John Godfrey Schumaker was a United States Representative from New York

United States Congressional Delegations from New York

These are tables of congressional delegations from New York to the United States Senate and United States House of Representatives.Over the years, New York has demographically changed so that it is hard to consider each district to be a continuation of the same numbered district before...

.

Born in Claverack

Claverack, New York

Claverack is a town in Columbia County, New York, United States. The population was 6,401 at the 2000 census. The town name is a corruption for the Dutch word for "Clover Fields" or "Clover Reach"....

, Columbia County

Columbia County, New York

Columbia County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2010 census, the population was 63,096. The county seat is Hudson. The name comes from the Latin feminine form of the name of Christopher Columbus, which was at the time of the formation of the county a popular proposal...

, Schumaker completed preparatory studies in the Lenox

Lenox, Massachusetts

Lenox is a town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. Set in Western Massachusetts, it is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 5,077 at the 2000 census. Where the town has a border with Stockbridge is the site of Tanglewood, summer...

 Academy in Massachusetts. He studied law, was admitted to the bar and commenced practice in 1847. In 1853, he moved to Brooklyn

Brooklyn

Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...

 and continued the practice of law. He was district attorney

District attorney

In many jurisdictions in the United States, a District Attorney is an elected or appointed government official who represents the government in the prosecution of criminal offenses. The district attorney is the highest officeholder in the jurisdiction's legal department and supervises a staff of...

 for Kings County (Brooklyn) from 1856 to 1859, and was corporation counsel

Corporation Counsel

The Corporation Counsel is the title given to the chief legal officer in some municipal and county jurisdictions, who handles civil claims against the city, including negotiating settlements and defending the city when it is sued. Most corporation counsels do not prosecute criminal cases, though...

 for the city of Brooklyn from 1862 to 1864. He was a member of the State constitutional conventions in 1862, 1867, and 1894, and was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention

Democratic National Convention

The Democratic National Convention is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 1852 national convention...

 in 1864.

Schumaker was elected as a Democrat to the Forty-first Congress, holding office from March 4, 1869 to March 3, 1871; he was not a candidate for renomination in 1870, but was elected to the Forty-third and Forty-fourth Congresses, again holding office from March 4, 1873 to March 3, 1877. He was not a candidate for renomination in 1876 to the Forty-fifth Congress, and resumed the practice of law. He died in Brooklyn in 1905; interment was in Green-Wood Cemetery

Green-Wood Cemetery

Green-Wood Cemetery was founded in 1838 as a rural cemetery in Brooklyn, Kings County , New York. It was granted National Historic Landmark status in 2006 by the U.S. Department of the Interior.-History:...

.

External links