Daniel Greene Garnsey (June 17, 1779 – May 11, 1851) was an American 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 * ...

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

and

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

Early life

Garnsey was born in the part of the Town of

Canaan, New York Canaan is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in Columbia County, New York, Columbia County, New York (state), New York, United States. The population was 1,570 at the 2020 census,US Census Bureau, 2020 census, Canaan town, Columbia ...

which is now New Lebanon on June 17, 1779. He was the son of Isaac B. Garnsey (1758–1824) and Elizabeth (Spier) Garnsey (1754–1838). On April 26, 1803, he married Lucy Hudson (1779–1870) in

Troy Troy (/; ; ) or Ilion (; ) was an ancient city located in present-day Hisarlik, Turkey. It is best known as the setting for the Greek mythology, Greek myth of the Trojan War. The archaeological site is open to the public as a tourist destina ...

, and they had eight children. Later he moved to

Halfmoon The halfmoon (''Medialuna californiensis''), also known as the blue perch, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a sea chub from the subfamily Scorpidinae, part of the Family (biology), family Kyphosidae. It is native to the coasts of the east ...

Military service

Garnsey joined the New York State Militia in 1805. He was Brigade Inspector of

Saratoga County Saratoga County is a county in the U.S. state of New York, and is the fastest-growing county in Upstate New York. As of the 2020 United States census, the county's population was enumerated at 235,509, its highest decennial count ever and a ...

from 1810 to 1811, fought as a

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

in the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

, and was Brigade Inspector of Chautauqua County in 1817.

Career

He studied law in

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of the county of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. It lies by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. The population of the Norwich ...

, was admitted to the bar in 1811 and practiced in Rensselaer and Saratoga counties. Originally a member of the

Federalist Party The Federalist Party was a conservativeMultiple sources: * * * * * * * * and nationalist American political party and the first political party in the United States. It dominated the national government under Alexander Hamilton from 17 ...

, he served in local and judicial office, including justice of the peace, inspector of the common schools, Master in Chancery and Saratoga County Surrogate. In 1816, he moved to the area in the Town of

Pomfret Pomfrets are scombriform fish belonging to the family Bramidae. The family currently includes 20 species across seven genera. Several species are important food sources for humans, especially ''Brama brama'' in South Asia. The earlier form of ...

which later became the Village of

Dunkirk Dunkirk ( ; ; ; Picard language, Picard: ''Dunkèke''; ; or ) is a major port city in the Departments of France, department of Nord (French department), Nord in northern France. It lies from the Belgium, Belgian border. It has the third-larg ...

. He was Surrogate of Chautauqua County from 1819 to 1821, and

District Attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, county prosecutor, state attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or solicitor is the chief prosecutor or chief law enforcement officer represen ...

from 1818 to 1826. Garnsey was elected as an Adams candidate to the

19th 19 (nineteen) is the natural number following 18 and preceding 20. It is a prime number. Mathematics Nineteen is the eighth prime number. Number theory 19 forms a twin prime with 17, a cousin prime with 23, and a sexy prime with 13. ...

and

20th United States Congress The 20th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1827, ...

es, holding office from March 4, 1825, to March 3, 1829. In 1828, he ran unsuccessfully for re-election as an independent candidate with the support of the

Anti-Masonic Party The Anti-Masonic Party was the earliest Third party (United States), third party in the United States. Formally a Single-issue politics, single-issue party, it strongly opposed Freemasonry in the United States. It was active from the late 1820s, ...

, even though he had been a Mason himself. During the 1828 campaign, when Anti-Masons were considering whether to support

John Quincy Adams John Quincy Adams (; July 11, 1767 – February 23, 1848) was the sixth president of the United States, serving from 1825 to 1829. He previously served as the eighth United States secretary of state from 1817 to 1825. During his long diploma ...

for reelection as president, Garnsey wrote a letter to Adams to ask whether he was a Mason. Adams replied that he was not a Mason, but had known several individuals who were, including

George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...

