Enos Thompson Throop ( ; August 21, 1784 – November 1, 1874) was an American lawyer, politician, and diplomat who was the tenth Governor of New York from 1829 to 1832.

Early life and career

Throop was born in

Johnstown, New York Johnstown is a city in and the county seat of Fulton County in the U.S. state of New York. The city was named after its founder, Sir William Johnson, Superintendent of Indian Affairs in the Province of New York and a major general during the Sev ...

on August 21, 1784, the eldest child of George Bliss Throop and Abiah Thompson. He studied law in Albany with attorney George Metcalfe, where he became friendly with his fellow student

Martin Van Buren Martin Van Buren ( ; nl, Maarten van Buren; ; December 5, 1782 – July 24, 1862) was an American lawyer and statesman who served as the eighth president of the United States from 1837 to 1841. A primary founder of the Democratic Party, he ...

. He was admitted to the bar in 1806, and began to practice law in

Auburn, New York Auburn is a city in Cayuga County, New York, United States. Located at the north end of Owasco Lake, one of the Finger Lakes in Central New York, the city had a population of 26,866 at the 2020 census. It is the largest city of Cayuga County, th ...

. He joined the

Democratic-Republican Party The Democratic-Republican Party, known at the time as the Republican Party and also referred to as the Jeffersonian Republican Party among other names, was an American political party founded by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in the earl ...

, and was appointed postmaster of the village, and in 1811 county clerk of

Cayuga County Cayuga County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 76,248. Its county seat and largest city is Auburn. The county was named for the Cayuga people, one of the Indian tribes in the Iroquois Confed ...

. In 1814, he married Evelina Vredenburgh, who died in 1834; she was the daughter of William Vredenburgh, an early landholder and investor in the area. None of their children survived infancy. The same year he was elected 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 Washingto ...

as a supporter of the war measures of the administration. He took part in the debates upon the measures to which the close of the war and the prostration of public and private credit gave rise. He also supported and voted for the act changing the compensation of congressmen from six dollars a day to $1,800 per annum, a course which temporarily clouded his political fortunes. Popular dissatisfaction with his actions was such that he was defeated at the congressional elections of April 1816, and resigned his seat on June 4, 1816. In April 1823, he was appointed Judge of the

Seventh Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit (in case citations, 7th Cir.) is the U.S. federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the courts in the following districts: * Central District of Illinois * Northern District of Ill ...

and remained on the bench until 1828 when he resigned.

Governor

In 1828, he joined his friend Martin Van Buren's ticket for the gubernatorial election as the

Democratic-Republican The Democratic-Republican Party, known at the time as the Republican Party and also referred to as the Jeffersonian Republican Party among other names, was an American political party founded by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in the early ...

candidate for lieutenant governor, a step that rendered it necessary for him to resign his judicial office. It was expected that Andrew Jackson would be elected president at the same election, in which event Van Buren would be made secretary of state and would, if his appointment were confirmed, have to resign the office of governor and the leadership of the party, and with Throop as his lieutenant would keep both offices in the hands of a friend. These expectations were fulfilled, and Throop succeeded to the office of governor on March 12, 1829. He was re-elected governor in 1830, defeating again

Francis Granger Francis Granger (December 1, 1792 – August 31, 1868) was an American politician who represented Ontario County, New York, in the United States House of Representatives for three non-consecutive terms. He was a leading figure in the state and ...

, who had been the contender for the lieutenant-governorship at the previous election. At this time the construction of the

Chenango Canal The Chenango Canal was a towpath canal in central New York in the United States which linked the Susquehanna River to the Erie Canal. Built and operated in the mid-19th century, it was 97 miles long and for much of its course followed the Chena ...

became one of the chief questions of state policy. He opposed the plan, raising such a vehement opposition to him in the localities through which the proposed canal would pass, that in 1832 he declined to seek a third term. The French observer of America

Alexis de Tocqueville Alexis Charles Henri Clérel, comte de Tocqueville (; 29 July 180516 April 1859), colloquially known as Tocqueville (), was a French aristocrat, diplomat, political scientist, political philosopher and historian. He is best known for his wor ...

visited Throop on his farm near Auburn and was amazed to find that the governor engaged in farming half the year to supplement his small salary.

Later life

In 1833 he was appointed by President Jackson naval officer at the Port of New York, which office he held until February 6, 1838, when President Van Buren appointed him Chargé d'affaires of the United States to the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. On this post he remained until January 12, 1842. After spending two years in Paris, he returned to the United States, and resided upon an estate on the banks of

Owasco Lake Owasco Lake is the sixth largest and third easternmost of the Finger Lakes of New York in the United States. It is part of the traditional territory of the Cayuga nation. History Owasco Lake's name may have been derived from the Iroquois word ...

near Auburn. In 1847 he moved to Kalamazoo, Michigan, where he purchased a farm of , and became noted among agriculturists. Advancing years compelled him to give up farming, and in 1857 he returned to his former home, removing in 1868 to New York City, but a few years later again returning to his residence near Auburn. He died on his estate of Willowbrook, near Auburn, on November 1, 1874, aged 90. He was buried in the churchyard of St. Peter's Episcopal Church (now Sts. Peter and St. John Church) in Auburn. There is a memorial to him at the

Cathedral of All Saints (Albany, New York) The Cathedral of All Saints, Albany, New York, is located on Elk Street in central Albany, New York, United States. It is the central church of the Episcopal Diocese of Albany and the seat of the Episcopal Bishop of Albany. Built in the 1880s ...

(''see image on this page'') that states in Latin, '' integer vitae scelerisque purus'', which means "upright of life and free from wickedness." The Town of Throop, New York in Cayuga County is named after him. Throop Avenue in Brooklyn (Kings County) and Throop Avenue in the Bronx are named after him.

References

Sources

Political Graveyard {{DEFAULTSORT:Throop, Enos Thompson 1784 births 1874 deaths Democratic Party governors of New York (state) Lieutenant Governors of New York (state) Ambassadors of the United States to the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies New York (state) postmasters People from Cayuga County, New York New York (state) state court judges Democratic-Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state) People from Johnstown, New York 19th-century American politicians 19th-century American judges 19th-century American diplomats