Hiram Gray (July 10, 1801 in Salem,

Washington County, New York Washington County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 61,302. The county seat is Fort Edward. The county was named for U.S. President George Washington. The county is part of the Capital Dis ...

– May 6, 1890 in Elmira,

Chemung County, New York Chemung County is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. The population was 84,148 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Its county seat is Elmira, New York, Elmira. Its name is derived fro ...

) was an American lawyer, jurist, and politician from New York who served one term 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 1837 to 1839. He was also a judge at both the federal and state levels.

Education

He graduated from

Union College Union College is a Private university, private liberal arts college in Schenectady, New York, United States. Founded in 1795, it was the first institution of higher learning chartered by the New York State Board of Regents, and second in the s ...

in 1821. Then he studied law, 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 1823, and commenced practice in

Elmira, New York Elmira () is a Administrative divisions of New York#City, city in and the county seat of Chemung County, New York, United States. It is the principal city of the Elmira, New York, metropolitan statistical area, which encompasses Chemung County. ...

US Congress

Gray was elected as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

to the

25th United States Congress The 25th 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, 18 ...

, and served from March 4, 1837, to March 3, 1839.

New York state judiciary

He was Judge of the Sixth Judicial District from 1846 to 1847. He was a 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 1847 to 1859, and was

ex officio An ''ex officio'' member is a member of a body (notably a board, committee, or council) who is part of it by virtue of holding another office. The term '' ex officio'' is Latin, meaning literally 'from the office', and the sense intended is 'by r ...

a judge of 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 ...

in 1851 and 1859. He was a Commissioner of Appeals from 1870 to 1875. Gray wrote the majority opinion in the case of ''Lawrence v. Fox'', 1859, giving contractual rights to the

third-party Third party may refer to: Business * Third-party source, a supplier company not owned by the buyer or seller * Third-party beneficiary, a person who could sue on a contract, despite not being an active party * Third-party insurance, such as a veh ...

Lawrence in a debt collection case.

Death

Gray was buried at the Woodlawn Cemetery in Elmira.

References

External sources

''The New York Civil List''
compiled by Franklin Benjamin Hough (pages 351 and 356; Weed, Parsons and Co., 1858)

Court of Appeals judges {{DEFAULTSORT:Gray, Hiram 1801 births 1890 deaths New York Supreme Court justices Judges of the New York Court of Appeals People from Salem, New York Politicians from Elmira, New York Union College (New York) alumni Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state) 19th-century New York state court judges 19th-century New York (state) politicians 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives