Mortimer Yale Ferris (March 29, 1881, in

Brookline Brookline may refer to: Places in the United States * Brookline, Massachusetts, a town near Boston * Brookline, Missouri * Brookline, New Hampshire * Brookline (Pittsburgh), a neighborhood in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania * Brookline, Vermont See ...

Norfolk County, Massachusetts Norfolk County is located in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. At the 2020 census, the population was 725,981. Its county seat is Dedham. It is the fourth most populous county in the United States whose county seat is neither a city nor a bo ...

– March 9, 1941, in Ticonderoga,

Essex County, New York Essex County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 37,381. Its county seat is the hamlet of Elizabethtown. Its name is from the English county of Essex. Essex is one of only 2 counties that are ...

) was an American

civil engineer A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering – the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructure while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing i ...

and senator from

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. He was also a Freemason, president of the Ticonderoga National Bank, and chairman of the Champlain Bridge Commission.

Early life

Mortimer Yale Ferris was the son of Dr. Edward Mortimer Ferris and Marion Eliza Yale, daughter of merchant Cyrus Yale, son of Rev.

Cyrus Yale Reverend Cyrus Yale (1786 – 1854) was an American clergyman, pastor, and Minister (Christianity), minister. He was an active pacifist and was among the leaders of the temperance movement, having cofounded the United States American Temperance Un ...

, members of the

Yale family Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the worl ...

. His brothers were Senator T. Harvey,

Lt. Commander Lieutenant commander (also hyphenated lieutenant-commander and abbreviated Lt Cdr, LtCdr. or LCDR) is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander. The corresponding rank i ...

Raymond West and investment banker Cyrus Yale. Cyrus became board director and vice-president of

Stone & Webster Stone & Webster was an American engineering services company based in Stoughton, Massachusetts. It was founded as an electrical testing lab and consulting firm by electrical engineers Charles A. Stone and Edwin S. Webster in 1889. In the early ...

, an American engineering conglomerate in Boston, serving under president

Edwin S. Webster Edwin Sibley Webster (August 26, 1867 – May 10, 1950) was an early electrical engineer and graduate from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He co-founded Stone & Webster with his friend Charles A. Stone. He served as President and Vice-C ...

. He also graduated from

MIT The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...

and became a member of the Boston

Yacht Club A yacht club is a sports club specifically related to yachting. Description Yacht clubs are mostly located by the sea, although there some that have been established at a lake or riverside locations. Yacht or sailing clubs have either a mar ...

. Mortimer Yale Ferris's nephew was Lt. Commander Edward Mortimer of HMS Byard, a graduate from

Royal Naval College Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a ci ...

in London, and a notable yachtsman and businessman in New York. He was the grandnephew of Horace T. Pitkin and Mary Yale Pitkin, wife of architect Charles Eliot, son of

Charles William Eliot Charles William Eliot (March 20, 1834 – August 22, 1926) was an American academic who was president of Harvard University from 1869 to 1909the longest term of any Harvard president. A member of the prominent Eliot family of Boston, he transfor ...

, President of

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

and member of the

Eliot family Eliot family may refer to: * Eliot family (America) * Eliot family (South England) **Earl of St Germans, subsidiary title Baron Eliot See also *Elliot Elliot (also spelled Eliot, Elliotte, Elliott, Eliott and Elyot) is a personal name which c ...

. Mortimer was also a descendant of Capt. Thomas Yale, who was brought by his mother Anne, and stepfather Gov.

Theophilus Eaton Theophilus Eaton (January 7, 1658) was a wealthy New England Puritan merchant, first Governor of New Haven Colony, Connecticut, co founder of that same colony and co founder of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. His brother, Nathaniel Eaton, w ...

, from England in 1637. His father graduated from Harvard in medicine, working between New York,

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

and

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...

