Charles Goadsby Ferris ( ca. 1796June 4, 1848) was an American lawyer and politician who served as a

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the 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 Article One of th ...

from

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, serving two non-consecutive terms from 1834 to 1835, then again from 1841 to 1843.

Early life

Ferris was born at "The Homestead" in

Throggs Neck Throggs Neck (also known as Throgs Neck) is a neighborhood and peninsula in the south-eastern portion of the borough of the Bronx in New York City. It is bounded by the East River and Long Island Sound to the south and east, Westchester Creek o ...

, now a neighborhood in

the Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

. His father, Edward Ferris, was long an Inspector of Flour in New York and one of the founders of the

Tammany Society Tammany Hall, also known as the Society of St. Tammany, the Sons of St. Tammany, or the Columbian Order, was an American political organization founded in 1786 and incorporated on May 12, 1789, as the Tammany Society. It became the main local ...

. He made a large fortune which he left to his children, including Charles and his brother, Floyd T. Ferris, a physician. His mother was Elizabeth Goadsby (d. 1825), daughter of Sir Thomas Goadsby of England. His sister, Caroline Adelia Ferris, was married to Captain John W. Richardson. He received a limited education and then studied law. In 1816, he received a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

degree from

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

Career

After being

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 ...

, practiced in New York City. He served as member of the

New York City Board of Aldermen The New York City Board of Aldermen was a body that was the upper house of New York City's Common Council from 1824 to 1875, the lower house of its Municipal Assembly upon consolidation in 1898 until the charter was amended in 1901 to abolish ...

in 1832 and 1833.

Tenure in Congress

Ferris was elected as a Jacksonian to the Twenty-third Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of

Dudley Selden Dudley Selden (1794 – November 7, 1855 Paris, France) was an American lawyer and politician from New York. From 1833 to 1834, he served part of one term in the U.S. House of Representatives. Life Family He was a son of Joseph Dudley Selde ...

and served from December 1, 1834, to March 3, 1835. Reportedly, Ferris introduced

Napoleon III Napoleon III (Charles-Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was President of France from 1848 to 1852 and then Emperor of the French from 1852 until his deposition in 1870. He was the first president, second emperor, and last ...

to Tyler during Napoleon's tour of New York in 1837. Ferris was elected as a

Democrat 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 (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

to the Twenty-seventh Congress serving from March 4, 1841 until March 3, 1843. He was largely instrumental in securing an appropriation through Congress to build the first

telegraph Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas ...

line.

Later career

After he left Congress, he was appointed as

Collector of the Port of New York The Collector of Customs at the Port of New York, most often referred to as Collector of the Port of New York, was a federal officer who was in charge of the collection of import duties on foreign goods that entered the United States by ship at ...

by President

John Tyler John Tyler (March 29, 1790 – January 18, 1862) was the tenth president of the United States, serving from 1841 to 1845, after briefly holding office as the tenth vice president of the United States, vice president in 1841. He was elected ...

but his nomination was rejected by the

U.S. Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...

and Cornelius P. Van Ness served instead. In 1845, he was reportedly worth $200,000 (~$ in ).

Personal life

Ferris was married to Catherine Youngs. Together, they were the parents of one daughter, named after his only sister: * Caroline Adelia Ferris, who married Glover Clapham in 1850. After his death, she remarried to Samuel Lewis.

Death

Ferris died in New York City on June 4, 1848.

References

External links

FERRIS, Charles Goadsby
at the Office of Art & Archives, Office of the Clerk for the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the 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 Article One of th ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ferris, Charles Goadsby 1790s births 1848 deaths New York City Council members People from Throggs Neck, Bronx Jacksonian members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state) Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state) 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives