Charles Edward Dudley (May 23, 1780January 23, 1841) was an American businessman and politician. A member of
Martin Van Buren
Martin Van Buren ( ; ; December 5, 1782 – July 24, 1862) was the eighth president of the United States, serving from 1837 to 1841. A primary founder of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as Attorney General o ...
's
Albany Regency, Dudley served as
mayor
In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...
of
Albany, New York
Albany ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It is located on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River. Albany is the oldes ...
, a member of the
New York State Senate
The New York State Senate is the upper house of the New York State Legislature, while the New York State Assembly is its lower house. Established in 1777 by the Constitution of New York, its members are elected to two-year terms with no term l ...
, and a
U.S. Senator.
Early life
Dudley was born at Johnson Hall,
Eccleshall,
Staffordshire
Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation ''Staffs''.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It borders Cheshire to the north-west, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, ...
during the
American Revolution
The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...
to
Loyalist parents. His father, Charles Dudley, was an Englishman who had served as Collector of the King's Customs at
Newport, Rhode Island
Newport is a seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Rhode Island, United States. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, and nort ...
, where he married Catherine Cooke, of a Rhode Island colonial family. His paternal grandparents were Thomas Dudley and Mary (
Levett
Levett is a surname of Anglo-Normans, Anglo-Norman origin, deriving from eLivet, which is held particularly by families and individuals resident in England and British Commonwealth territories.
Origins
This surname comes from the village of ...
) Dudley of Staffordshire, England.
In November 1775, his father had abandoned his office at Newport and sought refuge on board a British ship of war. The following year, he took up residence in England, where his wife joined him. The family remained in England until his father's death in 1790. In 1795, Dudley's mother returned to Rhode Island, bringing with her the fifteen-year-old youth, who was schooled in
Newport.
Career

Near the beginning of the nineteenth century, Dudley worked as a clerk in a counting room and made voyages from New York to the East Indies as a
supercargo. He later moved to
Albany, New York
Albany ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It is located on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River. Albany is the oldes ...
, where he engaged in the mercantile business and married into a prominent political Albany family.
Political career
Dudley entered public life when he was in his late thirties. He joined the
Albany Regency, the
coterie which
Martin Van Buren
Martin Van Buren ( ; ; December 5, 1782 – July 24, 1862) was the eighth president of the United States, serving from 1837 to 1841. A primary founder of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as Attorney General o ...
formed to lead the
Bucktails, the group which fought
DeWitt Clinton
DeWitt Clinton (March 2, 1769February 11, 1828) was an American politician and Naturalism (philosophy), naturalist. He served as a United States Senate, United States senator, as the mayor of New York City, and as the sixth governor of New York. ...
for control of New York's
Democratic-Republican Party
The Democratic-Republican Party (also referred to by historians as the Republican Party or the Jeffersonian Republican Party), was an American political party founded by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in the early 1790s. It championed li ...
.
Dudley was a
presidential elector in the
election of 1816 and voted for
James Monroe
James Monroe ( ; April 28, 1758July 4, 1831) was an American Founding Father of the United States, Founding Father who served as the fifth president of the United States from 1817 to 1825. He was the last Founding Father to serve as presiden ...
and
Daniel D. Tompkins. He served as an Albany alderman from 1819 to 1820. He was
mayor
In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...
from 1821 to 1824, and a member of the
New York State Senate
The New York State Senate is the upper house of the New York State Legislature, while the New York State Assembly is its lower house. Established in 1777 by the Constitution of New York, its members are elected to two-year terms with no term l ...
from 1820 to 1825. He was mayor again from 1828 to 1829.
U.S. Senator
Dudley was an unsuccessful candidate for the
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...
in 1828. When Van Buren resigned his seat in the
United States Senate
The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...
to become
Governor of New York
The governor of New York is the head of government of the U.S. state of New York. The governor is the head of the executive branch of New York's state government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor ...
in 1829, Dudley
was elected to fill the vacancy.
Dudley took his seat on January 15, 1829, and remained in office until the end of his term on March 3, 1833.
He was an early example of the businessman in the Senate, where he played an inconspicuous role, but loyally supported the
Jackson administration.
Later life
Dudley retired at the end of his term and spent the rest of his life in Albany, retaining his interest in politics as Jackson, Van Buren and others worked to form the
Democratic Party after the Democratic-Republicans split
in 1824, depending on which presidential candidate they supported.
Personal life
Dudley married Blandina Bleecker (1783–1863), a member of a prominent Albany family. Blandina was a daughter of Rutger Bleecker (a grandson of mayor
Rutger Jansen Bleecker) and Catharine ( Elmendorf) Bleecker.
Dudley died in Albany on January 23, 1841. He was buried at
Albany Rural Cemetery.
Legacy
Dudley was an amateur astronomer. In 1856, his widow provided funds for an observatory in Albany, the
Dudley Observatory, which was named for her husband.
["Charles Edward Dudley." ''Dictionary of American Biography''. American Council of Learned Societies, 1928-1936.]
See also
*
History of Albany, New York
*
List of United States senators born outside the United States
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dudley, Charles Edward
1780 births
1841 deaths
19th-century mayors of places in New York (state)
British emigrants to the United States
Mayors of Albany, New York
People from Eccleshall
American people of English descent
New York (state) state senators
New York (state) Jacksonians
Democratic Party United States senators from New York (state)
1816 United States presidential electors
19th-century members of the New York State Legislature
19th-century United States senators