, and had no negative comments about them. Garnsey's letter and Adams' reply were made public in Anti-Masonic newspapers. Because Adams' opponent

Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before Presidency of Andrew Jackson, his presidency, he rose to fame as a general in the U.S. Army and served in both houses ...

was a Mason, while Adams was not, Anti-Masons supported Adams. In 1831, Garnsey moved to

Battle Creek, Michigan Battle Creek is a city in northwestern Calhoun County, Michigan, United States, at the confluence of the Kalamazoo River, Kalamazoo and Battle Creek River, Battle Creek rivers. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a tota ...

. He was Postmaster, and Government Superintendent of Public Works near

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

and

Ypsilanti Ypsilanti ( ), commonly shortened to Ypsi ( ), is a college town and city located on the Huron River in Washtenaw County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the city's population was 20,648. The city is bounded to the north ...

. He served with

Winfield Scott Winfield Scott (June 13, 1786May 29, 1866) was an American military commander and political candidate. He served as Commanding General of the United States Army from 1841 to 1861, and was a veteran of the War of 1812, American Indian Wars, Mexica ...

in the

Black Hawk War The Black Hawk War was a conflict between the United States and Native Americans in the United States, Native Americans led by Black Hawk (Sauk leader), Black Hawk, a Sauk people, Sauk leader. The war erupted after Black Hawk and a group of ...

in 1832. Garnsey became a Whig when the party was founded in the 1830s, and he was a supporter of the presidential candidacies of

Henry Clay Henry Clay (April 12, 1777June 29, 1852) was an American lawyer and statesman who represented Kentucky in both the United States Senate, U.S. Senate and United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives. He was the seventh Spea ...

and

William Henry Harrison William Henry Harrison (February 9, 1773April 4, 1841) was the ninth president of the United States, serving from March 4 to April 4, 1841, the shortest presidency in U.S. history. He was also the first U.S. president to die in office, causin ...

. He later moved to

Rock Island, Illinois Rock Island is a city in Rock Island County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. The population was 37,108 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located at the confluence of the Rock River (Mississippi River tributary), Rock a ...

. On March 22, 1841, he was appointed by Harrison as Receiver of Public Moneys at the Land Office in

Dixon, Illinois Dixon is a city in Lee County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. The population was 15,274 as of the 2020 census. The city is named after founder John Dixon, who operated a rope ferry service across the Rock River (Mississippi River ...

, and served until removed 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 ...

on August 25, 1843. When Harrison died in 1841 after only a few weeks in office, Garnsey was one of the official pallbearers at Harrison's funeral.

Death and burial

Garnsey died suddenly in

Gowanda, New York Gowanda is a Administrative divisions of New York#Village, village in western New York (state), New York, United States. It lies partly in Erie County, New York, Erie County and partly in Cattaraugus County, New York, Cattaraugus County. The ...

on May 11, 1851 while traveling from his daughter's home in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

to Dunkirk, where he was planning to attend the celebration of the completion of the

Erie Railroad The Erie Railroad was a railroad that operated in the Northeastern United States, originally connecting Pavonia Terminal in Jersey City, New Jersey, with Lake Erie at Dunkirk, New York. The railroad expanded west to Chicago following its 1865 ...

. He was buried at the Pine Hill Cemetery in Gowanda.

Note

Some sources indicate that Garnsey served in Congress as a Jacksonian. These sources seem to be incorrect, given that contemporary sources from the time of Garnsey's career indicate that he was a Federalist, and then an Adams Republican, and that he later became affiliated with the Anti-Masons and then the Whigs.

References

Sources

''The New York Civil List''
compiled by Franklin Benjamin Hough (pages 71f, 371 and 412; Weed, Parsons and Co., 1858)
''The Garnsey-Guernsey Genealogy''
by Eva Louise Garnsey Card, Howard Abram Guernsey & Judith L. Young-Thayer (page 299)

at Family Tree Maker

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Garnsey, Daniel G. 1779 births 1851 deaths Michigan Whigs Illinois Whigs People from New Lebanon, New York People from Dunkirk, New York People from Battle Creek, Michigan Politicians from Rock Island, Illinois Michigan postmasters County district attorneys in New York (state) New York state court judges People from Dixon, Illinois People from Norwich, New York People from Halfmoon, New York Politicians from Troy, New York American militiamen in the War of 1812 National Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state) American militia officers Military personnel from Illinois Military personnel from Michigan People from Michigan Territory 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives