Rutger Bleecker Miller (July 28, 1805 – November 12, 1877) was a

United States representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, 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 Artic ...

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 * ...

. His father was Morris Smith Miller, also a U.S. Representative from

Early life

Rutger Bleecker Miller was born on July 28, 1805, in Lowville to Morris Smith Miller. Miller attended the common schools in Utica, the Catholic College in

Montreal, Quebec Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

, Canada and

Yale College Yale College is the undergraduate college of Yale University. Founded in 1701, it is the original school of the university. Although other Yale schools were founded as early as 1810, all of Yale was officially known as Yale College until 1887, ...

. He graduated from the

Litchfield Law School The Litchfield Law School was a law school in Litchfield, Connecticut, that operated from 1774 to 1833. Litchfield was the first independent law school established in America for reading law. Founded and led by lawyer Tapping Reeve, the proprietar ...

in 1824 and 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 ...

, practicing in Utica from 1829 to 1831. He was manager of the Utica Wilberforce Society 1829 and was interested in banking and railroads in 1832 and 1833.

Career

Miller was a

trustee Trustee (or the holding of a trusteeship) is a legal term which, in its broadest sense, refers to anyone in a position of trust and so can refer to any individual who holds property, authority, or a position of trust or responsibility for the ...

of the village of Utica from 1829 to 1831; served as member of the first

board of aldermen An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law with similar officials existing in the Netherlands ( wethouder) and Belgium ( schepen). The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking mem ...

of the city of Utica; 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 ...

in 1832; and was

clerk A clerk is a white-collar worker who conducts record keeping as well as general office tasks, or a worker who performs similar sales-related tasks in a retail environment. The responsibilities of clerical workers commonly include Records managem ...

of the

United States district court The United States district courts are the trial courts of the United States federal judiciary, U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each United States federal judicial district, federal judicial district. Each district cov ...

in 1833 and 1834.

Congress

Miller was elected as a Jacksonian to the Twenty-fourth

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of

Samuel Beardsley Samuel Beardsley (February 6, 1790 – May 6, 1860) was an American attorney, judge and legislator from New York. During his career he served as a member of the United States House of Representatives, New York Attorney General, United States Att ...

and served from November 9, 1836, to March 3, 1837.

Later career and death

He engaged in building and railroad construction, and subsequently in the management of his farm in Boonville in Oneida County. Miller died on November 12, 1877, in Utica. He was interred in Forest Hill Cemetery there.

References

Sources

1805 births 1877 deaths Politicians from Utica, New York Litchfield Law School alumni Members of the New York State Assembly Yale College alumni Jacksonian members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state) Burials at Forest Hill Cemetery (Utica, New York) 19th-century members of the New York State Legislature 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives {{NewYork-Representative-stub