Christopher A. Walrath (c. 1830 - 1897) was an American merchant and politician 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 * ...

Life

He lived in

Oneida Oneida may refer to: Native American/First Nations * Oneida people, a Native American/First Nations people and one of the five founding nations of the Iroquois Confederacy * Oneida language * Oneida Indian Nation, based in New York * Oneida N ...

Madison County, New York Madison County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 68,016. Its county seat is Wampsville. The county is named after James Madison, the fourth president of the United States, and was ...

. He was a director of the First National Bank of Oneida when it was first organized in 1864. In 1872, he ran as a Democrat for

presidential elector In the United States, the Electoral College is the group of presidential electors that is formed every four years for the sole purpose of voting for the president and vice president in the presidential election. This process is described in ...

on the

Horace Greeley Horace Greeley (February 3, 1811 – November 29, 1872) was an American newspaper editor and publisher who was the founder and newspaper editor, editor of the ''New-York Tribune''. Long active in politics, he served briefly as a congres ...

ticket, jointly nominated by Democrats and Liberal Republicans, but New York was carried by

Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was the 18th president of the United States, serving from 1869 to 1877. In 1865, as Commanding General of the United States Army, commanding general, Grant led the Uni ...

. He was a delegate to the

1876 Democratic National Convention The 1876 Democratic National Convention assembled in St. Louis just nine days after the conclusion of the Republican National Convention in Cincinnati. This was the first political convention held west of the Mississippi River. St. Louis was no ...

. In

1875 Events January * January 1 – The Midland Railway of England abolishes the Second Class passenger category, leaving First Class and Third Class. Other British railway companies follow Midland's lead during the rest of the year (Third C ...

, he was elected on the Democratic ticket a Canal Commissioner. On December 2, 1875, Canal Commissioner Reuben W. Stroud died, and Walrath was appointed to the vacancy, thus anticipating the succession for about a month. The office of Canal Commissioner was abolished by an amendment to the

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in 1876, pending the appointment of a Superintendent of Public Works. The Canal Commissioners remained in office until February 8, 1878, when the first Superintendent of Public Works, Benjamin S. W. Clark, qualified to take over the duties from the remaining two Canal Commissioners Walrath and Darius A. Ogden.

References

Sources

History of Madison County, at RootsWeb

Lenox, New York, Lenox business directory for 1868, at RootsWeb
''THE GREELEYITES''
in NYT on September 6, 1872
''THE SYRACUSE CONVENTION''
in NYT on September 18, 1875

Political Graveyard (surname misspelled as "Wolrath") 1897 deaths People from Oneida, New York Erie Canal Commissioners American bankers New York (state) Democrats New York (state) Liberal Republicans Year of birth uncertain {{NewYork-politician-stub