Jonah Sanford (November 30, 1790 – December 25, 1867) was an American lawyer, jurist, and

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

veteran who served briefly as a

U.S. Representative 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

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 * ...

from 1830 to 1831. He was a great-grandfather of Rollin Brewster Sanford.

Biography

Born in

Cornwall, Vermont Cornwall is a New England town, town in Addison County, Vermont, United States. It was founded November 3, 1761. The population was 1,207 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Geography Cornwall is located in south-central Addison Count ...

, Sanford attended the district schools. He moved to

Hopkinton, New York Hopkinton is a town in St. Lawrence County, New York, United States. The population was 1,105 at the 2020 census and has a Population density of 5.9 square miles. The town is named for Roswell Hopkins, a pioneer settler and a government official ...

, in 1811. Enlisted as a volunteer for the

and participated in the battle at Plattsburgh, September 11, 1814. He was appointed Justice of the Peace in 1818 and served for twenty-two years. He studied law. He was admitted to the bar and practiced in Franklin County.

Town Supervisor The administrative divisions of New York are the various units of government that provide local services in the American state of New York. The state is divided into boroughs, counties, cities, towns, and villages. (The only boroughs, the f ...

of Hopkinton 1823-1826. Commissioned a captain of Volunteer Cavalry in 1827.

War of 1812

He was promoted to lieutenant colonel in 1828, colonel in 1831, and brigadier general of state militia in 1832 and 1833.

Political career

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 ...

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 ...

and

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) ...

. Sanford was elected as a Jacksonian to the Twenty-first Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Silas Wright, Jr., and served from November 3, 1830, to March 3, 1831.

Career after Congress

He served as judge of the court of common pleas 1831-1837. He served as delegate to the convention to revise the State constitution in 1846. He became a Republican upon the formation of that party in 1856. During the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

, Sanford raised the 92nd New York Volunteer Infantry and was elected its colonel.

Death

He died in Hopkinton, St. Lawrence County, New York, on December 25, 1867. He was interred in Hopkinton Cemetery.

Family

His son Jonah Sanford, Jr. (born 1821) was a member of the State Assembly in 1874.

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sanford, Jonah 1790 births 1867 deaths People from Cornwall, Vermont American militia generals Union army colonels Jacksonian members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state) 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives 19th-century members of the New York State Legislature