Thomas Clowes
Encyclopedia
Thomas Clowes was an American lawyer and politician from New York
.
. In 1808, he went to live with an uncle, who had settled in Brunswick
, Rensselaer County, New York
, with the promise of becoming heir to his property. After the death of his uncle, he went to the county seat Troy, New York
, to settle the estate, but eventually remained there and studied law at the office of Ross & McConihe. On July 6, 1818, he married Nancy Cox, but of their children only one daughter reached maturity.
He was Surrogate of Rensselaer County from 1821 to 1827.
From 1840 to 1844, he was a Canal Appraiser.
In November 1846, he was elected on the Whig and Anti-Rent
tickets a Canal Commissioner
. Under the Act of May 6, 1844, there were two canal commissioners to be elected to a four-year term beginning on February 1, 1847, but at the same State election the voters ratified the New York State Constitution of 1846 which extended the terms of the incumbent commissioners until the end of 1847, calling for a new election in November 1847. Thus Clowes could not take office for his elected term. However, on November 1, 1847, Commissioner Nathaniel Jones
resigned, and Clowes was elected by the New York State Legislature on November 15 to fill the vacancy, and remained in office for six weeks, until the end of the year.
In 1849, he was appointed by President Zachary Taylor
Postmaster of Troy. In March 1851, he was removed by President Millard Fillmore
. He was again appointed Postmaster of Troy by President Abraham Lincoln
in 1862, and re-appointed by President Andrew Johnson
, and died in office.
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...
.
Life
His father and uncles were seafaring men. While a boy he went to sea with his uncle, making two voyages across the Atlantic OceanAtlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
. In 1808, he went to live with an uncle, who had settled in Brunswick
Brunswick, New York
Brunswick is a town in Rensselaer County, New York, United States that was originally settled in the early 18th century. During its history, it had been part of Albany County, Rensselaerswyck, and Troy, before its incorporation in 1807...
, Rensselaer County, New York
Rensselaer County, New York
Rensselaer County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2010 census, the population was 159,429. Its name is in honor of the family of Kiliaen van Rensselaer, the original Dutch owner of the land in the area. Its county seat is Troy...
, with the promise of becoming heir to his property. After the death of his uncle, he went to the county seat Troy, New York
Troy, New York
Troy is a city in the US State of New York and the seat of Rensselaer County. Troy is located on the western edge of Rensselaer County and on the eastern bank of the Hudson River. Troy has close ties to the nearby cities of Albany and Schenectady, forming a region popularly called the Capital...
, to settle the estate, but eventually remained there and studied law at the office of Ross & McConihe. On July 6, 1818, he married Nancy Cox, but of their children only one daughter reached maturity.
He was Surrogate of Rensselaer County from 1821 to 1827.
From 1840 to 1844, he was a Canal Appraiser.
In November 1846, he was elected on the Whig and Anti-Rent
Anti-Rent War
The Anti-Rent War was a tenants' revolt in upstate New York during the early 19th century, beginning with the death of Stephen Van Rensselaer III in 1839....
tickets a Canal Commissioner
Erie Canal Commission
The New York State Legislature appointed in 1810 a Commission to Explore a Route for a Canal to Lake Erie, and Report which became known as the Erie Canal Commission...
. Under the Act of May 6, 1844, there were two canal commissioners to be elected to a four-year term beginning on February 1, 1847, but at the same State election the voters ratified the New York State Constitution of 1846 which extended the terms of the incumbent commissioners until the end of 1847, calling for a new election in November 1847. Thus Clowes could not take office for his elected term. However, on November 1, 1847, Commissioner Nathaniel Jones
Nathaniel Jones (representative)
Nathaniel Jones was an American banker and politician from New York.-Life:...
resigned, and Clowes was elected by the New York State Legislature on November 15 to fill the vacancy, and remained in office for six weeks, until the end of the year.
In 1849, he was appointed by President Zachary Taylor
Zachary Taylor
Zachary Taylor was the 12th President of the United States and an American military leader. Initially uninterested in politics, Taylor nonetheless ran as a Whig in the 1848 presidential election, defeating Lewis Cass...
Postmaster of Troy. In March 1851, he was removed by President Millard Fillmore
Millard Fillmore
Millard Fillmore was the 13th President of the United States and the last member of the Whig Party to hold the office of president...
. He was again appointed Postmaster of Troy by President Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
in 1862, and re-appointed by President Andrew Johnson
Andrew Johnson
Andrew Johnson was the 17th President of the United States . As Vice-President of the United States in 1865, he succeeded Abraham Lincoln following the latter's assassination. Johnson then presided over the initial and contentious Reconstruction era of the United States following the American...
, and died in office.
Sources
- The New York Civil List compiled by Franklin Benjamin Hough (pages 42f and 417; Weed, Parsons and Co., 1858)
- The New-York Civil List compiled by Franklin Benjamin Hough, Stephen C. Hutchins & Edgar Albert Werner (pages 247f; Weed, Parsons and Co., Albany NY, 1867)
- The election in 1846, in Political History of the State of New York from January 1, 1841, to January 1, 1847, Vol III, including The Life of Silas Wright by Jabez Delano Hammond (L. W. Hall, Syracuse NY, 1849; page 689)
- http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?_r=1&res=9C07E4D91631EF34BC4152DFB366838D679FDE Federal appointments, among them a new postmaster at Troy, in NYT on May 19, 1866
- The Rise and Fall of the American Whig Party: Jacksonian Politics and the Onset of the Civil War by Michael F. Holt (Oxford University Press US, 2003, ISBN 0195161041 , ISBN 9780195161045 ; pages 650f)
- http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~nyrensse/bio37.htm Bio, and portrait, in History of Rensselaer Co., New York by Nathaniel Bartlett Sylvester (1880) [has a few typos]