William Beatty Rochester (January 29, 1789 Hagerstown, Maryland – June 14, 1838) was an American lawyer and politician from New York.

Early life

Rochester was the first child of Col.

Nathaniel Rochester Nathaniel Rochester (February 21, 1752 – May 17, 1831) was an American Revolutionary War soldier, and land speculator, most noted for founding the settlement which would become Rochester, New York. Early life Nathaniel Rochester was born ...

(1752–1831), founder of the City of

Rochester, New York Rochester () is a city in the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Monroe County, and the fourth-most populous in the state after New York City, Buffalo, and Yonkers, with a population of 211,328 at the 2020 United States census. Located in W ...

, and Sophia ( née Beatty) Rochester (1768–1845). Mayor Thomas H. Rochester was his brother. He attended the public schools and graduated from

Charlotte Hall Military Academy Charlotte Hall Military Academy, located at Charlotte Hall, Maryland, was established as Charlotte Hall School in 1774 by Queen Charlotte to provide for the liberal and pious education of youth to better fit them for the discharge of their duties ...

Career

During the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States, United States of America and its Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom ...

, Rochester was an aide-de-camp to Gen. George McClure. After the war, he studied law with his uncle Judge Adam Beatty and with Henry Clay, was admitted to the bar, and began practice in

Bath, New York Bath is a town in Steuben County, New York, United States, with an area of 96.3 square miles (249 km2) and a population of 11,426 in 2020. Its largest settlement is the Village of Bath, which has an area of 2.9 sq mi (7.5 km2) and a population ...

. Later, he removed to

Angelica, New York Angelica is a town in the middle of Allegany County, New York, United States. The population was 1,284 at the 2020 census. The town is named after Angelica Schuyler Church, a daughter of General Philip Schuyler, sister-in-law of Founding Father ...

. Rochester was a member of the New York State Assembly ( Allegany and Steuben Co.) in 1816-17 and

1818 Events January–March * January 1 ** Battle of Koregaon: Troops of the British East India Company score a decisive victory over the Maratha Empire. ** Mary Shelley's ''Frankenstein'' is published anonymously in London. * January 2 – ...

. Rochester was a

presidential elector The United States Electoral College is the group of presidential electors required by the Constitution to form every four years for the sole purpose of appointing the president and vice president. Each state and the District of Columbia app ...

1820 Events January–March *January 1 – Nominal beginning of the Trienio Liberal in Spain: A constitutionalist military insurrection at Cádiz leads to the summoning of the Spanish Parliament (March 7). *January 8 – General Maritime T ...

, voting for

James Monroe James Monroe ( ; April 28, 1758July 4, 1831) was an American statesman, lawyer, diplomat, and Founding Father who served as the fifth president of the United States from 1817 to 1825. A member of the Democratic-Republican Party, Monroe was ...

and

Daniel D. Tompkins Daniel D. Tompkins (June 21, 1774 – June 11, 1825) was an American politician. He was the fifth governor of New York from 1807 to 1817, and the sixth vice president of the United States from 1817 to 1825. Born in Scarsdale, New York, Tompkins ...

. Rochester 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 17th, and re-elected as a Crawford Democratic-Republican to the 18th United States Congress, holding office from December 3, 1821, until 1823. He was appointed as Judge of the Eight Circuit Court on April 21, 1823, and resigned from the House of Representatives. He resigned from the bench to run on the

Bucktails The Bucktails (1818–1826) were the faction of the Democratic-Republican Party in New York State opposed to Governor DeWitt Clinton. It was influenced by the Tammany Society. The name derives from a Tammany insignia, a deer's tail worn in the ha ...

ticket for Governor of New York 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 ...

, but was narrowly defeated by DeWitt Clinton. He was Secretary to the Special Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to Colombia in 1826, and Chargé d'affaires to Central America in 1827–28. He was appointed Chargé d'Affaires of Guatemala on March 3, 1827, and was commissioned to the Republic of Central America. He reached Central America, but returned to the United States without presenting credentials.

Later career

In 1828, he was appointed by

Nicholas Biddle Nicholas Biddle (January 8, 1786February 27, 1844) was an American financier who served as the third and last president of the Second Bank of the United States (chartered 1816–1836). Throughout his life Biddle worked as an editor, diplomat, au ...

as president of the branch of the

Second Bank of the United States The Second Bank of the United States was the second federally authorized Hamiltonian national bank in the United States. Located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the bank was chartered from February 1816 to January 1836.. The Bank's formal name, ...

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from Sou ...

, remaining there until 1836. He later served as president of the Bank of Pensacola, Florida and a director of the Alabama and Florida Railroad.

Personal life

In 1812, he married his first wife Harriet Irwin (d. 1815), and their son was: * Nathaniel Montgomery Rochester (1813–1823). On January 31, 1816, he married his second wife Amanda Hopkins (1799–1831), and their children were: * James Hervey Rochester (1819–1860), who married Evelina Throop Martin (1822–1907), a niece of Gov.

Enos T. Throop Enos Thompson Throop ( ; August 21, 1784 – November 1, 1874) was an American lawyer, politician, and diplomat who was the tenth Governor of New York from 1829 to 1832. Early life and career Throop was born in Johnstown, New York on August 21 ...

* Harriet Louisa Rochester (1821–1854), who married Hugh L. Bull * Sophia Elizabeth Rochester (1823–1824)

* William Beatty Rochester, Jr. (1826–1909), a

brigadier general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

of the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

* Nathaniel Elie Rochester (1829–1833). On April 9, 1832, he married his third wife Eliza (née Hatch) Powers (1800–1885), a half-sister of Gov.

and the widow of U.S. Rep.

Gershom Powers Gershom Powers (July 11, 1789 – June 25, 1831) was an American lawyer, jurist, and law enforcement officer who served one term as a U.S. Representative from New York from 1829 to 1831. Biography Born in Croydon, New Hampshire, Powers attended ...

. Together, William and Eliza were the parents of: * Eliza Hatch Rochester (1833–1868), who married Augus B. Fitch * George William Rochester (1835–1837). Rochester died in the wreck of the steamer '' Pulaski'' off the coast of

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and ...

on June 14, 1838.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rochester, William Beatty 1789 births 1838 deaths Politicians from Hagerstown, Maryland United States Army personnel of the War of 1812 Accidental deaths in North Carolina Deaths due to shipwreck at sea Members of the New York State Assembly People from Steuben County, New York People from Angelica, New York 19th-century American railroad executives Charlotte Hall Military Academy alumni 1820 United States presidential electors Democratic-Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state) 19th-century American legislators