Anson Herrick (January 21, 1812 – February 6, 1868) was a U.S. Representative from New York during the latter half of the American Civil War. A newspaperman by trade, he served a single term in Congress from 1863 to 1865.

Anson Herrick
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from New York's 9th district
In office
March 4, 1863 - March 3, 1865
Preceded byEdward Haight
Succeeded byWilliam Augustus Darling
Member of the New York city
Board of Aldermen
for the 19th Ward
In office
1853-1857
Personal details
BornJanuary 21, 1812
Lewiston, Maine
DiedFebruary 6, 1868 (aged 56)
New York, New York
Resting placeGreen-Wood Cemetery, Brooklyn, New York
Political partyDemocratic[1]
SpouseMary Wood[1]

Biography edit

Born in Lewiston, Maine,[2] Herrick attended public school. He was a son of Ebenezer Herrick.[1]

Newspaperman edit

Later on, Herrick learned the art of printing. Herrick established The Citizen at Wiscasset, Maine, in 1833, and moved to New York City in 1836. Herrick established the New York Atlas in 1838, which he continued until his death in 1868. In 1841, he founded a two-penny daily newspaper with John F. Ropes titled The New York Aurora, which was later edited for a time by Walt Whitman.[3]

Political career edit

Herrick served as a member of the New York city board of aldermen from Ward 19 during 1853–1857.[1] Herrick was appointed by President James Buchanan as naval storekeeper for the port of New York, serving from 1857 to 1861.[1]

Congress edit

Herrick was elected as a Democrat to the Thirty-eighth Congress (March 4, 1863 – March 3, 1865).[4][5] Herrick was one of the few Democrats to vote for the submission of the 13th Amendment to the states.[1] (Herrick had previously published editorials in favor of the amendment, but apparently voted for it in exchange for President Lincoln appointing his brother as a federal revenue assessor. After Lincoln's death the appointment was never confirmed.)[6][7]

Herrick was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1864 to the Thirty-ninth Congress.

Later career and death edit

He subsequently resumed his journalistic pursuits. He served as a delegate to the Union National Convention at Philadelphia in 1866. Herrick died in New York City February 6, 1868, and was interred in Green-Wood Cemetery, Brooklyn, New York.

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d e f Herrick, Jedediah (1885), Herrick genealogy: A Genealogical Register of the Name and Family of Herrick from the Settlement of Henerie Hericke, in Salem, Massachusetts, 1629 to 1846, with a concise notice of their English ancestry, Columbus, Ohio: Privately printed, p. 221
  2. ^ (7 February 1868) OBITUARY; Hon. Anson Herrick, The New York Times, Retrieved November 2, 2010
  3. ^ Oliver, Charles M. Critical Companion to Walt Whitman: A Literary Reference to His Life and Work. New York: Facts on File, 2006: 318. ISBN 0-8160-5768-0
  4. ^ Johnson, Rossiter (ed.) The twentieth century biographical dictionary of notable Americans, p.260 (1904)
  5. ^ (6 November 1862). Congressmen Elected, The New York Times Retrieved November 22, 2010
  6. ^ Charles M. Hubbard, Lincoln Reshapes the Presidency, 2003, page 167
  7. ^ Andrew Johnson, author, Paul H. Bergeron, editor, The Papers of Andrew Johnson, Volume 8, May–August 1865, 1989, page 32

External links edit

U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from New York's 9th congressional district

1863–1865
Succeeded by

  This article incorporates public domain material from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress