James Warren Nye (June 10, 1815 – December 25, 1876) was an American attorney and politician. He was most notable for his service as Governor of Nevada Territory and a

United States senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

from

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a state in the Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the 7th-most extensive, ...

Biography

He was born in

DeRuyter, New York DeRuyter is a town in Madison County, New York, United States. The population was 1,589 at the 2010 census. The town is named after Michiel Adriaenszoon de Ruyter, a famous admiral in the Dutch navy. The name de Ruyter (de Ruĳter) means "the ...

, and attended the common schools and Homer Academy in

Homer, New York Homer is a town in Cortland County, New York, United States of America. The population was 6,405 at the 2010 census. The name is from the Greek poet Homer. The town of Homer contains a village called Homer. The town is situated on the west bord ...

. He then studied law with Lorenzo Sherwood and Martin P. Sweet of

Hamilton, New York Hamilton is a town in Madison County, New York, United States. The population was 6,690 at the 2010 census. The town is named after American Founding Father Alexander Hamilton. The Town of Hamilton contains a village also named Hamilton, the s ...

, and was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

. Nye practiced with Sherwood in Hamilton as the firm of Sherwood & Nye. In 1843, Nye was appointed a

master in chancery The Court of Chancery was a court of equity in England and Wales that followed a set of loose rules to avoid a slow pace of change and possible harshness (or "inequity") of the common law. The Chancery had jurisdiction over all matters of equ ...

. Nye served as surrogate of Madison County from 1844 to 1847 and county judge from 1847 to 1851. Nye was active in the

New York Militia The New York Guard (NYG) is the state defense force of New York State, also called The New York State Military Reserve. Originally called the New York State Militia it can trace its lineage back to the American Revolution and the War of 1812. Th ...

; in the early 1840s he was commander of the 17th Division's 35th Brigade as a

brigadier general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

. In 1846 he was appointed commander of the 17th Division with the rank of

major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...

. During the New York Democratic Party's fight between the

Barnburners and Hunkers The Barnburners and Hunkers were the names of two opposing factions of the New York Democratic Party in the mid-19th century. The main issue dividing the two factions was that of slavery, with the Barnburners being the anti-slavery faction. Whi ...

in the late 1840s, Nye was identified with the anti-slavery Barnburners. He supported

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 ...

's candidacy as the

Free Soil Party The Free Soil Party was a short-lived coalition political party in the United States active from 1848 to 1854, when it merged into the Republican Party. The party was largely focused on the single issue of opposing the expansion of slavery int ...

's nominee for president in 1848, and was an unsuccessful Free-Soil candidate for election to the Thirty-First Congress. He lived in Syracuse, New York from 1852 to 1857, where he continued the practice of law. In 1857, he moved to

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 ...

, where he served as president of the Metropolitan Board of Police from 1857 to 1860. In 1861, Nye was appointed by President

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...

to be Governor of the newly created

Nevada Territory The Territory of Nevada (N.T.) was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1861, until October 31, 1864, when it was admitted to the Union as the State of Nevada. Prior to the creation of the Nevada ...

. Upon the admission of Nevada as a state into the Union in 1864, he was elected a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

to the U.S. Senate. He was reelected in 1867 and served from February 1, 1865, to March 3, 1873. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection. While in the Senate, Nye was chairman of the Committee on Enrolled Bills (Thirty-ninth Congress), a member of the Committees on Revolutionary Claims (Fortieth Congress), and a member of the Committee on Territories (Forty-first Congress). Mark Twain was briefly Nye's Senate secretary. In ''Sketches Old and New'' he gave an account of their parting, which occurred after Twain supposedly wrote ridiculous letters to constituents following Nye's instructions not to address controversial issues. Nye was considered insane during his later years, and resided in an asylum. He suffered from delusions, including the belief that he was dead and waiting for his coffin to arrive. Nye died in

White Plains, New York (Always Faithful) , image_seal = WhitePlainsSeal.png , seal_link = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Country , subdivision_name = , subdivision_type1 = U.S. state, State , su ...

on December 25, 1876, and was interred at Woodlawn Cemetery in The Bronx. Nye County, Nevada was named for him.

References

External links

* Retrieved on 2009-5-12
Welcome to Nye County, Nevada
* Mark Twai
My late senatorial secretaryship
Schurz and Nye

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nye, James W. 1815 births 1876 deaths American militia generals Governors of Nevada Territory Nevada Republicans New York (state) Free Soilers New York (state) Republicans New York (state) state court judges People of Nevada in the American Civil War Republican Party United States senators from Nevada Union (American Civil War) state governors Burials at Woodlawn Cemetery (Bronx, New York) 19th-century American judges