Daniel Cady (April 29, 1773 – October 31, 1859 in Johnstown,

Fulton County, New York Fulton County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. It forms part of the state's Mohawk Valley region. Its county seat is Johnstown. At the 2020 U.S. census, the county had a population of 53,324. The county is named in honor of Robert ...

) was a prominent American lawyer, politician and judge in

upstate New York Upstate New York is a geographic region consisting of the area of New York (state), New York State that lies north and northwest of the New York metropolitan area, New York City metropolitan area. Although the precise boundary is debated, Upsta ...

. While perhaps better known today as the father of

Elizabeth Cady Stanton Elizabeth Cady Stanton (November 12, 1815 – October 26, 1902) was an American writer and activist who was a leader of the women's rights movement in the U.S. during the mid- to late-19th century. She was the main force behind the 1848 Seneca ...

, Judge Cady had a full and accomplished life of his own.

Life

Cady was born in that part of

Canaan Canaan (; Phoenician: 𐤊𐤍𐤏𐤍 – ; he, כְּנַעַן – , in pausa – ; grc-bib, Χανααν – ;The current scholarly edition of the Greek Old Testament spells the word without any accents, cf. Septuaginta : id est Vetus T ...

Columbia County, New York Columbia County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 61,570. The county seat is Hudson. The name comes from the Latin feminine form of the name of Christopher Columbus, which was at th ...

which was later split off to form

Chatham, New York Chatham is a town in Columbia County, New York, United States. The population was 4,104 at the 2020 census, down from the 2010 census. The town has a village also called Chatham on its southern town line. The town is at the northern border of ...

. He was a son of Eleazer Cady (1745–1819) and Tryphena (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

Beebe) Cady (1749–1839). His siblings included Typhema Cady (b. 1768), Zilpha Cady Halsey (1770–1858), Eleazer Cady (1775–1856), Ruth Cady (b. 1777), Sally Cady Eaton (1780–1816). Through his elder brother Eleazer, he was uncle to John Watts Cady (1790–1854), also a U.S. Representative from New York.

Career

He learned the

shoemaker Shoemaking is the process of making footwear. Originally, shoes were made one at a time by hand, often by groups of shoemakers, or cobblers (also known as ''cordwainers''). In the 18th century, dozens or even hundreds of masters, journeymen an ...

's trade, but accidentally injured an eye and lost the sight of it at age 18. He then studied law, first in Canaan with Judge Whiting, then in

Troy Troy ( el, Τροία and Latin: Troia, Hittite: 𒋫𒊒𒄿𒊭 ''Truwiša'') or Ilion ( el, Ίλιον and Latin: Ilium, Hittite: 𒃾𒇻𒊭 ''Wiluša'') was an ancient city located at Hisarlik in present-day Turkey, south-west of Ç ...

with John Woodworth at the Albany Law School. Cady was admitted to the bar in 1795, and commenced practice in

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and ...

, Montgomery County. After a year in Florida, he moved to Johnstown, then the county seat. As a young lawyer, he worked with such notables as

Alexander Hamilton Alexander Hamilton (January 11, 1755 or 1757July 12, 1804) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first United States secretary of the treasury from 1789 to 1795. Born out of wedlock in Charle ...

and

Aaron Burr Aaron Burr Jr. (February 6, 1756 – September 14, 1836) was an American politician and lawyer who served as the third vice president of the United States from 1801 to 1805. Burr's legacy is defined by his famous personal conflict with Alexand ...

, and toward the end of his career, he served on a case with

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation throu ...

, where they each represented clients in a land dispute associated with

Beloit College Beloit College is a private liberal arts college in Beloit, Wisconsin. Founded in 1846, when Wisconsin was still a territory, it is the state's oldest continuously operated college. It is a member of the Associated Colleges of the Midwest and ...

Public office

Cady was elected as 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 Ass ...

in 1808, serving three consecutive terms in the

32nd 3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious or cultural significance in many societie ...

, 33rd and

34th New York State Legislature The 34th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 29 to April 9, 1811, during the fourth year of Daniel D. Tompkins's governorship, in Albany. Background Under the pr ...

s beginning on July 1, 1808, and continuing until June 30, 1811. From February to April 1813, Cady again served in the Assembly, this time the

36th New York State Legislature The 36th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from November 3, 1812, to April 13, 1813, during the sixth year of Daniel D. Tompkins's governorship, in Albany. Background Under ...

