Augustus Schoonmaker Jr. (March 2, 1828 – April 9, 1894) was an American lawyer and

Democratic Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

politician.

Life

Schoonmaker was born March 2, 1828, in the Town of

Rochester Rochester may refer to: Places Australia * Rochester, Victoria Canada * Rochester, Alberta United Kingdom *Rochester, Kent ** City of Rochester-upon-Medway (1982–1998), district council area ** History of Rochester, Kent ** HM Prison ...

Ulster County, New York Ulster County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. It is situated along the Hudson River. As of the 2020 census, the population was 181,851. The county seat is Kingston. The county is named after the Irish province of Ulster. History ...

(not to be confused with the city of Rochester, New York which is significsntly further west) to Hendricus Martin (1792-1870) and Jane (née Schoonmaker) Schoonmaker (1796-1866). His parents were second cousins, sharing the same great-grandparents, Jan and Margaret Hornbeck Schoonmaker. Schoonmaker was originally a teacher and superintendent of schools in Ulster County. In 1853, he was admitted to the bar. He was County Judge in Ulster County from 1864 to 1872, and a 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 com ...

(14th D.) in

1876 Events January–March * January 1 ** The Reichsbank opens in Berlin. ** The Bass Brewery Red Triangle becomes the world's first registered trademark symbol. * February 2 – The National League, National League of Professional Ba ...

and

1877 Events January–March * January 1 – Queen Victoria is proclaimed ''Empress of India'' by the ''Royal Titles Act 1876'', introduced by Benjamin Disraeli, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom . * January 8 – Great S ...

. He was

New York Attorney General The attorney general of New York is the chief legal officer of the U.S. state of New York and head of the Department of Law of the state government. The office has been in existence in some form since 1626, under the Dutch colonial government ...

from 1878 to 1879, elected at the

New York state election, 1877 The 1877 New York state election was held on November 6, 1877, to elect the Secretary of State, the State Comptroller, the Attorney General, the State Treasurer and the State Engineer, as well as all members of the New York State Assembly and ...

on the Democratic ticket. At the

New York state election, 1879 The 1879 New York state election was held on November 4, 1879, to elect the governor, the lieutenant governor, the secretary state, the state comptroller, the attorney general, the state treasurer and the state engineer, as well as all member ...

, he was defeated for re-election by Republican

Hamilton Ward Sr. Hamilton Ward Sr. (July 3, 1829– December 28, 1898) was an American lawyer and politician who served as a judge on the Supreme Court of New York, the attorney general of New York, and a Republican member of the United States House of Repr ...

At the

New York state election, 1881 The 1881 New York state election was held on November 8, 1881, to elect the Secretary of State, the State Comptroller, the Attorney General, the State Treasurer, the State Engineer and a judge of the New York Court of Appeals, as well as all m ...

, he ran for 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 t ...

but was defeated by Republican

Francis M. Finch Francis Miles Finch (June 9, 1827 – July 31, 1907) was an American judge, poet, and academic associated with the early years of Cornell University. One of his poems, "The Blue and the Gray", is frequently reprinted to this day. Biography Franc ...

. Afterwards he served on the New York Board of Civil Service Commissioners (1883–1887) and was an original appointee of President

Grover Cleveland Stephen Grover Cleveland (March 18, 1837June 24, 1908) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 22nd and 24th president of the United States from 1885 to 1889 and from 1893 to 1897. Cleveland is the only president in American ...

to the

Interstate Commerce Commission The Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) was a regulatory agency in the United States created by the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887. The agency's original purpose was to regulate railroads (and later trucking) to ensure fair rates, to elimina ...

, serving from 1887 to 1890. Schoonmaker died of

tonsillitis Tonsillitis is inflammation of the tonsils in the upper part of the throat. It can be acute or chronic. Acute tonsillitis typically has a rapid onset. Symptoms may include sore throat, fever, enlargement of the tonsils, trouble swallowing, a ...

on April 9, 1894, in

Kingston Kingston may refer to: Places * List of places called Kingston, including the five most populated: ** Kingston, Jamaica ** Kingston upon Hull, England ** City of Kingston, Victoria, Australia ** Kingston, Ontario, Canada ** Kingston upon Thames, ...

. He married Louise Cooper (1835-1910) and they are both buried in

Wiltwyck Cemetery Wiltwyck Rural Cemetery, also known simply as Wiltwyck Cemetery, is a cemetery in Kingston, New York. It takes its name from the Dutch settlement Wiltwyck, later renamed Kingston by British officials. Wiltwyck Cemetery was first organized in 185 ...

in Kingston.

External links

''Augustus Schoonmaker''
obituary in ''

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 ...

'', April 11, 1894 {{DEFAULTSORT:Schoonmaker, Augustus Jr 1828 births 1894 deaths American people of Dutch descent People from Ulster County, New York New York State Attorneys General New York (state) state senators New York (state) state court judges People of the Interstate Commerce Commission Infectious disease deaths in New York (state) 19th-century American legislators 19th-century American judges