Albert Lester (c. 1803 – March 14, 1867) was an American lawyer and politician.

Life

Lester removed from

Litchfield, Connecticut Litchfield is a town in and former county seat of Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 8,192 at the 2020 census. The boroughs of Bantam and Litchfield are located within the town. There are also three unincorpora ...

, to Canandaigua. He was a Democratic member of the

New York State Senate The New York State Senate is the upper house of the New York State Legislature; the New York State Assembly is its lower house. Its members are elected to two-year terms; there are no term limits. There are 63 seats in the Senate. Partisan comp ...

(7th D.) from 1844 to 1847, sitting in the 67th, 68th, 69th and

70th New York State Legislature The 70th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 5 to December 15, 1847, during the first year of John Young's governorship, in Albany. Background Under the provisi ...

s. On February 12, 1847, Lester was elected President pro tempore of the State Senate, to preside during the absence of the Lieutenant Governor. In May 1847, Lt. Gov.

Addison Gardiner Addison Gardiner (March 19, 1797 – June 5, 1883) was an American lawyer and politician who served as Lieutenant governor of New York from 1845 to 1847 and Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals from 1854 to 1855. Early life and career G ...

was elected to 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 ...

and took office on July 5. Gardiner thus vacated the office of lieutenant governor—who is

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 ...

President of the State Senate—and Lester became Acting

Lieutenant Governor of New York The lieutenant governor of New York is a constitutional office in the executive branch of the Government of the State of New York. It is the second highest-ranking official in state government. The lieutenant governor is elected on a ticket w ...

. Urged by Governor

John Young John Young may refer to: Academics * John Young (professor of Greek) (died 1820), Scottish professor of Greek at the University of Glasgow * John C. Young (college president) (1803–1857), American educator, pastor, and president of Centre Coll ...

, the State Legislature passed on September 27 a law to hold a special election for lieutenant governor at the New York state election, 1847 to fill the vacancy, and

Hamilton Fish Hamilton Fish (August 3, 1808September 7, 1893) was an American politician who served as the 16th Governor of New York from 1849 to 1850, a United States Senator from New York from 1851 to 1857 and the 26th United States Secretary of State fro ...

was elected to take office on January 1, 1848. Lester died in

Canandaigua (town), New York Canandaigua (pronounced "Ka-nuhn-day-gwuh") is a town in Ontario County, New York, United States. The population was 11,109 at the 2020 census. The Town of Canandaigua borders the City of Canandaigua at the north end of Canandaigua Lake and is ...

, on March 14, 1867. He was buried at the West Avenue Cemetery in Canandaigua.

Sources

''The American Almanac and Repository of Useful Knowledge''
by Jared Sparks, Francis Bowen & George Partridge Sanger (Gray and Bowen, 1847; page 245)
''The New York Civil List''
compiled by Franklin Benjamin Hough (pages 32, 134ff and 143; Weed, Parsons and Co., 1858)

Political Graveyard

Gravestone info, transcribed at NY GenWeb
''Political History of the State of New York from January 1, 1841, to January 1, 1847, Vol III, including the Life of Silas Wright''
by

Jabez Delano Hammond Jabez Delano Hammond (August 2, 1778 – August 18, 1855) was an American physician, lawyer, author and politician. Life Hammond was born in New Bedford, Bristol County, Massachusetts. He practiced medicine in Reading, Vermont, but afterward stud ...

(Hall & Dickson, Syracuse NY, 1848; pages 367f)
''The Regents of the University of the State of New York: 1784-1959''
compiled by Albert Bickmore Corey (University of the State of New York, 1959; pages 23 and 33) {{DEFAULTSORT:Lester, Albert 1800s births Year of birth uncertain 1867 deaths 19th-century American politicians Lieutenant Governors of New York (state) New York (state) state senators Politicians from Canandaigua, New York Politicians from Litchfield, Connecticut