William Beatty Rochester (January 29, 1789 Hagerstown

Hagerstown, Maryland

Hagerstown is a city in northwestern Maryland, United States. It is the county seat of Washington County, and, by many definitions, the largest city in a region known as Western Maryland. The population of Hagerstown city proper at the 2010 census was 39,662, and the population of the...

, Washington County, Maryland

Washington County, Maryland

Washington County is a county located in the western part of the U.S. state of Maryland, bordering southern Pennsylvania to the north, northern Virginia to the south, and the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia to the south and west. As of the 2010 Census, its population is 147,430...

 - June 14, 1838) was an American lawyer and politician 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...

.

Life

He was the first child of Col. Nathaniel Rochester

Nathaniel Rochester

Nathaniel Rochester was an American Revolutionary War soldier and land speculator, most noted for founding the settlement which would become Rochester, New York.-Early years:...

 (1752–1831) and Sophia (Beatty) Rochester (1768–1845). He attended the public schools and graduated from Charlotte Hall Military Academy

Charlotte Hall Military Academy

Charlotte Hall Military Academy, located at Charlotte Hall, Maryland, was established as Charlotte Hall School in 1774 by Queen Charlotte to provide for the liberal and pious education of youth to better fit them for the discharge of their duties for the United States...

. In 1812, he married his first wife Harriet Irwin (d. 1815), and their son was Nathaniel Montgomery Rochester (1813–1823).

During the War of 1812

War of 1812

The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...

, Rochester was an aide-de-camp

Aide-de-camp

An aide-de-camp is a personal assistant, secretary, or adjutant to a person of high rank, usually a senior military officer or a head of state...

 to Gen. George McClure. After the war, he studied law with his uncle Judge Adam Beatty and with Henry Clay

Henry Clay

Henry Clay, Sr. , was a lawyer, politician and skilled orator who represented Kentucky separately in both the Senate and in the House of Representatives...

, was admitted to the bar, and began practice in Bath, New York

Bath (village), New York

Bath is a village in Steuben County, New York, United States. The population was 5,641 at the 2000 census. Bath is the county seat of Steuben County. The community was named either for the English city or for Lady Bath, daughter of William Pulteney, one of the original landowners.The Village of...

. Later, he removed to Angelica, New York

Angelica, New York

Angelica, New York may refer to:*Angelica , New York *Angelica , New York...

. On January 31, 1816, he married his second wife Amanda Hopkins (d. 1831), and their children were James Hervey Rochester (1819–1860), Harriet Louisa (Rochester) Bull (1821–1854), Sophia Elizabeth Rochester (1823–1824), William Beatty Rochester (1826–1909) and Nathaniel Elie Rochester (1829–1833).

Rochester was a member of the New York State Assembly

New York State Assembly

The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature. The Assembly is composed of 150 members representing an equal number of districts, with each district having an average population of 128,652...

 (Allegany

Allegany County, New York

Allegany County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2010 census, the population was 48,946. Its name derives from a Delaware Indian word, applied by settlers of Western New York State to a trail that followed the Allegheny River. Its county seat is...

 and Steuben

Steuben County, New York

Steuben County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2010 census, the population was 98,990. Its name is in honor of Baron von Steuben, a German general who fought on the American side in the American Revolutionary War, though it is not pronounced the same...

 Co.) in 1816-17

40th New York State Legislature

The 40th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from November 5, 1816, to April 15, 1817, during the tenth year of Daniel D...

 and 1818

41st New York State Legislature

The 41st New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 27 to April 21, 1818, during the first year of DeWitt Clinton's governorship, in Albany.-Background:...

. Rochester was a presidential elector in 1820

United States presidential election, 1820

The United States presidential election of 1820 was the third and last presidential election in United States history in which a candidate ran effectively unopposed. In 1820, President James Monroe and Vice President Daniel D...

, voting for James Monroe

James Monroe

James Monroe was the fifth President of the United States . Monroe was the last president who was a Founding Father of the United States, and the last president from the Virginia dynasty and the Republican Generation...

 and Daniel D. Tompkins

Daniel D. Tompkins

Daniel D. Tompkins was an entrepreneur, jurist, Congressman, the fourth Governor of New York , and the sixth Vice President of the United States .-Name:...

.

Rochester was elected as a Democratic-Republican to the 17th

17th United States Congress

The Seventeenth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1821 to March 3, 1823, during the fifth and sixth...

, and re-elected as a Crawford Democratic-Republican to the 18th United States Congress

18th United States Congress

The Eighteenth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1823 to March 3, 1825, during the seventh and eighth...

, holding office from December 3, 1821, to April 21, 1823 when he resigned upon his appointment as Judge of the Eight Circuit Court

New York State Circuit Courts

The New York State Circuit Courts were circuit courts created by the New York State Constitution of 1821, and abolished by the Constitution of 1846.-History:...

. He resigned from the bench to run on the Bucktails

Bucktails

The Bucktails may refer to one of two organizations that were particularly characterized and identified by the wearing of a bucktail in their headgear....

 ticket for Governor of New York

Governor of New York

The Governor of the State of New York is the chief executive of the State of New York. The governor is the head of the executive branch of New York's state government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military and naval forces. The officeholder is afforded the courtesy title of His/Her...

 in 1826

New York gubernatorial election, 1826

The 1822 New York gubernatorial election was held from November 6 to 8, 1826, to elect the Governor and the Lieutenant Governor.-Results:...

, but was narrowly defeated by DeWitt Clinton

DeWitt Clinton

DeWitt Clinton was an early American politician and naturalist who served as United States Senator and the sixth Governor of New York. In this last capacity he was largely responsible for the construction of the Erie Canal...

.

He was Secretary to the Special Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to Colombia

Colombia

Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...

 in 1826, and Chargé d'affaires

Chargé d'affaires

In diplomacy, chargé d’affaires , often shortened to simply chargé, is the title of two classes of diplomatic agents who head a diplomatic mission, either on a temporary basis or when no more senior diplomat has been accredited.-Chargés d’affaires:Chargés d’affaires , who were...

 to Central America in 1827-28. In 1828, he was appointed by Nicholas Biddle

Nicholas Biddle

Nicholas Biddle may refer to:* Nicholas Biddle , officer in the American Continental Navy* Nicholas Biddle , American banker and President of the Second Bank of the United States...

 as President of the branch of the Second Bank of the United States

Second Bank of the United States

The Second Bank of the United States was chartered in 1816, five years after the First Bank of the United States lost its own charter. The Second Bank of the United States was initially headquartered in Carpenters' Hall, Philadelphia, the same as the First Bank, and had branches throughout the...

 at Buffalo, New York

Buffalo, New York

Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...

, remaining there until 1836. On April 9, 1832, he married his third wife Eliza Powers (1800–1885), and their children were Eliza Hatch Rochester (1833–1868) and George William Rochester (1835–1837).

He later served as President of the Bank of Pensacola, Florida

Pensacola, Florida

Pensacola is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle and the county seat of Escambia County, Florida, United States of America. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 56,255 and as of 2009, the estimated population was 53,752...

 and a director of the Alabama and Florida Railroad. Rochester died in the wreck of the steamer Pulaski off the coast of North Carolina

North Carolina

North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...

 on June 14, 1838.

Mayor Thomas H. Rochester

Thomas H. Rochester

Thomas Hart Rochester was the 6th son of Colonel Nathaniel Rochester and the 6th mayor of Rochester, New York.Rochester was born in Hagerstown, Maryland and moved with his family to Dansville, New York in 1810...

 was his brother.

External links