, while he was also the District Attorney of the Fifth District, which comprised Albany, Saratoga, Montgomery, Schoharie and

Schenectady Schenectady () is a city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the 2020 census, the city's population of 67,047 made it the state's ninth-largest city by population. The city is in eastern New Y ...

counties. Cady was elected as a

Federalist The term ''federalist'' describes several political beliefs around the world. It may also refer to the concept of parties, whose members or supporters called themselves ''Federalists''. History Europe federation In Europe, proponents of de ...

to the

14th United States Congress The 14th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in the Old Brick Capitol in Washin ...

, holding office from March 4, 1815, to March 3, 1817. He was not a candidate for renomination and after serving in the U.S. Congress, returned to the practice of law. From June 7, 1847, to January 1, 1855, Cady was a justice of the

New York Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the State of New York is the trial-level court of general jurisdiction in the New York State Unified Court System. (Its Appellate Division is also the highest intermediate appellate court.) It is vested with unlimited civ ...

(4th D.) until he retired and resigned. Cady also served as an ''

ex officio An ''ex officio'' member is a member of a body (notably a board, committee, council) who is part of it by virtue of holding another office. The term '' ex officio'' is Latin, meaning literally 'from the office', and the sense intended is 'by right ...

'' judge of the

New York Court of Appeals The New York Court of Appeals is the highest court in the Unified Court System of the State of New York. The Court of Appeals consists of seven judges: the Chief Judge and six Associate Judges who are appointed by the Governor and confirmed by ...

in 1849 and 1853. In

1856 Events January–March * January 8 – Borax deposits are discovered in large quantities by John Veatch in California. * January 23 – American paddle steamer SS ''Pacific'' leaves Liverpool (England) for a transatlantic voya ...

, Cady 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 ...

on the Republican

John C. Fremont John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

ticket. Cady presided over the New York electoral college, which cast 35 votes for Fremont who lost the election to Democrat

James Buchanan James Buchanan Jr. ( ; April 23, 1791June 1, 1868) was an American lawyer, diplomat and politician who served as the 15th president of the United States from 1857 to 1861. He previously served as secretary of state from 1845 to 1849 and repr ...

Legacy

He is considered by some the father of Fulton County, virtually engineering the county's creation in 1838 after the Montgomery county seat was moved from Johnstown to

Fonda, New York Fonda is a Village (New York), village in and the county seat of Montgomery County, New York, Montgomery County, New York (state), New York, United States. The population was 795 at the 2010 census. The village is named after Douw Fonda, a Dutch-Am ...

. The newly established county was named after

Robert Fulton Robert Fulton (November 14, 1765 – February 24, 1815) was an American engineer and inventor who is widely credited with developing the world's first commercially successful steamboat, the (also known as ''Clermont''). In 1807, that steambo ...

, a cousin of Cady's wife.

Personal life

On July 8, 1801, Cady was married to Margaret Livingston (1785–1871), the daughter of Col. James Livingston, an officer in the

Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies (the Thirteen Colonies) in the Revolutionary-era United States. It was formed by the Second Continental Congress after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, and was establis ...

during the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revoluti ...

who fought at Saratoga and

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirte ...

, and assisted in the capture of Major John Andre at

West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known Metonymy, metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a f ...

. Five of their children died in early childhood or infancy. A sixth child, a son named Eleazar, died at age 20 just before his graduation from

Union College Union College is a private liberal arts college in Schenectady, New York. Founded in 1795, it was the first institution of higher learning chartered by the New York State Board of Regents, and second in the state of New York, after Columbia Co ...

Schenectady, New York Schenectady () is a city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the 2020 census, the city's population of 67,047 made it the state's ninth-largest city by population. The city is in eastern New Yo ...

. Only five daughters lived well into adulthood and old age.Griffith, pp. 227–228; Stanton, ''Eighty Years & More'' Their surviving children included: * Tryphenia Cady (1804–1891), who married Edward Bayard (1806–1889), a Union College classmate of Eleazar and son of James Bayard, a

U.S. Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and power ...

. * Eleazer Livingston Cady (1806–1826), who died at age 20 just before his graduation from

. * Harriet Elizabeth Cady (1810–1894), who married Daniel Cady Eaton (1804–1855), a son of

Amos Eaton Amos Eaton (May 17, 1776 – May 10, 1842) was an American botanist, geologist, and educator who is considered the founder of the modern scientific prospectus in education, which was a radical departure from the American liberal arts tradition of ...

and brother of General Amos Beebe Eaton, and her first cousin. * Elizabeth Smith Cady (1815–1902), who married

Henry Brewster Stanton Henry Brewster Stanton (June 27, 1805 – January 14, 1887) was an American abolitionist, social reformer, attorney, journalist and politician. His writing was published in the ''New York Tribune,'' the '' New York Sun,'' and William Lloy ...

