Emory Bemsley Pottle (July 4, 1815 – April 18, 1891) was an American attorney from

Naples, New York Naples is a town in Ontario County, New York, United States. The population was 2,417 at the 2020 census. The Town of Naples contains a village, also called Naples. The town is located in the southwestern corner of Ontario County. It is locat ...

. Active in politics as first a Whig, and later a Republican, he served in 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 1847, and was a member of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, 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 Artic ...

from 1857 to 1861.

Early life

Pottle was born in

on July 4, 1815, a son of Loring Pottle and Betsey (Kibbe) Pottle. He pursued classical studies at Penn Yan (New York) Academy. Pottle studied law with the firm of Sibley & Worden in

Canandaigua, New York Canandaigua () is a city in Ontario County, New York, United States. Its population was 10,576 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Ontario County; some administrative offices are at the county complex in the adjacent town of Hopewell. ...

, was

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 ...

in New York City in 1838 and commenced practice in

Springfield, Ohio Springfield is a city in Clark County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is located in southwestern Ohio along the Mad River (Ohio), Mad River, Buck Creek, and Beaver Creek, about west of Columbus, Ohio, Columbus and northeast of ...

. He then returned to Naples and continued the practice of law. Active in politics as a Whig, he served as a member of the

in 1847.

Career

Pottle had interests in several businesses, including serving as president of the Geneva, Hornellsville, and Pine Creek Railroad, and the Geneva and Southwestern Railroad. Pottle also raised sheep and maintained vineyards, and served as president of the New York State Grape Growers Association and secretary of the National Wool Growers Association. Pottle was interested in education, and served as president of the board of trustees of the Naples Academy.

U.S. Congressman

Pottle became a Republican when the party was founded in the mid-1850s. He was a successful Republican nominee for the United States House of Representatives in 1856, and he was re-elected in 1858 and served in the

35th Military units *35th Fighter Wing, an air combat unit of the United States Air Force *35th Infantry Division (United States), a formation of the National Guard since World War I *35th Infantry Regiment (United States), a regiment created on 1 July 1 ...

and 36th Congresses, March 4, 1857 to March 3, 1861. During his congressional service, Pottle served on the Committee on Expenditures in the Navy Department (35th Congress), and the Committee on Naval Affairs (36th Congress). Pottle was an opponent of slavery, but argued that the U.S. Constitution sanctioned it, so the federal government could not prohibit it. In arguing that the issue needed to be resolved by the states, Pottle accused Southern slaveowners of falsely calling Republicans abolitionists and actively preventing news on the Republican position from reaching the South. Pottle also warned that of the South attempted to secede, the Northern states would be compelled to enforce the constitution, even if civil war resulted.

Later life

After leaving Congress, Pottle resumed practicing law in Naples and was appointed by President

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...

to serve on a commission which prepared a bill for a tariff on wool. In 1872, Pottle joined the Liberal Republican Party, a movement of Republicans who opposed the corruption of

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 ...

's administration and supported

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 ...

for president. By 1876, he had returned to the regular Republican fold, and was chosen as a delegate to the state Republican convention. In 1880, Pottle supported

James A. Garfield James Abram Garfield (November 19, 1831 – September 19, 1881) was the 20th president of the United States, serving from March 1881 until his death in September that year after being shot two months earlier. A preacher, lawyer, and Civi ...

for president and was a featured speaker at an October Republican mass meeting in Cohocton. Pottle was a supporter of

James G. Blaine James Gillespie Blaine (January 31, 1830January 27, 1893) was an American statesman and Republican politician who represented Maine in the United States House of Representatives from 1863 to 1876, serving as speaker of the U.S. House of Rep ...

for president in 1884, and had a leadership role in the Ontario County Blaine and Logan organization. He was a noted orator, and was frequently called upon to speak at

Independence Day An independence day is an annual event memorialization, commemorating the anniversary of a nation's independence or Sovereign state, statehood, usually after ceasing to be a group or part of another nation or state, or after the end of a milit ...

celebrations,

Decoration Day Memorial Day (originally known as Decoration Day) is a federal holidays in the United States, federal holiday in the United States for National day of mourning, mourning the U.S. military personnel who died while serving in the United States ...

commemorations, and other events. Pottle died in Naples on April 18, 1891. He was interred in Rose Ridge Cemetery.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pottle, Emory Bemsley 1815 births 1891 deaths People from Naples, New York New York (state) lawyers New York (state) Whigs Members of the New York State Assembly Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state) 19th-century members of the New York State Legislature 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives