in NYT on November 7, 1865
''The New York Civil List''
compiled by Franklin Benjamin Hough (page 352; Weed, Parsons and Co., 1858)

Court of Appeals judges {{DEFAULTSORT:Grover, Martin 1811 births 1875 deaths People from Hartwick, New York Judges of the New York Court of Appeals New York Supreme Court Justices People from Angelica, New York Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state) 19th-century American politicians 19th-century American judges