Greene Carrier Bronson (November 17, 1789 in

Simsbury Simsbury is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States, incorporated as Connecticut's 21st town in May 1670. The town is part of the Capitol Planning Region. The population was 24,517 in the 2020 census. History Early history At ...

Hartford County, Connecticut Hartford County is a county located in the north central part of the U.S. state of Connecticut. According to the 2020 census, the population was 899,498, making it the second-most populous county in Connecticut. Hartford County contains t ...

– September 3, 1863 in

Saratoga, New York Saratoga is a town in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The population was 5,808 at the 2020 census.United States Census Bureau, 2020 U.S. Census Results, Saratoga town, Saratoga County, New York https://www.census.gov/search-results.h ...

) 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 Oliver Bronson (1746–1815, a music teacher and publisher) and Sarah Merrill Bronson (1754–1825). About 1802, the family removed from Simsbury to Cazenovia which was then in

Oneida County, New York Oneida County ( ) is a county in the state of New York, United States. As of February 26, 2024, the population was 226,654. The county seat is Utica. The name is in honor of the Oneida, one of the Five Nations of the Iroquois League or '' ...

. He was Surrogate of Oneida County from 1819 to 1821. He 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 ...

(Oneida and Oswego Co.) in

1822 Events January–March * January 1 – The Greek Constitution of 1822 is adopted by the First National Assembly at Epidaurus. * January 3 – The famous French explorer, Aimé Bonpland, is imprisoned in Paraguay on charges of espionage. ...

. He was

New York Attorney General The attorney general of New York is the chief legal officer of the U.S. state of New York and head of the Department of Law of the state government. The office has existed in various forms since 1626, originally established under the Dutch c ...

from 1829 to 1836. He was an associate justice of 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 ...

from 1836 to 1845, and chief justice from 1845 to 1847. He was one of the first four judges elected to the

New York Court of Appeals The New York Court of Appeals is the supreme court, highest court in the Judiciary of New York (state), Unified Court System of the New York (state), State of New York. It consists of seven judges: the Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeal ...

at the 1847 New York special judicial election, and was Chief Judge from 1850 to 1851 when he resigned. Bronson was among the founders of

Albany Law School Albany Law School is a private law school in Albany, New York. It was founded in 1851 and is the oldest independent law school in the nation. It is accredited by the American Bar Association The American Bar Association (ABA) is a voluntary ...

.Jonathan Lippman, ''The New York Court of Appeals, Albany Law School, and The Albany Law Review: Institutions Dedicated to the Evolution of the Law in New York State'', 75 Alb. L. Rev. 9, 11 (2011/2012) In 1853, he was appointed

Collector of the Port of New York The Collector of Customs at the Port of New York, most often referred to as Collector of the Port of New York, was a federal officer who was in charge of the collection of import duties on foreign goods that entered the United States by ship at ...

. At the 1854 New York state election, he ran on the Hard Democratic ticket for Governor of New York, but came in last of the four candidates of the major parties. From 1860 to 1862, he was

Corporation Counsel The corporation counsel is the title given to the chief legal officer who handles civil claims against the city in some U.S. municipal and county jurisdictions, including negotiating settlements and defending the city when it is sued. Most corp ...

of the City of New York. He died on September 3, 1863, in

; and was buried at

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 ...

Sources

Death notice, in NYT on September 4, 1863

NY Court of Appeal history

Portrait and short bio, at NY Court history

His funeral, in NYT on September 8, 1863
Google Books
''Genealogical History of the Early Settlers of West Simsbury'' by Abiel Brown (page 12, Case, Tiffany & Co., Hartford CT, 1856)

Bronson genealogy, at rootsweb
Google Books
''The New York Civil List'' compiled by Franklin Benjamin Hough (pages 37, 261, 346, 347 and 415; Weed, Parsons and Co., 1858)

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bronson, Greene C New York State attorneys general Chief judges of the New York Court of Appeals Members of the New York State Assembly New York Supreme Court justices Collectors of the Port of New York People from Simsbury, Connecticut Burials at Green-Wood Cemetery 1789 births 1863 deaths 19th-century New York state court judges 19th-century members of the New York State Legislature