, brother of

Robert L. Stanton Robert Lodowick Stanton D.D. (March 28, 1810 – May 23, 1885) was an American Presbyterian minister, educator and college administrator. He served as president of Miami University of Ohio from 1868 to 1871. He also served as president of Oa ...

, in 1840. * Margaret Chinn Cady (1817–1901), who married Duncan McMartin (1817–1894), son of

Duncan McMartin Jr. Duncan McMartin Jr. (1776 – October 3, 1837) was an American politician from New York. Life He lived in Broadalbin, then in Montgomery Co., now in Fulton County. He married Margaret (1778–1835), and they had several children. He was a memb ...

, a New York State Senator. * Catherine Henry Cady (1820–1899), who married Samuel Wilkeson (1817–1889), son of

Samuel Wilkeson Samuel Wilkeson (June 1, 1781 – July 7, 1848) was a merchant, politician, and judge who served as mayor of Buffalo, New York. Early life He was born in Carlisle, Pennsylvania on June 1, 1781. He was a child of John Wilkeson and Mary (née Rob ...

, a

Mayor of Buffalo The following is a list of people who have served as mayors of the city of Buffalo in the U.S. state of New York. List of mayors Number of mayors by party affiliation History In 1853, the charter of the city was amended to include the tow ...

. His wife was an unusually tall woman for her time, had a commanding presence, whom their daughter Elizabeth described as "queenly."Griffith, pp.10–11 Margaret was said to have been emotionally devastated by the loss of so many children and fell into a depression, which prevented her from being fully involved in the lives of her surviving children. Cady died in Johnstown on October 31, 1859. He was buried at Johnstown Cemetery.

Descendants

Daniel Cady's wife's sister Elizabeth, who married Peter Gerrit Smith, was the mother of Gerrit Smith, the prominent

abolitionist Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people. The British ...

who was married to Ann Carroll Fitzhugh. Gerrit Smith was a candidate for

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal gove ...

1848 1848 is historically famous for the wave of revolutions, a series of widespread struggles for more liberal governments, which broke out from Brazil to Hungary; although most failed in their immediate aims, they significantly altered the polit ...

, and

1860 Events January–March * January 2 – The discovery of a hypothetical planet Vulcan is announced at a meeting of the French Academy of Sciences in Paris, France. * January 10 – The Pemberton Mill in Lawrence, Massachusetts ...

. Through his daughter Elizabeth,Baker, p. 107–108 Daniel Cady was the grandfather of Daniel Cady Stanton (1842–1891), Henry Brewster Stanton, Jr. (1844–1903), Gerrit Smith Stanton (1845–1927), Theodore Weld Stanton (1851–1925; a prominent journalist), Margaret Livingston Stanton Lawrence (1852–1930),

Harriot Eaton Stanton Blatch Harriot Eaton Blatch ( Stanton; January 20, 1856–November 20, 1940) was an American writer and suffragist. She was the daughter of pioneering women's rights activist Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Biography Harriot Eaton Stanton was born, the sixth ...

(1856–1940; also a suffragist), and Robert Livingston Stanton (1859–1920). Through his daughter Harriet, he was the grandfather of

Daniel Cady Eaton Daniel Cady Eaton (September 12, 1834 – June 29, 1895) was an American botanist and author. After studies at the Rensselaer Institute in Troy and Russell's military school in New Haven,"Daniel Cady Eaton", ''American Journal of Science'', Au ...

(1834-1895), professor of botany at

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, ...

from the 1860s and the first Governor of the Society of Colonial Wars in the State of Connecticut.

Notes

Bibliography

* Baker, Jean H. ''Sisters: The Lives of America's Suffragists.'' Hill and Wang, New York, 2005. . * Blatch, Harriot Stanton and

Alma Lutz Alma Lutz (1890–1973) was an American feminist and activist for equal rights and woman suffrage. She was also the biographer of key women in the women's rights movement. Early life Alma Lutz was born in Jamestown, North Dakota to Mathilde (Baue ...

; ''Challenging Years: the Memoirs of Harriot Stanton Blatch''; G.P. Putnam's Sons; New York, NY, 1940. * Griffith, Elisabeth. ''In Her Own Right: The Life of Elizabeth Cady Stanton.'' Oxford University Press; New York, NY, 1985. .

External links

Beloit College Archives

Daniel Cady Memorial Website

Daniel Cady Memorial Website - Letters
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cady, Daniel 1773 births 1859 deaths Judges of the New York Court of Appeals People from Canaan, New York New York Supreme Court Justices County district attorneys in New York (state) Republican Party members of the New York State Assembly 1856 United States presidential electors Livingston family Federalist Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state) People from Johnstown, New York Burials in New York (state) American politicians with disabilities