Sumner Ely (May 22, 1787 in Lyme,

New London County, Connecticut New London County is in the southeastern corner of Connecticut and comprises the Norwich-New London, Connecticut Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the Hartford-East Hartford, Connecticut Combined Statistical Area. There i ...

– February 3, 1857) was an American physician 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 Adriel Ely and Sarah (Stowe) Ely. He graduated from

Yale College Yale College is the undergraduate college of Yale University. Founded in 1701, it is the original school of the university. Although other Yale schools were founded as early as 1810, all of Yale was officially known as Yale College until 1887, ...

in 1804. Then he studied medicine with Dr. Thomas Broadhead at

Clermont, New York Clermont is a town in Columbia County, New York, United States. The population was 1,965 at the 2010 census. The name of the town is French for "Clear Mountain", in reference to the mountain views in the town. The town is in the southwestern co ...

, and was licensed to practice in 1809. In 1810, he removed to

Middlefield, New York Middlefield is a town in Otsego County, New York, United States. The population was 2,114 at the 2010 census. The Town of Middlefield is in the northeastern part of the county. It is the largest town by area in the county. History Settlers fro ...

, and practiced medicine there. On June 11, 1816, he married Hannah Knapp Gilbert (1791–1868), and they had five sons, among them Assemblyman William H. Ely (b. 1829). Sumner Ely was Postmaster of Middlefield and a brigadier general of the New York State Militia. 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

1836 Events January–March * January 1 – Queen Maria II of Portugal marries Prince Ferdinand Augustus Francis Anthony of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. * January 5 – Davy Crockett arrives in Texas. * January 12 ** , with Charles Darwin on board, r ...

. He was a Democratic 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 ...

(5th D.) from 1840 to 1843, sitting in the 63rd, 64th, 65th and

66th New York State Legislature The 66th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 3 to April 18, 1843, during the first year of William C. Bouck's governorship, in Albany, New York, Albany. Backgroun ...

Sources

''The New York Civil List''
compiled by Franklin Benjamin Hough (pages 132ff, 140, 218 and 272; Weed, Parsons and Co., 1858)
''Table of the Post Offices in the United States''
(1836; pg. 97)
''The New York Annual Register for the Year of 1831''
(pg. 287)
''Biographical Sketch of the late Sumner Ely M.D.''
in ''Transactions of the Medical Society of the State of New York'' (Albany, 1858; pg. 23–34) {{DEFAULTSORT:Ely, Sumner 1787 births 1857 deaths Democratic Party New York (state) state senators People from Middlefield, New York Democratic Party members of the New York State Assembly New York (state) postmasters Physicians from New York (state) Yale College alumni People from Lyme, Connecticut People from Columbia County, New York 19th-century American politicians