, managing the family businesses inherited from his father, a prosperous East Indian merchant. He attended the public schools, and graduated

B.Sc. A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

in civil engineering from the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern t ...

in 1903. His first employment was as an engineer in the International Mining and Milling Company. He was made a member of the board of trustees of Ticonderoga's Moses Ludington Hospital for 30 years, and for the last 20, he was its chairman. On February 14, 1905, he married Elizabeth Leavitt. They settled in

Ticonderoga, New York Ticonderoga (, moh, Tekaniataró:ken) is a town in Essex County, New York, United States. The population was 5,042 at the 2010 census. The name comes from the Mohawk ''tekontaró:ken'', meaning "it is at the junction of two waterways". The To ...

, and had two daughters.

Career

Ferris was president of the Village of Ticonderoga from 1916 to 1918. He was a member of the

New York State Senate The New York State Senate is the upper house of the New York State Legislature; the New York State Assembly is its lower house. Its members are elected to two-year terms; there are no term limits. There are 63 seats in the Senate. Partisan com ...

(33rd D.) from 1919 to 1926, replacing New York banker

James A. Emerson James Alfred Emerson (April 25, 1865 in Warrensburg, Warren County, New York – January 31, 1922 in Brooklyn, New York City) was an American banker and politician from New York. Life He was the son of Albert C. Emerson (1829–1888) and Abigail ...

, brother of Congressman Emerson. As a senator, he sat in the 142nd, 143rd, 144th, 145th, 146th, 147th, 148th and

149th New York State Legislature The 149th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 6 to April 23, 1926, during the fourth year of Al Smith's second tenure as Governor of New York, in Albany. Backgr ...

s. During his tenure, he was active on the Public Service, Canals, Conservation and Revision Committees. He was replaced by

Henry E. H. Brereton Henry Edwin Harmar Brereton (July 12, 1865 – May 13, 1957) was an American politician from New York. Life He was born on July 12, 1865, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the son of Capt. Thomas John Brereton (1822–1870) and Amelia Mellizena (Denny) ...

, cousin of Congressman

Harmar D. Denny Jr. Lieutenant Colonel Harmar Denny Denny Jr. (July 2, 1886 – January 6, 1966) was a pilot and Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania. Biography Harmar D. Denny Jr. was born in Allegheny, Pennsylvania. He was t ...

, and great-grandson of Mayor

Ebenezer Denny Ebenezer Denny (March 11, 1761July 21, 1822) was a soldier during the American Revolutionary War whose journal is one of the most frequently quoted accounts of the surrender of the British at the siege of Yorktown. Denny later served as the first M ...

, who served

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

and

Mad Anthony Wayne Anthony Wayne (January 1, 1745 – December 15, 1796) was an American soldier, officer, statesman, and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. He adopted a military career at the outset of the American Revolutionary War, where his mil ...

. After becoming senator, he became a member of the

New York Republican State Committee The New York Republican State Committee, established in 1855, is the New York State affiliate of the United States Republican Party (GOP). The party has headquarters in Albany, Buffalo, and New York City.

, 1927–30; delegate to

Republican National Convention The Republican National Convention (RNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1856 by the United States Republican Party. They are administered by the Republican National Committee. The goal of the Repu ...

from New York, 1928; and chair of Essex County Republican Party, 1930-39. He was chairman of the Lake Champlain Bridge Commission which supervised the construction of two bridges over

Lake Champlain , native_name_lang = , image = Champlainmap.svg , caption = Lake Champlain-River Richelieu watershed , image_bathymetry = , caption_bathymetry = , location = New York/Vermont in the United States; and Quebec in Canada , coords = , type = , ...

: the Champlain Bridge from

Crown Point, New York Crown Point is a town in Essex County, New York, United States, located on the west shore of Lake Champlain. The population was 2,024 at the 2010 census. The name of the town is a direct translation of the original French name, . The town is on t ...

, to

Chimney Point, Vermont Chimney Point is a peninsula in the town of Addison, Vermont, which juts into Lake Champlain forming a narrows. It is one of the earliest settled and most strategic sites in the Champlain Valley. For thousands of years, the locale was occupied by ...

