Ferral Carlton Dininny (January 22, 1818 – July 24, 1901) was an American businessman and politician from the

Southern Tier The Southern Tier is a geographic subregion of the broader Upstate New York region of New York State, consisting of counties west of the Catskill Mountains in Delaware County and geographically situated along or very near the northern border ...

region of

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 * '' ...

Life

His father Ferral Dininny (1785–1876) came from

County Cavan County Cavan ( ; gle, Contae an Chabháin) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is part of the Border Region. It is named after the town of Cavan and is base ...

, Ireland to the United States and settled at Addison, Steuben County, New York. Among his children were William Dininny (b. 1810), Henry Ferral Dininny (b. 1815), Ferral Carlton Dininny, John W. Dininny, Owen Dininny (b. 1822) and Daniel Ensign Dininny. Ferral C. Dininny was born in Otsego County, New York on January 22, 1818. He received his early education in the Otsego County district schools. Later he entered the Whitesboro Institute near Utica, New York, and finished his studies at the seminary in Lima, New York. He resolved to study law, and entered the law office of Andrew Chatsfiels in Addison.. He was admitted to the bar in 1845 in Bath, New York, and opened an office in Addison. In December 1849, he married Altia F. Harford of Bedford, Westchester County, New York. Their only child, Ferral C. Dininny Jr., was born in 1851. In 1850, he was 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 ...

from Steuben County, New York. Dininny was chosen Speaker pro tempore for part of the 73rd session that year when

Noble S. Elderkin Noble Strong Elderkin (August 28, 1810 in Potsdam, St. Lawrence County, New York – December 29, 1875 in Potsdam, St. Lawrence County, New York) was an American politician from New York. He was Speaker of the New York State Assembly in 1850. Life ...

of St. Lawrence County, New York, was called away by illness in his family. (

Robert H. Pruyn Robert Hewson Pruyn (February 14, 1815 – February 26, 1882) was an American lawyer, militia general, diplomat, and politician from Albany, New York. He was most notable for his service as Speaker of the New York State Assembly, Adjutant Gene ...

of Albany also served as Speaker pro tempore for part of that session.) Dininny was chosen a presidential elector in 1852, and cast his ballot for the Democratic nominee,

Franklin Pierce Franklin Pierce (November 23, 1804October 8, 1869) was the 14th president of the United States, serving from 1853 to 1857. He was a northern Democrat who believed that the abolitionist movement was a fundamental threat to the nation's unity ...

. He also was supervisor of Addison for 13 straight years, and became interested in the real estate business. He was President of the Butler Colliery Company in

Elmira, New York Elmira () is a city and the county seat of Chemung County, New York, United States. It is the principal city of the Elmira, New York, metropolitan statistical area, which encompasses Chemung County. The population was 26,523 at the 2020 cens ...

. He was also among the owners of the Blossburg Coal Company, in

Blossburg, Pennsylvania Blossburg is a borough in Tioga County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 1,536 at the 2020 census. History In 1792, a party of immigrants who were building the Williamson Road from Williamsport, in Lycoming County, to Painted Post ...

, which obtained its charter by an act of the Legislature of Pennsylvania, approved April 11, 1866. Dininny moved to

in 1872, and lived there in what was then known as the "Governor Randall" property on Water Street. His wife, Altia, died in 1896. At the time of his death in July 1901, he was commonly supposed to be worth at least $1 million (about $25 million in today's dollar terms, based on data from the

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) is a unit of the United States Department of Labor. It is the principal fact-finding agency for the U.S. government in the broad field of labor economics and statistics and serves as a principal agency of th ...

and ''Historical Statistics of the United States to 1970, Table E135-166''), although many believed this estimate was too conservative. F.C. Dininny Jr., who lived in the greater New York City region, interred his parents' remains in an unknown cemetery in that area. They were subsequently moved to

Kensico Cemetery Kensico Cemetery, located in Valhalla, Westchester County, New York was founded in 1889, when many New York City cemeteries were becoming full, and rural cemeteries were being created near the railroads that served the city. Initially , it was ...

in Valhalla, Westchester County, New York, in 1922.

Sources

Dininny ancestry, at Gen Forum
Google Books
''The New York Civil List'' compiled by Franklin Benjamin Hough (Weed, Parsons & Co., Albany NY, 1858)

History of The Seven Counties, by Joyce M. Tice *Obituary published in the ''Elmira Advertiser'' on July 25, 1901 {{DEFAULTSORT:Dininny, Ferral Carlton 1818 births 1901 deaths American people of Irish descent Members of the New York State Assembly Speakers of the New York State Assembly 1852 United States presidential electors People from Otsego County, New York Burials at Kensico Cemetery