Hector Craig (1775January 31, 1842) was an American manufacturer 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 * ...

. He served two non-consecutive terms in the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the 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 Article One of th ...

from 1823 to 1825, and from 1829 to 1830.

Life

Born in Paisley,

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

in the

Kingdom of Great Britain Great Britain, also known as the Kingdom of Great Britain, was a sovereign state in Western Europe from 1707 to the end of 1800. The state was created by the 1706 Treaty of Union and ratified by the Acts of Union 1707, which united the Kingd ...

, he was the son of James Craig. Craig came to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

in 1790 and settled with his family in

Orange County, New York Orange County is a List of counties in New York, county located in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 401,310. The county seat is Goshen (village), New York, Goshen. This count ...

. James Craig founded the hamlet of Craigville in the Town of Blooming Grove, and built a

paper mill A paper mill is a factory devoted to making paper from vegetable fibres such as wood pulp, old rags, and other ingredients. Prior to the invention and adoption of the Fourdrinier machine and other types of paper machine that use an endless belt ...

. Hector Craig later built a

grist mill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and Wheat middlings, middlings. The term can refer to either the grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist is grain that h ...

and a

saw mill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logging, logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes ...

. In 1797, he married Sarah Chandler, and their daughter was Sarah Agnes Craig who married in 1828 William F. Havemeyer, later three times Mayor of New York City.

Congress

Hector Craig was elected as a Jacksonian

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

18th United States Congress The 18th 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. It met in Washington, D.C., from March 4, 182 ...

, holding office from March 4, 1823, to March 3, 1825. He was elected again as a Jacksonian to the

21st United States Congress The 21st 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. It met in Washington, D.C., from March 4, 1829 ...

, holding office from March 4, 1829, to July 12, 1830, when he resigned.

Later career and death

On March 22, 1831, he was appointed by Secretary of the Treasury Samuel D. Ingham as one of three Commissioners of Insolvency for the

Southern District of New York The Southern District of New York is a federal judicial district that encompasses the counties of New York (Manhattan), Bronx, Westchester, Rockland, Putnam, Orange, Dutchess, and Sullivan. Federal offices or agencies operating in the distri ...

The other commissioners were

John W. Mulligan John W. Mulligan (April 13, 1774 – January 17, 1862) was an 18th-century attorney who had been Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben's secretary. Later in life, he was U.S. Consul in Athens, Greece. Early life John W. Mulligan was born on April 13, 17 ...

and Charles G. DeWitt. He was Surveyor of the Port of New York from 1833 to 1839, appointed by President

Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before Presidency of Andrew Jackson, his presidency, he rose to fame as a general in the U.S. Army and served in both houses ...

. He was buried at a private cemetery on the Caldwell estate in Blooming Grove.

Notes

References

''An Outline History of Orange County''
by Samuel Watkins Eager (page 546)
''The American Almanac and Repository of Useful Knowledge for the Year of 1833''
(page 102)

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Craig, Hector 1775 births 1842 deaths People from Blooming Grove, New York Politicians from Paisley, Renfrewshire Democratic-Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state) Jacksonian members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state) Scottish emigrants to the United States Politicians from Orange County, New York Date of birth unknown 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives