Theodore Medad Pomeroy (December 31, 1824 – March 23, 1905) was an American businessman and politician from New York who served as the 26th

speaker of the United States House of Representatives The speaker of the United States House of Representatives, commonly known as the speaker of the House or House speaker, is the Speaker (politics), presiding officer of the United States House of Representatives, the lower chamber of the United ...

for one day, from March 3, 1869, to March 4, 1869, the shortest American speakership term. He represented New York's 24th congressional district in the

United States House of Representatives 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 1861 to 1869. He also served as the mayor of

Auburn, New York Auburn is a city in Cayuga County, New York, United States. Located at the north end of Owasco Lake, one of the Finger Lakes in Central New York, the city had a population of 26,866 at the 2020 census. It is the largest city of Cayuga County, the ...

, from 1875 to 1876, and in 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 ...

from 1878 to 1879.

Early life and education

Theodore Medad Pomeroy was born on December 31, 1824. He spent his childhood in Elbridge, New York, where he went to live when he was nine years old. He was educated at the Monroe Academy and at 15, entered

Hamilton College Hamilton College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Clinton, Oneida County, New York, Clinton, New York. It was established as the Hamilton-Oneida Academy in 1793 and received its c ...

as a junior. He graduated in 1842 at age 17 and was ranked in the first division of 6 in a class of 24.

Career

Legal career

In May 1843, at the age of 18, he left his parents' home in Cayuga and moved to Auburn, where he entered the firm of Beach & Underwood as a law student. William H. Seward was counsel for the firm as he had just finished serving as the

Governor of New York The governor of New York is the head of government of the U.S. state of New York. The governor is the head of the executive branch of New York's state government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor ...

from 1838 to 1842. Christopher Morgan and

Samuel Blatchford Samuel M. Blatchford (March 9, 1820 – July 7, 1893) was an American attorney and judge who served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from April 3, 1882, until his death in 1893. Early life and career Blatchf ...

, who later became an

Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States An associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States is a Justice (title), justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, other than the chief justice of the United States. The number of associate justices is eight, as set by the J ...

, became associated with the firm. On May 23, 1846, he was admitted to practice as an attorney in the state of New York.

Political career

In 1847, he was elected by the Whig Party as clerk of Auburn and in 1851, he was nominated by the Whigs and was elected district attorney. He was reelected again in 1853 and served a second term. At the end of his second term he was chosen to be a Member of the New York Assembly by the Republicans to represent the second district of Cayuga and served in the legislature in 1857 but declined renomination. In September 1860, he was nominated and elected by the Republican Party to represent the 25th congressional district, composed of the counties of Cayuga and Wayne, in the House of Representatives. On July 4, 1861, he took his seat at the extra session of the 37th Congress convened by President

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...

, right after the start of the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

. He was referred to as the youngest-looking member on the floor by Washington newspaper correspondents, who described him as follows: He was nominated by acclamation in 1862, 1864, and 1866 from the 24th congressional district which comprised the counties of Cayuga, Wayne and Seneca. On March 3, 1869, Pomeroy's final full day in office came to a close with the 40th Congress.

One-day Speakership (1869)

Schuyler Colfax Schuyler Colfax Jr. ( ; March 23, 1823January 13, 1885) was an American journalist, businessman, and politician who served as the 17th vice president of the United States from 1869 to 1873, and prior to that as the 25th Speaker of the United Sta ...

, who was to be sworn into office as vice president the next day, resigned as speaker of the House. Upon his resignation, the House passed a

motion In physics, motion is when an object changes its position with respect to a reference point in a given time. Motion is mathematically described in terms of displacement, distance, velocity, acceleration, speed, and frame of reference to an o ...

declaring Pomeroy, who was himself leaving Congress the next day, duly elected as speaker in place of Colfax. In office for one day, his is the shortest tenure of any speaker of the U.S. House.

New York politics

After leaving Congress, Pomeroy was briefly out of politics. He returned to public life in the mid-1870s and was elected mayor of Auburn, New York, serving from 1875 to 1876, then as a member of the

(25th D.) in

1878 Events January * January 5 – Russo-Turkish War: Battle of Shipka Pass IV – Russian and Bulgarian forces defeat the Ottoman Empire. * January 9 – Umberto I becomes King of Italy. * January 17 – Russo-Turkish War: ...

and 1879.

Banking career

After the war ended, a boom in business production and industry began around the country. In the spring of 1866, the Merchants Union Express Company was organized to transport trade and goods across the United States with Elmore P. Ross as president, William H. Seward Jr. as vice-president, John N. Knapp as secretary, William C. Beardsley as treasurer, and Pomeroy as their attorney. By October 1866, the company was transporting goods across the major U.S. railroads and by the beginning of 1867, the company operated a network of express lines across the entire United States. The huge business incurred equally huge debts and in 1868, the company was acquired and merged with the American Merchants Union, now known as the American Express Company. Pomeroy stayed on and served as first vice-president and general counsel, along with co-founder

William Fargo William George Fargo (May 20, 1818 – August 3, 1881) was an American businessman and politician who founded Wells Fargo and Company, originally shipping, mail delivery, a stagecoach line, and banking, now Wells Fargo banking corporation, and A ...

and later with William's brother, J. C. Fargo, in 1868.

Personal life

On September 4, 1855, while serving his second term as District Attorney, he married Elizabeth Leitch Watson (1835–1892), the second daughter of Robert Watson, also of Auburn. Elizabeth's sister, Janet MacNeil Watson (1839–1913), married William H. Seward Jr. (1839–1920). Together, they had five children. Pomeroy retired from public life in 1879 and lived at 168 Genesee Street in Auburn, where he died in 1905.

Harriet Tubman Harriet Tubman (born Araminta Ross, – March 10, 1913) was an American abolitionist and social activist. After escaping slavery, Tubman made some 13 missions to rescue approximately 70 enslaved people, including her family and friends, us ...

(1822–1913) was a close friend of the family who helped care for the Pomeroy children. She attended his funeral and it was reported that only her flowers and letter were placed on his casket and buried with him.

Descendants

Pomeroy's grandchildren include New York state senator Robert Watson Pomeroy (1902–1989), Janet Pomeroy Avery (1891–1969), who married

John Foster Dulles John Foster Dulles (February 25, 1888 – May 24, 1959) was an American politician, lawyer, and diplomat who served as United States secretary of state under President Dwight D. Eisenhower from 1953 until his resignation in 1959. A member of the ...

(1888–1959), the U.S. secretary of state during the Eisenhower administration, and Josephine Herrick (1897–1972), photographer and teacher. His great-grandchildren include John W. F. Dulles (1913–2008), a professor of history and specialist in

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

at the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public university, public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 stud ...

, Lillias Dulles Hinshaw (1914–1987), a

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

minister, and Avery Dulles (1918–2008), who converted to

Roman Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

, entered the

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

order, and became the first American theologian to be appointed a

cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal most commonly refers to * Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of three species in the family Cardinalidae ***Northern cardinal, ''Cardinalis cardinalis'', the common cardinal of ...

References

Notes Sources * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pomeroy, Theodore M 1824 births 1905 deaths American bankers American people of French descent County district attorneys in New York (state) Hamilton College (New York) alumni Mayors of places in New York (state) Republican Party members of the New York State Assembly Republican Party New York (state) state senators People of New York (state) in the American Civil War Politicians from Auburn, New York Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state) Speakers of the United States House of Representatives 19th-century American businesspeople 19th-century members of the New York State Legislature 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives