Erastus Dean Culver was a U.S. Representative

United States House of Representatives

The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...

 from New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

.

Born in Champlain in Washington County

Washington County, New York

Washington County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. It is part of the Glens Falls, New York, Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2010 census, the population was 63,216. It was named for the Revolutionary War general George Washington...

, New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

, Culver was graduated from the University of Vermont

University of Vermont

The University of Vermont comprises seven undergraduate schools, an honors college, a graduate college, and a college of medicine. The Honors College does not offer its own degrees; students in the Honors College concurrently enroll in one of the university's seven undergraduate colleges or...

 at Burlington

Burlington, Vermont

Burlington is the largest city in the U.S. state of Vermont and the shire town of Chittenden County. Burlington lies south of the U.S.-Canadian border and some south of Montreal....

 in 1826.
He studied law.
He was admitted to the bar

Admission to the bar in the United States

In the United States, admission to the bar is the granting of permission by a particular court system to a lawyer to practice law in that system. Each U.S. state and similar jurisdiction has its own court system and sets its own rules for bar admission , which can lead to different admission...

 in 1831 and commenced practice in Fort Ann, New York

Fort Ann (town), New York

Fort Ann is a town in Washington County, New York, United States. It is part of the Glens Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area. The town population was 6,417 at the 2000 census...

.
He moved to Greenwich, New York, in 1836.
He served as member of the State assembly 1838-1840.

Culver was elected as a Whig

Whig Party (United States)

The Whig Party was a political party of the United States during the era of Jacksonian democracy. Considered integral to the Second Party System and operating from the early 1830s to the mid-1850s, the party was formed in opposition to the policies of President Andrew Jackson and his Democratic...

 to the Twenty-ninth

29th United States Congress

-House of Representatives:During this congress, two House seats were added for each of the new states of Texas and Iowa.-Leadership:-Senate:* President: George M. Dallas * President pro tempore: Willie P. Mangum...

 Congress (March 4, 1845-March 3, 1847).
He moved to Brooklyn, New York, in 1850, where he became well known as a lawyer, arguing cases for Brooklyn and New York City abolitionists.
He was elected as judge of the city court of Brooklyn in 1854 and served through 1861; in 1857 he ruled in favor of James Stead, a fugitive slave, in a hotly contested case that featured a dramatic "rescue," defeating slave catchers seeking to return Stead to his master.
He was appointed by President Lincoln as Minister Resident to Venezuela and served in that capacity from 1862 to 1866.
He died in Greenwich, New York, October 13, 1889.
He was interred in the Culver vault in Greenwich Cemetery.