Joseph Bradley Varnum Jr. (June 9, 1818

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

– December 31, 1874,

Astoria, Queens Astoria is a neighborhood in the western portion of the New York City borough of Queens. Astoria is bounded by the East River and is adjacent to three other Queens neighborhoods: Long Island City to the southwest, Sunnyside to the southeast ...

, then Long Island City, now in

Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

) was an American lawyer and politician.

Life

He was a grandson of Joseph Bradley Varnum. 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 1838, where he was a member of

Skull and Bones Skull and Bones, also known as The Order, Order 322 or The Brotherhood of Death, is an undergraduate senior secret student society at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. The oldest senior class society at the university, Skull and Bone ...

. He studied law at Yale and with

Roger B. Taney Roger Brooke Taney (; March 17, 1777 – October 12, 1864) was the fifth chief justice of the United States, holding that office from 1836 until his death in 1864. Although an opponent of slavery, believing it to be an evil practice, Taney belie ...

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

, and was admitted to the bar in 1840. He practiced law in Baltimore for several years before moving to

, where he acquired a large practice. He was a Whig member of the New York State Assembly (New York Co.) in

1849 Events January–March * January 1 – France begins issue of the Ceres series, the nation's first postage stamps. * January 5 – Hungarian Revolution of 1848: The Austrian army, led by Alfred I, Prince of Windisch-Grätz, enters in th ...

1850 Events January–June * April ** Pope Pius IX returns from exile to Rome. ** Stephen Foster's parlor ballad "Ah! May the Red Rose Live Alway" is published in the United States. * April 4 – Los Angeles is incorporated as a city ...

and 1851. Varnum was chosen

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 ...

''pro tempore'' in June 1851, and presided over the Assembly for the duration of the special session.Speaker

Henry Jarvis Raymond Henry Jarvis Raymond (January 24, 1820 – June 18, 1869) was an American journalist, politician, and co-founder of ''The New York Times'', which he founded with George Jones. He was a member of the New York State Assembly, Lieutenant Governor ...

, the publisher of the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', spent that summer travelling about Europe, and did not attend the special session. He was again a member of the State Assembly (New York Co., 13th D.) in 1857, and was the Know Nothing candidate for Speaker. At one time he was a member of the Common Council of New York City. In 1871, he took an active part in the agitation against corruption in the government of New York City. He was a contributor to magazines and newspapers, and published in book form ''The Seat of Government of the United States'' (New York, 1848) and ''The Washington Sketch-Book''. Varnum died on New Year's Eve, 1874. He was buried in

Congressional Cemetery The Congressional Cemetery, officially Washington Parish Burial Ground, is a historic and active cemetery located at 1801 E Street, SE, in Washington, D.C., on the west bank of the Anacostia River. It is the only American "cemetery of national m ...

Notes

References

Obituary
in ''New York Times'', January 1, 1875 (misspelling the name of his grandfather)
Obituaries of J.B. Varnum Jr. and other family members buried at Congressional Cemetery, Washington, D.C.''The New York Civil List''
compiled by Franklin Benjamin Hough (Weed, Parsons & Co., Albany NY, 1858) Attribution: * {{DEFAULTSORT:Varnum, Joseph B. Jr. 1818 births 1874 deaths New York (state) Whigs 19th-century American legislators New York (state) Know Nothings Speakers of the New York State Assembly Yale College alumni Politicians from Washington, D.C. Burials at the Congressional Cemetery Members of Skull and Bones