Martin Schenck (January 24, 1848 – September 17, 1918) was an American civil engineer and politician from New York. He was New York State Engineer and Surveyor from 1892 to 1893.

Life

He was born on January 24, 1848 in Palatine Bridge, New York to Benjamin Schenck and Susan (Martin) Schenck. He graduated C.E. from

Union College Union College is a private liberal arts college in Schenectady, New York. Founded in 1795, it was the first institution of higher learning chartered by the New York State Board of Regents, and second in the state of New York, after Columbia Co ...

. In 1869, he began work as a rodman and leveler with the Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railway in

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to th ...

and the

Indian Territory The Indian Territory and the Indian Territories are terms that generally described an evolving land area set aside by the United States Government for the relocation of Native Americans who held aboriginal title to their land as a sovereign ...

. From 1871 to 1872, he was engaged in general engineering. In 1873, he became a leveler on the New York Central and Hudson River Railroad. From 1874 to 1881, was engaged in general engineering and contracting, and was a member of the New York State Assembly (Montgomery Co.) in

1875 Events January–March * January 1 – The Midland Railway of England abolishes the Second Class passenger category, leaving First Class and Third Class. Other British railway companies follow Midland's lead during the rest of the ...

. In 1882, he was employed as an engineer for one of the contractors on the

West Shore Railroad The West Shore Railroad was the final name of a railroad that ran from Weehawken, New Jersey, on the west bank of the Hudson River opposite New York City, north to Albany, New York, and then west to Buffalo. It was organized as a competitor ...

. From 1883 to 1885, he was inspector and leveler in the New York State Canal Department. From 1886 to 1891, he was Assistant Engineer in charge of the

Hudson River The Hudson River is a river that flows from north to south primarily through eastern New York. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York and flows southward through the Hudson Valley to the New York Harbor between N ...

improvement and of canal lock lengthening. He was State Engineer and Surveyor from 1892 to 1893, elected on the Democratic ticket in

1891 Events January–March * January 1 ** Paying of old age pensions begins in Germany. ** A strike of 500 Hungarian steel workers occurs; 3,000 men are out of work as a consequence. ** Germany takes formal possession of its new Af ...

, but defeated for re-election in

1893 Events January–March * January 2 – Webb C. Ball introduces railroad chronometers, which become the general railroad timepiece standards in North America. * Mark Twain started writing Puddn'head Wilson. * January 6 – Th ...

by Republican Campbell W. Adams. In

1898 Events January–March * January 1 – New York City annexes land from surrounding counties, creating the City of Greater New York as the world's second largest. The city is geographically divided into five boroughs: Manhattan, B ...

, he ran again for State Engineer and Surveyor on the Democratic ticket, but was defeated again, by Republican Edward A. Bond. From 1894 to 1895, he was Consulting Engineer to the New York State Board of Health. From 1895 to 1899, he was City Engineer of

Troy, New York Troy is a city in the U.S. state of New York and the county seat of Rensselaer County. The city is located on the western edge of Rensselaer County and on the eastern bank of the Hudson River. Troy has close ties to the nearby cities of Albany ...

, and then Chief Engineer of the

New York City Department of Parks The New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, also called the Parks Department or NYC Parks, is the department of the government of New York City responsible for maintaining the city's parks system, preserving and maintaining the ecolog ...

, and later worked for the Barge Canal Bureau. He died on September 17, 1918 in

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of New York, also the seat and largest city of Albany County. Albany is on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River, and about north of New York C ...

Life

References

Further reading