Benjamin Knower (1775

Roxbury Roxbury may refer to: Places ;Canada * Roxbury, Nova Scotia * Roxbury, Prince Edward Island ;United States * Roxbury, Connecticut * Roxbury, Kansas * Roxbury, Maine * Roxbury, Boston, a municipality that was later integrated into the city of Bosto ...

, now a borough of Boston, Massachusetts – August 23, 1839 Watervliet,

Albany County, New York Albany County ( ) is a county in the state of New York, United States. Its northern border is formed by the Mohawk River, at its confluence with the Hudson River, which is to the east. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 31 ...

) was an American merchant, banker and politician.

Early life

By 1800 he had removed to

Dutchess County, New York Dutchess County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 295,911. The county seat is the city of Poughkeepsie. The county was created in 1683, one of New York's first twelve counties, and later or ...

. Before 1810, he settled in

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of New York, also the seat and largest city of Albany County. Albany is on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River, and about north of New York Ci ...

where he sold hats made by his brother Timothy in

Guilderland, New York Guilderland is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in Albany County, New York, United States. In the 2020 census, the town had a population of 36,848. The town is named for the Gelderland province in the Netherlands. The town of Gui ...

. Local lore had it that the hats were made

waterproof Waterproofing is the process of making an object or structure waterproof or water-resistant so that it remains relatively unaffected by water or resisting the ingress of water under specified conditions. Such items may be used in wet environme ...

by immersion in the Bozenkill, a stream behind a mansion in Knowersville, a village of Guilderland.

Career

Knower was a

presidential elector The United States Electoral College is the group of presidential electors required by the Constitution to form every four years for the sole purpose of appointing the president and vice president. Each state and the District of Columbia appo ...

1820 Events January–March *January 1 – Nominal beginning of the Trienio Liberal in Spain: A constitutionalist military insurrection at Cádiz leads to the summoning of the Spanish Parliament (March 7). * January 8 – General Maritime ...

, voting for

James Monroe James Monroe ( ; April 28, 1758July 4, 1831) was an American statesman, lawyer, diplomat, and Founding Father who served as the fifth president of the United States from 1817 to 1825. A member of the Democratic-Republican Party, Monroe wa ...

and

Daniel D. Tompkins Daniel D. Tompkins (June 21, 1774 – June 11, 1825) was an American politician. He was the fifth governor of New York from 1807 to 1817, and the sixth vice president of the United States from 1817 to 1825. Born in Scarsdale, New York, Tompkins ...

. He was

New York State Treasurer The New York State Treasurer was a state cabinet officer in the State of New York between 1776 and 1926. During the re-organization of the state government under Governor Al Smith, the office was abolished and its responsibilities transferred to the ...

from 1821 to 1824, and was one of the leading members of the

Albany Regency The Albany Regency was a group of politicians who controlled the New York state government between 1822 and 1838. Originally called the "Holy Alliance", it was instituted by Martin Van Buren, who remained its dominating spirit for many years. The ...

. On April 28, 1824, his daughter Cornelia (ca. 1801–1889) married State Comptroller

William L. Marcy William Learned Marcy (December 12, 1786July 4, 1857) was an American lawyer, politician, and judge who served as U.S. Senator, Governor of New York, U.S. Secretary of War and U.S. Secretary of State. In the latter office, he negotiated the G ...

. Knower became rich as a financier of the

Erie Canal The Erie Canal is a historic canal in upstate New York that runs east-west between the Hudson River and Lake Erie. Completed in 1825, the canal was the first navigable waterway connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes, vastly redu ...

and as a director of the

Mechanics' and Farmers' Bank of Albany The Mechanics' and Farmers' Bank of Albany was a state and national bank that became a subsidiary of the Bank of New York in 1969. History The Mechanics' and Farmers' Bank of Albany was formed on July 29, 1811, as the third bank incorporated in Alb ...

, and served as the bank's president from 1817 until 1834 when he was forced to resign because of "financial embarrassments."

Personal life

On June 21, 1800, he married Sarah Van Kleek (1779–1833) at the Dutch Reformed Church in

Poughkeepsie, New York Poughkeepsie ( ), officially the City of Poughkeepsie, separate from the Town of Poughkeepsie around it) is a city in the U.S. state of New York. It is the county seat of Dutchess County, with a 2020 census population of 31,577. Poughkeepsie ...

. After the death of his first wife, on June 23, 1836, he married Sophia P. Castle (d. 1886) in

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 U ...

. He was buried at the

Albany Rural Cemetery The Albany Rural Cemetery was established October 7, 1844, in Colonie, New York, United States, just outside the city of Albany, New York. It is renowned as one of the most beautiful, pastoral cemeteries in the U.S., at over . Many historical ...

Menands, New York Menands is a village in Albany County, New York, United States. The population was 3,990 at the 2010 census. The village is named after Louis Menand. The village lies inside the town of Colonie and borders the northern city line of Albany. H ...

. His home at

known as the

Knower House Knower House is a historic home located at Guilderland in Albany County, New York. It was built about 1800 and is a two-story frame house in the Georgian Colonial style. It accentuates a centroidal entrance and second story Palladian window. W ...

was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artist ...

in 1982.

Sources

Political Graveyard''The New York Civil List'' compiled by Franklin Benjamin Hough (page 35; Weed, Parsons and Co., 1858) (Google Books)
(giving wrong date of death)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Knower, Benjamin 1775 births 1839 deaths New York State Treasurers Politicians from Albany, New York American bankers Burials at Albany Rural Cemetery Businesspeople from Boston 1820 United States presidential electors Businesspeople from Albany, New York