George Zalmon Erwin (January 15, 1840 – January 16, 1894) was an American politician.

Life

He was born on January 15, 1840, in

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

, St. Lawrence County, New York. He was educated at Saint Lawrence Academy at

Potsdam, New York Potsdam is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in St. Lawrence County, New York, United States. The town population was 14,901 at the 2020 census. When the State University of New York at Potsdam and Clarkson University are in sess ...

. He graduated from

Middlebury College Middlebury College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Middlebury, Vermont, United States. Founded in 1800 by Congregationalism in the United States, Congregationalists, Middlebury w ...

in August 1865. He studied law with the then

United States Attorney for the Northern District of New York The United States attorney for the Northern District of New York is the chief federal law enforcement officer in 32 counties in the northern part of the State of New York (state), New York. The current U.S. attorney is Carla B. Freedman who was nam ...

William A. Dart and Charles O. Tappan, and was admitted to the bar in 1867. He commenced practice in Potsdam, N.Y., and entered into partnership with Samuel B. Gordon in 1868. The same year he married Dart's daughter Caroline (b. 1842), but they had no children. A year later, he succeeded his father-in-law as partner in the law firm of Dart & Tappan, and practiced for ten years under the firm name of Tappan & Erwin. In 1878, Tappan was elected to the

New York Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the State of New York is the superior court in the Judiciary of New York. It is vested with unlimited civil and criminal jurisdiction, although in many counties outside New York City it acts primarily as a court of civil ju ...

, and William A. Dart returned to Potsdam, N.Y., and resumed practice in partnership with Erwin under the name of Dart & Erwin. Erwin was a member 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 ...

(St. Lawrence Co., 3rd D.) in

1882 Events January * January 2 ** The Standard Oil Trust is secretly created in the United States to control multiple corporations set up by John D. Rockefeller and his associates. ** Irish-born author Oscar Wilde arrives in New York at the ...

1883 Events January * January 4 – ''Life'' magazine is founded in Los Angeles, California, United States. * January 10 – A fire at the Newhall Hotel in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States, kills 73 people. * January 16 – ...

1884 Events January * January 4 – The Fabian Society is founded in London to promote gradualist social progress. * January 5 – Gilbert and Sullivan's comic opera '' Princess Ida'', a satire on feminism, premières at the Savoy The ...

1885 Events January * January 3– 4 – Sino-French War – Battle of Núi Bop: French troops under General Oscar de Négrier defeat a numerically superior Qing Chinese force, in northern Vietnam. * January 17 – Mahdist ...

1886 Events January * January 1 – Upper Burma is formally annexed to British rule in Burma, British Burma, following its conquest in the Third Anglo-Burmese War of November 1885. * January 5–January 9, 9 – Robert Louis Stevenson ...

and

1887 Events January * January 11 – Louis Pasteur's anti-rabies treatment is defended in the Académie Nationale de Médecine, by Dr. Joseph Grancher. * January 20 ** The United States Senate allows the United States Navy to lease Pearl Har ...

. In 1884, allied with

Thomas C. Platt Thomas Collier Platt (July 15, 1833 – March 6, 1910), also known as Tom Platt

, he was a strong candidate for Speaker, but was defeated by

Titus Sheard Titus Sheard (October 4, 1841 – April 13, 1904) was an American businessman and politician. He served as a member of the New York State Assembly from 1878 to 1879, and in 1884. He also served as a member of the New York State Senate from 1890 t ...

, the candidate of the

Warner Miller Warner Miller (August 12, 1838March 21, 1918) was an American businessman and politician from Herkimer, New York. A Republican, he was most notable for his service as a U.S. Representative (1879-1881) and United States Senator (1881-1887). A na ...

faction. The following year, the Platt faction was victorious, and Erwin was elected

Speaker Speaker most commonly refers to: * Speaker, a person who produces speech * Loudspeaker, a device that produces sound ** Computer speakers Speaker, Speakers, or The Speaker may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * "Speaker" (song), by David ...

. 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 ...

(20th D.) from 1888 to 1893, sitting in the 111th, 112th, 113th, 114th, 115th and

116th New York State Legislature The 116th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 3 to April 20, 1893, during the second year of Roswell P. Flower's governorship, in Albany. Background Under the ...

. In 1892–1893 he was the Republican minority leader of the State Senate. To him is due the credit of organizing the dairy department for suppressing the sale and manufacture of

oleomargarine Margarine (, also , ) is a spread used for flavoring, baking, and cooking. It is most often used as a substitute for butter. Although originally made from animal fats, most margarine consumed today is made from vegetable oil. The spread was ori ...

. He secured the enactment of the bill preventing the sale of liquor in quantities of five gallons or more in towns having no license. In 1891, he was Chairman of the Committee on General Laws and made interesting investigations into the subject of electricity for lighting and power. In the session of 1892, when Republican leader, he made a strong but unsuccessful fight against the re-apportionment of the state, and for his refusal to vote on an enumeration bill he and two other senators were declared guilty of contempt by Lt. Gov. William F. Sheehan and their names taken from the roll. But they were supported by the judiciary committee in their position, were purged of contempt and their names restored. He was interested in various local industries. He was one of the proprietors and organizers of the Thatcher Manufacturing Company, and up to the time of his death was its vice-president. He helped to organize the High Falls Sulphite Pulp and Mining Co., and was its president. He died on January 16, 1894, in

at age 54.

References

External links

Dart ancestry
at

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Erwin ancestry
at RootsWeb {{DEFAULTSORT:Erwin, George Zalmon 1840 births 1894 deaths Speakers of the New York State Assembly Republican Party members of the New York State Assembly Republican Party New York (state) state senators Middlebury College alumni Censured or reprimanded members of the New York State Legislature People from Madrid, New York People from Potsdam, New York 19th-century members of the New York State Legislature

Life

See also

References

External links