Uri Tracy (February 8, 1764 – July 21, 1838) was a

United States representative 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 chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

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 * '' ...

Biography

He was born in

Norwich, Connecticut Norwich ( ) (also called "The Rose of New England") is a city in New London County, Connecticut, United States. The Yantic, Shetucket, and Quinebaug Rivers flow into the city and form its harbor, from which the Thames River flows south to Long ...

on February 8, 1764, to Daniel Tracy and Mary Johnson, 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 1789 and became a

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

clergyman and missionary to Native Americans. He moved to

Oxford, New York Oxford is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in Chenango County, New York, Chenango County, New York (state), New York, United States. The town contains a Administrative divisions of New York#Village, village also named Oxford (villa ...

in 1791, where he married Ruth Hovey, daughter of General Benjamin Hovey, on August 28, 1793. He would live in Oxford for the rest of his life. Tracy held a number of prestigious positions during his time in Oxford: He was the first principal of Oxford Academy in 1794, as well as the first Sheriff of Chenango County, serving from 1798 until his resignation in August 1801. Tracy was elected

county clerk A clerk is a white-collar worker who conducts general office tasks, or a worker who performs similar sales-related tasks in a retail environment. The responsibilities of clerical workers commonly include record keeping, filing, staffing service ...

and served from 1801 to 1815, becoming 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 ...

in 1803. He was first Postmaster of Oxford, holding that position from 1802 to 1805, and was elected as a

Democratic-Republican The Democratic-Republican Party, known at the time as the Republican Party and also referred to as the Jeffersonian Republican Party among other names, was an American political party founded by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in the early ...

to the Ninth Congress, holding office from March 4, 1805, to March 3, 1807. Two years later, Tracy was elected to the Eleventh and Twelfth Congresses, holding office from March 4, 1809, to March 3, 1813. He was appointed first Judge of Chenango County, New York on July 8, 1819, and served until February 1823. Tracy died in Oxford, New York in 1838; his interment was in Riverview Cemetery in Oxford. A tribute song, entitled "Lord Uri Tracy", was sung as the Oxford Academy school song until the 1960s. This song was performed at the Oxford Historical Society on August 11, 2011, and can be viewed on .

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tracy, Uri 1764 births 1838 deaths Politicians from Norwich, Connecticut People from Oxford, New York Yale College alumni People from Chenango County, New York American Presbyterian ministers New York (state) postmasters Members of the New York State Assembly American Presbyterian missionaries Presbyterian missionaries in the United States Democratic-Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state) New York (state) sheriffs Religious leaders from Norwich, Connecticut