Elijah Spencer (1775 – December 15, 1852) 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 * ...

Biography

In 1791, he removed to

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

, then in

Ontario County, New York Ontario County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 112,458. The county seat is Canandaigua. The county is part of the Finger Lakes region of the state. Ontario County is pa ...

, settling in that part which was separated in 1803 as the Town of Vernon, later renamed the Town of Benton, and engaged in agricultural pursuits. He was Supervisor of the Town of Benton from 1810 to 1819. He was a member from Ontario County of 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 ...

in 1819. Spencer was elected as a

Democratic-Republican 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 l ...

to the

17th United States Congress The 17th 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. While its term was officially March 4, 1821, ...

, holding office from December 3, 1821, to March 3, 1823. Afterwards he resumed his agricultural pursuits. He was again Supervisor of the Town of Benton from 1826 to 1828. He was the delegate from Yates County to the

New York State Constitutional Convention The Constitution of the State of New York establishes the structure of the government of the State of New York, and enumerates the basic rights of the citizens of New York. Like most state constitutions in the United States, New York's constituti ...

of 1846. He was buried at the

Lake View Cemetery Lake View Cemetery is a Private property, privately owned, Nonprofit organization, nonprofit Rural cemetery, garden cemetery located in the cities of Cleveland, Cleveland Heights, Ohio, Cleveland Heights, and East Cleveland, Ohio, East Cleveland ...

Penn Yan, New York Penn Yan is an incorporated Village (New York), village and the county seat of Yates County, New York, Yates County, New York (state), New York, United States. The population was 5,159 at the 2010 census. It lies at the north end of the east bran ...

Sources

''The New York Civil List''
compiled by Franklin Benjamin Hough (pages 59, 71, 195 and 306; Weed, Parsons and Co., 1858)

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Spencer, Elijah 1775 births 1852 deaths People from Columbia County, New York People from Benton, New York Members of the New York State Assembly Town supervisors in New York (state) Democratic-Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state) People from Jerusalem, New York Burials at Lake View Cemetery (Penn Yan, New York) 19th-century members of the New York State Legislature 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives