Abraham Lansing

Abraham Lansing (February 27, 1835 – October 4, 1899) was an American lawyer and politician.[1]

Abraham Lansing
Member of the New York State Senate from the 17th district
In office January 1, 1882 – December 31, 1883
Preceded by	Waters W. Braman
Succeeded by	John Boyd Thacher
Acting New York State Treasurer
In office June 1, 1874 – August 19, 1874
Governor	John Adams Dix
Preceded by	Thomas Raines
Succeeded by	Thomas Raines
Personal details
Born	February 27, 1835 Albany, New York, U.S.
Died	October 4, 1899 (aged 64) Albany, New York, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Catherine Gansevoort ​ ​ (m. 1873; his death 1899)​
Parents	Christopher Yates Lansing Caroline Mary Thomas
Relatives	Abraham Lansing (grandfather) Gerrit Y. Lansing (uncle)
Education	The Albany Academy
Alma mater	Williams College (1855) Albany Law School (1857)

Early life

Abraham Lansing was born in Albany, Albany County, New York. He was the son of Christopher Yates Lansing (1796–1872) and Caroline Mary (née Thomas) Lansing (1805–1845). Lansing was a grandson of state Treasurer Abraham G. Lansing, grand-nephew of Chancellor John Lansing, Jr., and nephew of Gerrit Y. Lansing.[2]

Lansing attended The Albany Academy, graduated from Williams College with an A.B. in 1855, and was a member of The Kappa Alpha Society. He read law with his father, graduated from Albany Law School in 1857, and later practiced law in partnership with his brother William.[3]

Career

In 1868, he was appointed City Attorney of Albany, and in 1869 became the first New York Supreme Court reporter. He published the first seven volumes of the Supreme Court Reports.[3]

From June 1, 1874, he was Acting New York State Treasurer, appointed by Governor John Adams Dix while Treasurer Thomas Raines was incapacitated due to a nervous breakdown, and was treated at the Utica State Asylum.[4][5] Raines resumed his duties on August 19, 1874.[6]

In 1876, he was chosen Corporation Counsel of Albany. Elected as a Democrat, he was a member of the New York State Senate (17th D.) in 1882 and 1883. There he worked for the establishment of the State Railroad Commission and the Niagara Falls State Park.[3]

He was a director of the National Commercial Bank, trustee of the Albany Savings Bank, Park Commissioner of Albany, Governor of the Albany Hospital, trustee of The Albany Academy, the Albany Medical College, the Albany Rural Cemetery, the Dudley Observatory. In 1879 he was an American delegate to the International Conference (London) for the Codification of the Law of Nations.[3]

Personal life

On November 26, 1873,[7] he married Catherine Gansevoort (1838–1918),[8] the daughter of Peter Gansevoort (1789–1876) and Mary (née Sanford) Gansevoort (1814–1841).[9] She was a granddaughter of Peter Gansevoort and Nathan Sanford. They did not have any children.[10]

Lansing died in Albany on October 4, 1899, and was buried at the Albany Rural Cemetery at Menands, New York.[11]

References

Notes

1. Weeks, Lyman Horace; Dougherty, John Hampden (1911). Legal and Judicial History of New York. National Americana Society. p. 52. Retrieved 17 July 2017.
2. Art, Albany Institute of History and (1998). Albany Institute of History & Art: 200 Years of Collecting. SUNY Press. ISBN 9781555951016. Retrieved 17 July 2017.
3. Twenty-Third Annual Meeting. Proceedings of the New York State Bar Association. Held at the City of Albany, January 16-17, 1900. Albany, N.Y.: New York State Bar Association. 1900. pp. 368–370. Retrieved 17 July 2017.
4. "THE NEW STATE TREASURER.; MR. ABRAHAM LANSING, OF ALBANY". The New York Times. 2 June 1874. Retrieved 17 July 2017.
5. The 1874 Appointment article states erroneously he was a descendant of Chancellor Lansing who in fact was a brother of his grandfather, and so was Abraham Lansing's great-uncle.
6. "THE STATE TREASURY.; RESUMPTION OF DUTY BY MR. RAINES OFFICIAL CORRESPONDENCE". The New York Times. 20 August 1874. Retrieved 17 July 2017.
7. "The Social Season In Town and Country". The New York Times. 19 November 1899. Retrieved 17 July 2017. Congratulations may be extended this morning on the anniversaries of their weddings to: Mr. and Mrs. Abraham Lansing of Albany, (Miss Catherine Gansevoort.) Nov. 26, 1873.
8. "Obituary -- LANSING". The New York Times. 25 January 1918. Retrieved 17 July 2017.
9. Reynolds, Cuyler (1911). Hudson-Mohawk Genealogical and Family Memoirs: A Record of Achievements of the People of the Hudson and Mohawk Valleys in New York State, Included Within the Present Counties of Albany, Rensselaer, Washington, Saratoga, Montgomery, Fulton, Schenectady, Columbia and Greene. Lewis Historical Publishing Company. Retrieved 17 July 2017.
10. "Gansevoort-Lansing collection, 1650-1919, bulk (1800-1899)" (PDF). nypl.org. New York Public Library. 2007. Retrieved 17 July 2017.
11. "DEATH LIST OF A DAY | Abraham Lansing" (PDF). The New York Times. October 5, 1899. Retrieved 17 July 2017.

Sources

• Raines reinstated, New York Times, August 20, 1874
• Recollections: Abraham Lansing. 1909. Charles E. Fitch, editor. De Vinne Press, publisher.

External links

• Lansing Political Graveyard
• Abraham Lansing at Find a Grave