Noble Strong Elderkin (August 28, 1810 in

Potsdam Potsdam () is the capital and, with around 183,000 inhabitants, largest city of the German state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream o ...

St. Lawrence County, New York St. Lawrence County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 108,505. The county seat is Canton. The county is named for the Saint Lawrence River, which in turn was named for the Christian saint La ...

– 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 The speaker of the New York State Assembly is the highest official in the New York State Assembly, customarily elected from the ranks of the majority party. As in most countries with a British heritage, the Speaker (politics), speaker presides o ...

in 1850.

Life

He was the son of Anthony Y. Elderkin, a wheelwright ( 1785 in

Willimantic, Connecticut Willimantic is a city located in the town of Windham in Windham County, Connecticut, United States. It is a former Census-designated place and borough, and is currently organized as one of two tax districts within the Town of Windham. Known as " ...

– 19 May 1850 in

Madrid, New York Madrid ( ) is a town in St. Lawrence County, New York. The population was 1,735 at the time of the 2010 census. The town is named after the capital of Spain. Madrid is in the northern part of the county, north of Canton. Madrid-Waddington Ce ...

) and Parmela Fuller Elderkin. His parents married in 1807 at

Middlebury, Vermont Middlebury is the shire town (county seat) of Addison County, Vermont, United States. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the population was 9,152. Middlebury is home to Middlebury College and the Henry Sheldon Museum of Vermont History. History On ...

. Their first child Elmira L. Elderkin (1807–1880) was born there. In 1808, the family removed to Potsdam, New York, where Noble and his other siblings were born. He was Sheriff of St. Lawrence County, New York from 1843 to 1846. He was a Democratic member from St. Lawrence County of the New York State Assembly from 1849 to 1851. In 1850, Democrats and Whigs had a tie vote in the Assembly, but it having become apparent to Robert H. Pruyn, the Whig candidate for Speaker, that one of the Whig members could not properly hold his seat, Pruyn abstained from voting, and Elderkin was chosen Speaker. The appreciation of this high-minded course was shown shortly afterward: The Speaker was called home when his wife Eliza was very ill, and the Democrats voted for Pruyn to become the new Speaker. Shortly thereafter, both Elderkin's wife and father died, his wife at Potsdam, N.Y., on April 8, aged 38 years, his father on May 19 at neighboring Madrid, N.Y., and Elderkin did not return to the Assembly for the remainder of this session. He was President of the village of Potsdam from 1857 until 1858. In

1859 Events January–March * January 21 – José Mariano Salas (1797–1867) becomes Conservative interim President of Mexico. * January 24 ( O. S.) – Wallachia and Moldavia are united under Alexandru Ioan Cuza (Romania since 1866, final ...

, he ran on the Democratic and American tickets for

New York State Prison Inspector The Inspector of State Prisons was a statewide elective office created by the New York State Constitution of 1846. At the 1847 New York state election, three Inspectors were elected and then, upon taking office, so classified that henceforth every ...

but was narrowly defeated by Republican David P. Forrest.

Sources

Elderkin genealogy at Genforum

His wife's death notice

Potsdam History

Mention in Census 1870

Noble and Eliza mentioned in birth records 1847

Bio of Robert H. Pruyn at Schenectady History
Google Books
''The New York Civil List'' compiled by Franklin Benjamin Hough (pages 272 and 406; Weed, Parsons and Co., 1858) {{DEFAULTSORT:Elderkin, Noble Strong 1810 births 1875 deaths Speakers of the New York State Assembly Democratic Party members of the New York State Assembly People from Potsdam, New York New York (state) Know Nothings 19th-century American politicians Sheriffs of St. Lawrence County, New York