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Friend Humphrey

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Friend Humphrey
Mayor of Albany, New York
In office
1849–1850
Preceded byJohn Taylor
Succeeded byFranklin Townsend
In office
1843–1845
Preceded byBarent Philip Staats
Succeeded byJohn Keyes Paige
Member of the New York State Senate for the Third District
In office
1840–1841
Preceded byEdward P. Livingston
Succeeded byErastus Corning
Personal details
Born(1787-03-08)March 8, 1787
Simsbury, Connecticut
DiedMarch 15, 1854(1854-03-15) (aged 67)
Albany, New York
Political partyWhig
Spouses
Hannah Hinman
​
​
(died 1822)​
Julia Ann Hoyt
​
​
(m. 1824; died 1851)​

Friend Humphrey (March 8, 1787 – March 15, 1854) was an American merchant, Whig state Senator from New York, and Mayor of Albany from 1849 to 1850.

Early life

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He was born in Simsbury, Connecticut on March 8, 1787. He was one of the sons of Noah Humphrey Jr. (1726–c. 1790) and Margaret (née Phelps) Humphrey (c. 1746–c. 1808).[1] His brother was General Chauncey Humphrey.[2]

Career

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He was courageous, strong, very energetic, never afraid to do right. Albany never had a Mayor better understood or more popular.[2]

Bi-centennial history of Albany. History of the county of Albany, N. Y., from 1609 to 1886, 1886

In 1811, he moved to Albany, New York, where he engaged in the leather trade,[2] under the name Friend Humphrey's Son of Albany.[3]

He was a Whig member of the New York State Senate (3rd D.) in 1840 and 1841.[4]

He was elected as Mayor of Albany from 1843 to 1845, and from 1849 to 1850.[4] As mayor, he was known for the advancement of learning and "sound morals" by closing the markets on Sunday.[2]

Personal life

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Humphrey married Hannah Hinman (1792–1822), a daughter of Dr. Aaron B. Hinman and Gertrude (née VanderHeyden) Hinman. Her sister Gertrude married Andrew Douw Lansing.[5] Before her death, they were the parents of:[5]

  • Gideon Humphrey (1814–1814), who died in infancy.[1]
  • Harriet Louisa Humphrey (1819–1897), who married Clark B. Gregory of Danbury.[5]
  • Aaron Hinman Humphrey (1822–1822), who died in infancy.[1]

In 1824, he married Julia Ann Hoyt (1804–1851), a daughter of Mary (née Barnum) Hoyt and David Picket Hoyt, a descendant of Simon Hoyt. The Hoyt family arrived at Massachusetts in 1628 and settled in Windsor, Connecticut, and Walker Hoyt was one of the first settlers of Norwalk.[6] Through her brother James, she was an aunt to Colgate Hoyt and Wayland Hoyt. Together, they were the parents of:

  • Theodore Friend Humphrey (1829–1911), a merchant and member of Friend Humphrey's Sons who married Margaret McPherson in 1854.[1][7][a]
  • James Holt Humphrey (1832–1897), who married Annie Marie Olmsted, a daughter of George Gaylord Olmsted, in 1857.[1]
  • Correl Humphrey (1839–1907), who married Helen Clarissa Millard, daughter of David Johnson Millard.[1]
  • Alexander Beebe Humphrey (1845–1919), who married Mary Morrison Charles in 1878.[1]

He died on March 15, 1854, in Albany, leaving a good estate, and was buried at the Albany Rural Cemetery in Menands, New York.[9]

Residence

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Around 1841, Humphrey built a two-story frame farmhouse with a gable roof and two symmetrically placed chimneys, today known as the Friend Humphrey House, in Colonie in Albany County, New York.

The transitional vernacular Greek Revival / Federal style dwelling,[10] was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.[11]

References

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Notes
  1. ^ In 1866, Theodore Friend Humphrey became one of the Directors of the National Mechanics' and Farmers' Bank of Albany, which later became a subsidiary of the Bank of New York.[8]
Sources
  1. ^ a b c d e f g The Humphreys family in America, Frederick Humphreys, 1885, p. 570
  2. ^ a b c d Howell, George Rogers (1 January 1886). Bi-centennial history of Albany. History of the county of Albany, N. Y., from 1609 to 1886. With portraits, biographies and illustrations. [By] Howell [and] Tenney. Assisted by local writers. Dalcassian Publishing Company. p. 664. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  3. ^ Hamilton Literary Magazine. Hamilton College. 1911. p. 169. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  4. ^ a b Hough, Benjamin Franklin (1858). The New York Civil List: Containing the Names and Origin of the Civil Divisions, and the Names and Dates of Election Or Appointment of the Principal State and County Officers from the Revolution to the Present Time. Weed, Parsons and Company. pp. 132f, 142, 425. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  5. ^ a b c Hinman, Royal Ralph (1852). A Catalogue of the Names of the Early Puritan Settlers of the Colony of Connecticut: With the Time of Their Arrival in the Country and Colony, Their Standing in Society, Place of Residence, Condition in Life, where From, Business, Etc. as Far as is Found on Record. Higginson Book Company. p. 837. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  6. ^ "COLGATE HOYT WEDS MRS. K.S. CHEESMAN; Banker and Railroad Director Married to Widow at Wood Manse, Greenwich, Conn" (PDF). The New York Times. 21 July 1912. Retrieved 8 November 2019.
  7. ^ Henry Whittemore (1897). "The Heroes of the American Revolution and their Descendants". The Heroes of the Revolution Publishing Co. p. 117.
  8. ^ The Humphreys family in America, Frederick Humphreys, 1885, p. 570
  9. ^ Family Memorials in Prose and Verse, Theo. J. Elmore, Savannah, Georgia, Morning News Steam Printing House, 1880, Page 338
  10. ^ David G. Barnet (June 1982). "National Register of Historic Places Registration: Friend Humphrey House". New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. Retrieved 2010-10-13.
  11. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
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New York State Senate
Preceded by New York State Senate
Third District (Class 3)
1840–1841 		Succeeded by
Political offices
Preceded by Mayor of Albany
1843–1845 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
John Taylor
 Mayor of Albany
1849–1850 		Succeeded by
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