Charles Humphrey (February 14, 1792 – April 17, 1850) was an American lawyer and politician from New York. He served as a U.S. Representative and as

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 ...

of the New York State Assembly.

Life

He was born in Little Britain, Orange County, New York, but moved to

Newburgh, New York Newburgh is a city in the U.S. state of New York, within Orange County. With a population of 28,856 as of the 2020 census, it is a principal city of the Poughkeepsie–Newburgh–Middletown metropolitan area. Located north of New York City, a ...

, at an early age and attended the Newburgh Academy. Then he studied law. He entered 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 ...

at the beginning of 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 ...

as First Sergeant of Newburgh Company Number Five. He was commissioned a captain in the Forty-first Regiment, United States Infantry, on August 15, 1813. After the war he resumed the study of law, and was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

on January 11, 1816. He moved to

Ithaca, New York Ithaca is a city in the Finger Lakes region of New York, United States. Situated on the southern shore of Cayuga Lake, Ithaca is the seat of Tompkins County and the largest community in the Ithaca metropolitan statistical area. It is named ...

in 1818, and engaged in the practice of law. Humphrey was elected as an Adams candidate to the Nineteenth Congress, and served from March 4, 1825 to March 3, 1827. He served as president of the village of Ithaca in 1828 and 1829. He was elected Surrogate of

Tompkins County, New York Tompkins County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 105,740. The county seat is Ithaca. The name is in honor of Daniel D. Tompkins, who served as Governor of New York and Vice President ...

, and served from March 4, 1831, to January 8, 1834. He was a member from Tompkins County of the New York State Assembly from 1834 to 1836, when he was active in studying prison reform as well as education, and in 1842, and was

in 1835 and 1836. He was appointed clerk of the New York Supreme Court in 1843 and held that position until 1847. Humphrey married Ann Eliza Belknap (1797–1861) in Newburgh, New York in 1816. The couple had seven children, three of whom survived to adulthood: William Ross Humphrey (1820–1901), Charles D. Humphrey (1832–1870), and Sarah B. Humphrey Judd (1835–1904). He died in Albany, Albany County, New York, and was buried at the City Cemetery in Ithaca, N.Y. Charles Humphrey is the namesake of Humphrey, New York.

References

Retrieved on 2009-5-16

Sources

Political Graveyard

Google Books = John Stilwell Jenkins: ''History of Political Parties in the State of New-York'' (Alden & Markham, Auburn NY, 1846) Selkreg, John H, Landmarks of Tompkins County, New York. Syracuse: D. Mason & Company, 1894. {{DEFAULTSORT:Humphrey, Charles 1792 births 1850 deaths 19th-century American politicians National Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state) People from New Windsor, New York Politicians from Ithaca, New York Speakers of the New York State Assembly Democratic Party members of the New York State Assembly United States Army officers United States Army personnel of the War of 1812