Francis Seger (March 12, 1796 in

Berne Bern (), or Berne (), ; ; ; . is the '' de facto'' capital of Switzerland, referred to as the " federal city".; ; ; . According to the Swiss constitution, the Swiss Confederation intentionally has no "capital", but Bern has governmental i ...

Albany County, New York Albany County ( ) is a county (United States), county in the U.S. state, state of New York (state), New York, United States. Its northern border is formed by the Mohawk River, at its confluence with the Hudson River, which is to the east. As ...

– April or May 1872 in Lyons Falls,

Lewis County, New York Lewis County is a county located in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of New York, situated between the Adirondack Mountains and the Tug Hill Plateau, within the state's North Country region. As of the 2020 census, the county had a p ...

) was an American lawyer 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 was the son of Garrett Seger and Catherine Seger. Seger was "crippled in one of his arms."''The History of Political Parties in the State of New-York, from the Ratification of the Federal Constitution to 1840''
by Jabez D. Hammond (4th ed., Vol. 2, Phinney & Co.,

Buffalo Buffalo most commonly refers to: * True buffalo or Bubalina, a subtribe of wild cattle, including most "Old World" buffalo, such as water buffalo * Bison, a genus of wild cattle, including the American buffalo * Buffalo, New York, a city in the n ...

, 1850; pg. 262) He was admitted to the bar in 1823. In 1826, he moved to Lewis County. He married Laura Eliza Lyon, sister of Gov.

Caleb Lyon Caleb Lyon (December 7, 1822 – September 8, 1875) was Governor of Idaho Territory from 1864 to 1865 during the last half of the American Civil War. Biography Caleb Lyon was the son of Marietta Henrietta Dupont (1788–1869) and Caleb Lyon (1 ...

(1822–1875). Seger was Deputy Clerk for several years, and

Clerk of the New York State Assembly The Clerk of the New York State Assembly heads the administration of the New York State Assembly. The outgoing clerk of the previous session presides over a new Assembly until a Speaker of the New York State Assembly, Speaker is elected. Subsequentl ...

1828 Events January–March * January 4 – Jean Baptiste Gay, vicomte de Martignac succeeds the Jean-Baptiste de Villèle, Comte de Villèle, as Prime Minister of France. * January 8 – The Democratic Party of the United States is organiz ...

1829 Events January–March * January 19 – August Klingemann's adaptation of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's '' Faust'' premieres in Braunschweig. * February 27 – Battle of Tarqui: Troops of Gran Colombia and Peru battle to a draw. * Marc ...

1830 It is known in European history as a rather tumultuous year with the Revolutions of 1830 in France, Belgium, Poland, Switzerland and Italy. Events January–March * January 11 – LaGrange College (later the University of North Alabama) ...

1831 Events January–March * January 1 – William Lloyd Garrison begins publishing '' The Liberator'', an anti-slavery newspaper, in Boston, Massachusetts. * January 10 – Japanese department store, Takashimaya in Kyoto estab ...

1832 Events January–March * January 6 – Abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison founds the New-England Anti-Slavery Society. * January 13 – The Christmas Rebellion of slaves is brought to an end in Jamaica, after the island's white pla ...

and

1833 Events January–March * January 3 – The United Kingdom reasserts British sovereignty over the Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic Ocean. * February 6 (January 25 on the Greek calendar) – Prince Otto Friedrich Ludwig of Bavaria arr ...

. He was a member of 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 ...

(5th D.) from 1834 to 1837, sitting in the 57th, 58th,

59th The 59th Quartermaster Company is a bulk petroleum company designed to provide semi-portable storage for of fuel and to provide distribution of fuel to military units within a specified geographic area while deployed overseas. Its secondary missi ...

and

60th New York State Legislature The 60th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 3 to May 16, 1837, during the fifth year of William L. Marcy's governorship, in Albany. Background Under the provi ...

s. Here he advocated the construction of the

Black River Canal The Black River Canal was a canal built in northern New York in the United States to connect the Erie Canal to the Black River. The canal had 109 locks along its length. Remains of several of the canal's former locks are visible along New York ...

which was begun in 1837. The northern end of the canal was at the Black River in Lyons Falls, within sight from Seger's residence. He was Supervisor of the Town of Greig from 1840 to 1843. He was First Judge of the Lewis County Court from 1843 to 1855, and also Surrogate from 1847 to 1855. He was one of the secretaries of 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. At the

New York state election, 1853 The 1853 New York state election was held on November 8, 1853, to elect the Secretary of State of New York, Secretary of State, the New York State Comptroller, State Comptroller, the Attorney General of New York, Attorney General, the New York St ...

, Seger ran on the Soft Democratic ticket for

New York State Treasurer The New York State Treasurer was a state cabinet officer in the State of New York (state), New York between 1776 and 1926. During the re-organization of the state government under Governor Al Smith, the office was abolished and its responsibilities ...

, but was defeated by Whig Elbridge G. Spaulding. Seger was a

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 ...

, and in 1854 was chosen as Deputy Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Odd Fellows of Northern New York. He was again Supervisor of the Town of Greig in 1865, and from 1867 to 1871. He was buried at the

Green-Wood Cemetery Green-Wood Cemetery is a cemetery in the western portion of Brooklyn, New York City. The cemetery is located between South Slope, Brooklyn, South Slope/Greenwood Heights, Brooklyn, Greenwood Heights, Park Slope, Windsor Terrace, Brooklyn, Win ...

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 ...

Notes

Sources

''The New York Civil List''
compiled by Franklin Benjamin Hough (pages 58, 130f, 145, 206f, 209f, 212f, and 361; Weed, Parsons and Co., 1858)
''The Democratic State Convention; The Softs and the Hards''
in NYT on September 16, 1853
''Grand Lodge I. O. of O. F. of Northern New York''
in NYT on August 24, 1854

transcribed from ''History of Lewis County, NY, and Its People'' by Franklin B. Hough (1883); at Ray's Place

transcribed from Lowville newspapers; at Dunham Wilcox
Lyon family history
at Lyons Falls History Association
''History of Lewis County NY''
by Franklin B. Hough (Munsell & Rowland, Albany NY, 1860; pg. 262)

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Seger, Francis 1796 births 1872 deaths Democratic Party New York (state) state senators New York (state) Jacksonians People from Lewis County, New York People from Berne, New York New York state court judges Burials at Green-Wood Cemetery Clerks of the New York State Assembly 19th-century members of the New York State Legislature