, in 1929; and a second bridge, from

Rouses Point, New York Rouses Point is a village in Clinton County, New York, United States, along the 45th parallel. The population was 2,209 at the 2010 census. The village is named after Jacques Rouse, a French Canadian soldier who fought alongside the Americans ...

, to

Alburgh, Vermont Alburgh (formerly Alburg) is a town in Grand Isle County, Vermont, United States, founded in 1781 by Ira Allen. The population was 2,106 at the 2020 United States Census. Alburgh is on the Alburgh Tongue, a peninsula extending from Canada into L ...

, in 1937. For the official ceremony, his daughter Elizabeth clipped the ribbon, along with Gov.

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

of New York and Gov.

John E. Weeks John Eliakim Weeks (June 14, 1853 – September 10, 1949) was an American politician from Vermont. He served as the 61st governor of Vermont from 1927 to 1931. Early life Weeks was born in Salisbury, Vermont, on June 14, 1853, the son of Ebenez ...

of Vermont. They were joined by Maj. Gen.

Hanson Edward Ely Major General Hanson Edward Ely (November 23, 1867 – April 28, 1958) was a United States Army officer in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He served in several conflicts, including the Spanish–American War and World War I, and he rec ...

, Col.

John F. Madden John Fitz Madden (March 30, 1870 – May 19, 1946) was a career officer in the United States Army. A veteran of the U.S. response to the Garza Revolution, Spanish–American War, United States Military Government in Cuba, Philippine–American Wa ...

, and other members of the Lake Champlain Bridge Commission, celebrating the restored unity between New York and Vermont. He was president of the Ticonderoga National Bank for many years, and a member of the board of education. He became a member of its Chamber of Commerce, and later became the president. His club memberships included the

Freemasons Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

;

Scottish Rite The Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry (the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction in the United States often omits the ''and'', while the English Constitution in the United Kingdom omits the ''Scottish''), commonly known as simply the S ...

Masons;

Shriners Shriners International, formally known as the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine (AAONMS), is an American Masonic society established in 1870 and is headquartered in Tampa, Florida. Shriners International describes itself ...

;

Elks The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks (BPOE; also often known as the Elks Lodge or simply The Elks) is an American fraternal order founded in 1868, originally as a social club in New York City. History The Elks began in 1868 as a soc ...

;

New York State Historical Association The Fenimore Art Museum (formerly known as New York State Historical Association) is a museum located in Cooperstown, New York on the west side of Otsego Lake. Collection strengths include the Eugene and Clare Thaw Collection of American Indian A ...

Sons of the American Revolution The National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution (SAR or NSSAR) is an American congressionally chartered organization, founded in 1889 and headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky. A non-profit corporation, it has described its purpos ...

; and

Lake Placid Club The Lake Placid Club was a social and recreation club founded 1895, in a hotel on Mirror Lake in Lake Placid, New York, under Melvil Dewey's leadership and according to his ideals. It was instrumental in Lake Placid's development as an internation ...

. He was involved in business enterprises as well as civic interests.''Ferris to Be Buried Tomorrow''
in ''The Knickerbocker News'', of

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of New York, also the seat and largest city of Albany County. Albany is on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River, and about north of New York Ci ...

, on March 10, 1941 He was also a member of the Episcopal Church. He died on March 9, 1941, in

, after a long illness.

References

Sources

''CHAMPLAIN BRIDGE OPENS TOMORROW''
in NYT on August 25, 1929 (subscription required)

in NYT on July 11, 1937 (subscription required)

in NYT on March 10, 1941 (subscription required)
''Ferris to Be Buried Tomorrow''
in ''The Knickerbocker News'', of

, on March 10, 1941
Bio
transcribed from ''The History of New York State'' by Dr. James Sullivan (1927; Biographies, Part 58) {{DEFAULTSORT:Ferris, Mortimer Y 1881 births 1941 deaths Republican Party New York (state) state senators People from Ticonderoga, New York Politicians from Brookline, Massachusetts MIT School of Engineering alumni 20th-century American legislators Yale family 20th-century New York (state) politicians