Alexander Sheldon (October 23, 1766 in Suffield,

Hartford County, Connecticut Hartford County is a county located in the north central part of the U.S. state of Connecticut. According to the 2020 census, the population was 899,498, making it the second-most populous county in Connecticut. Hartford County contains the ...

– September 10, 1836 in

Montgomery County, New York Montgomery County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 49,532. The county seat is Fonda. The county was named in honor of Richard Montgomery, an American Revolutionary War general killed in 17 ...

) was an American physician and politician.

Life

He was the son of Phineas Sheldon (1717–1807) and Ruth Harmon Sheldon (1733–1805). 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 1787. He was a member of the New York State Assembly from 1800 to 1808, in 1812 and in 1826, and was

Speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** I ...

in 1804, 1805, 1806, 1808 and 1812. He was the last of the Speakers that wore the

Cocked Hat The bicorne or bicorn (two-cornered) is a historical form of hat widely adopted in the 1790s as an item of uniform by European and American army and naval officers. Most generals and staff officers of the Napoleonic period wore bicornes, whic ...

as the badge of office. He graduated from the

New York College of Physicians and Surgeons Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons (VP&S) is the graduate medical school of Columbia University, located at the Columbia University Irving Medical Center in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan. Founded ...

in 1812. He was a regent of the

University of the State of New York The University of the State of New York (USNY, ) is the state of New York's governmental umbrella organization for both public and private institutions in New York State. The "university" is not an educational institution: it is, in fact, a lic ...

. He was a delegate to the

New York State Constitutional Convention The Constitution of the State of New York establishes the structure of the government of the State of New York, and enumerates the basic rights of the citizens of New York. Like most state constitutions in the United States, New York's constituti ...

of 1821. He was married to Miriam King (b. 1770 Suffield). Their son, Smith Sheldon (1811–1884), established the publishing-house of Sheldon and Company. Their daughter Delia Sheldon was the mother of the

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 ...

missionary,

Sheldon Jackson Sheldon Jackson (May 18, 1834 – May 2, 1909) was a Presbyterian minister, missionary, and political leader. During this career he travelled about one million miles (1.6 million km) and established more than one hundred missions and churches, ...

, who established more than a hundred churches, mostly in the

Western United States The Western United States (also called the American West, the Far West, and the West) is the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. As American settlement in the U.S. expanded westward, the meaning of the term ''the We ...

Sources

*Bio at Famous Americans

Ancestry

Members of NYSA from Montg. Co. {{DEFAULTSORT:Sheldon, Alexander 1766 births 1832 deaths Speakers of the New York State Assembly People from Suffield, Connecticut Regents of the University of the State of New York Yale College alumni People of colonial Connecticut New York College of Physicians and Surgeons alumni