Charles Terhune Duryea (August 20, 1832 – December 27, 1899) was an American politician from New York.

Life

Duryea was born on August 20, 1832 in

Center Moriches, New York Center Moriches ( ) is a hamlet and census-designated place in Suffolk County, New York, United States. The population was 7,580 at the 2010 census. Center Moriches is in the town of Brookhaven. It is the location of the historic Masury Estate ...

, the son of John Hubbs Duryea and Maria Duryea. Duryea attended Miller's Place Academy, a well-known school at the time. When he was 19, he moved with his parents to

Dix Hills Dix Hills is a hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set ...

, where his father built a farm. He left the farm shortly afterwards and became a teacher in the House of Refugee in

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

. Shortly after his wedding, he moved to

Syosset Syosset is a hamlet and census-designated place in the Town of Oyster Bay, in Nassau County, on the North Shore of Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 19,259 at the time of the 2020 census. Geography According to the ...

and began farming there. Duryea was Justice of the Peace from 1860 to 1862. In 1862, he was elected to the

New York State Assembly The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits. The Ass ...

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 ...

, representing the Queens County 1st District. He served in the Assembly in

1863 Events January * January 1 – Abraham Lincoln signs the Emancipation Proclamation during the third year of the American Civil War, making the abolition of slavery in the Confederate States of America an official war goal. The signing ...

and

1864 Events January * January 13 – American songwriter Stephen Foster ("Oh! Susanna", "Old Folks at Home") dies aged 37 in New York City, leaving a scrap of paper reading "Dear friends and gentle hearts". His parlor song "Beautiful Dream ...

. In 1865, he moved to

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

and spent the next two years representing a railroad pool in the Bureau of Immigration. In 1867, he moved to

Huntington Huntington may refer to: Places Canada * Huntington, Nova Scotia New Zealand * Huntington, New Zealand a suburb in Hamilton, New Zealand United Kingdom * Huntington, Cheshire, England * Huntington, East Lothian, Scotland * Huntingto ...

, leased the Suffolk Hotel, and spent the next several years successfully conducting the hotel. In 1874, he moved to

Babylon Babylon ( ) was an ancient city located on the lower Euphrates river in southern Mesopotamia, within modern-day Hillah, Iraq, about south of modern-day Baghdad. Babylon functioned as the main cultural and political centre of the Akkadian-s ...

and began managing Sumpwams Hotel, the leading local hotel at the time. Duryea was a Trustee of Huntington in 1871 and

Supervisor A supervisor, or lead, (also known as foreman, boss, overseer, facilitator, monitor, area coordinator, line-manager or sometimes gaffer) is the job title of a lower-level management position and role that is primarily based on authority over la ...

of Babylon in 1876 and 1878. In 1878, he was the Democratic candidate for the New York State Assembly in Suffolk County and was declared the winner by one vote. He briefly served in

1879 Events January * January 1 ** The Specie Resumption Act takes effect. The United States Note is valued the same as gold, for the first time since the American Civil War. ** Brahms' Violin Concerto is premiered in Leipzig with Joseph Joachim ...

but the Assembly declared the Republican candidate George F. Carman the winner. In 1879, he was the Democratic candidate for 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 ...

New York's 1st State Senate district New York (state), New York's 1st State Senate district is one of 63 districts in the New York State Senate. It has been represented by Republican Party (United States), Republican Anthony Palumbo since 2021, succeeding fellow Republican Kenneth ...

. He lost the election to Republican candidate John Birdsalls. At one point, Duryea edited the Babylon paper ''Budget'', which later merged with the ''South Side Signal''. In 1883, Sheriff Selah S. Brewster appointed him Under Sheriff. He served in that office until the start of 1886. In 1887, Collector

Daniel Magone Daniel Magone (January 12, 1827 – September 4, 1904) was an American lawyer who was Collector of the Port of New York during the first administration of United States President Grover Cleveland. Early life Magone was born in Oswegatchie, Ne ...

appointed him Superintendent of New York Bonded Warehouses. And when Deputy Collector Dabney died a few years later, Collector James T. Kilbreth appointed him to that position. He retired in 1896 due to poor health. In 1858, Duryea married Mary Mowbray Smith. Their children were Carel Smith, Emma Louise, Annie Maria, and Stephen Conklin. Duryea died at home from a long illness on December 27, 1899. His funeral was conducted at his home and was led by the Rev. George Downings Sparks, the rector of Christ Church in

West Islip West Islip is a hamlet and CDP settled in 1683, located in the Town of Islip, in Suffolk County, New York, United States. Situated on the South Shore of Long Island, the population of the CDP was 27,048 at the time of the 2020 census. Histor ...

. A delegation of officers and member from the

Freemason Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

lodge Duryea was a member of attended the funeral. He was buried in the Babylon Rural Cemetery.

References

External links

*
The Political Graveyard
' {{DEFAULTSORT:Duryea, Charles T. 1832 births 1899 deaths People from Center Moriches, New York American justices of the peace People from Syosset, New York People from Dix Hills, New York People from Babylon, New York 19th-century American farmers Farmers from New York (state) Politicians from Queens, New York Politicians from Suffolk County, New York 19th-century members of the New York State Legislature Democratic Party members of the New York State Assembly Town supervisors in New York (state) American Freemasons