Lester Hayden Humphrey (January 22, 1850 – March 17, 1902) was an American manufacturer, banker and politician. He served as 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 ...

Early life

Humphrey was born on January 22, 1850, in Sheldon,

Wyoming County, New York Wyoming County is a county in the U.S. state of New York in the state's western area. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,531. The county seat is Warsaw. The name is modified from a Lenape (Delaware) Native American word meaning "b ...

, the son of Lester Hayden Humphrey (1799–1884) and Hannah (Blakeley) Humphrey (1807-1902). He moved with his family to

Warsaw, New York Warsaw is a town in Wyoming County, in the U.S. state of New York. The population was 5,316 at the 2020 census. It is located approximately 37 miles east southeast of Buffalo and approximately 37 miles southwest of Rochester. The town ma ...

in 1865. He attended the common schools, and Arcade and

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

academies.

Career

He engaged in the tanning and leather trade until 1872, and was Vice President of the Wyoming County National Bank from 1873-1888. In 1885, he began the manufacture of

salt In common usage, salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl). When used in food, especially in granulated form, it is more formally called table salt. In the form of a natural crystalline mineral, salt is also known as r ...

in Warsaw, and in 1888 co-established a salt plant at

Hutchinson, Kansas Hutchinson is the largest city in and the county seat of Reno County, Kansas, Reno County, Kansas, United States. The city is located on the Arkansas River. It has been home to salt mines since 1887 (thus its nickname of "Salt City") but locals ...

. In 1890, he sold out his interest in the Hutchinson plant and succeeded his uncle Wolcott J. Humphrey as President of the Wyoming County National Bank. He also continued to engage in the manufacture of salt in

Pavilion In architecture, ''pavilion'' has several meanings; * It may be a subsidiary building that is either positioned separately or as an attachment to a main building. Often it is associated with pleasure. In palaces and traditional mansions of Asia ...

and

Ithaca Ithaca most commonly refers to: *Homer's Ithaca, an island featured in Homer's ''Odyssey'' *Ithaca (island), an island in Greece, possibly Homer's Ithaca *Ithaca, New York, a city, and home of Cornell University and Ithaca College Ithaca, Ithaka ...

. Humphrey was a delegate to the

1888 Republican National Convention The 1888 Republican National Convention was a presidential nominating convention held at the Auditorium Theatre in Chicago, Illinois, on June 19–25, 1888. It resulted in the nomination of former United States Senate, Senator Benjamin Harrison of ...

, and a member of the

(46th District) from 1896 until his death in 1902, sitting in the 119th, 120th, 121st, 122nd, 123rd, 124th and

125th New York State Legislature The 125th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 1 to March 27, 1902, during the second year of Benjamin B. Odell Jr.'s governorship, in Albany. Background Under ...

s. While in the State Senate, he served as Chairman of the Committee of Banks, and worked on reforming bank taxation laws. He died during the legislative session, on March 17, 1902, at his lodgings in Albany, of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

; and was buried at the Warsaw Town Cemetery in

Family life

On May 18, 1875, Humphrey married Maude Wilton Skinner, daughter of Illinois Supreme Court Justice Onias C. Skinner. Humphrey and his wife had three children: Harry C. Humphrey, Onias S. Humphrey and Mary E. Humphrey.

References

External links

*
''The New York Red Book''
compiled by Edgar L. Murlin (published by James B. Lyon, Albany NY, 1897; pg. 152f and 404)
''SENATOR HUMPHREY DEAD''
in NYT on March 18, 1902 {{DEFAULTSORT:Humphrey, Lester H. 1850 births 1902 deaths Republican Party New York (state) state senators People from Sheldon, New York Politicians from Hutchinson, Kansas American bankers People from Warsaw, New York Kansas Republicans 19th-century American businesspeople Deaths from pneumonia in New York (state) 20th-century members of the New York State Legislature 19th-century members of the New York State Legislature