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Heman
J. Redfield
Heman Judd Redfield (December 27, 1788 Suffield, Hartford County,
Connecticut - July 22, 1877 Batavia, Genesee County, New York) was
an American politician from New York.
Life
He was the son of Peleg Redfield (1762-1852) and Mary (Judd) Redfield
(1765-1844). The family were neighbors of Oliver Phelps who opened
a land sales office in Suffield, Ct, after the Phelps and Gorham Purchase.
The Redfields exchanged their small property in Suffield for 200 acres
(0.81 km2) of land in the Town of Farmington (in that part that was
later separated as Manchester, Ontario County, New York) and moved
to the West in 1800.
He attended Canandaigua Academy from 1808 to 1810, and then studied
law with John Canfield Spencer.
During the War of 1812, he enlisted as a private and fought in the
Battle of Queenston Heights, and in November 1813 at Fort George,
Ontario where he received from the commanding general William Henry
Harrison a brevet for gallant services.
He was admitted to the bar in 1815, and commenced practice at Le Roy.
On January 27, 1817, he married Abigail N. Gould (d. 1841), and they
had 14 children.
He was appointed District Attorney of Genesee County in 1821. He was
Postmaster of Le Roy for more than twenty years. He was a member of
the New York State Senate from 1823 to 1825.
In 1826, he was offered the position of Special Counsel to the New
York State Attorney General for the trials against the abductors of
William Morgan, but declined, recommending John Canfield Spencer who
was chosen.
On May 9, 1835, Redfield was elected a Canal Commissioner by the New
York State Legislature to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation
of Michael Hoffman, but he declined to take office. The Legislature
adjourned on May 11, and left Governor William L. Marcy to appoint
John Bowman instead.
When the Holland Land Company sold out their land in 1836, he became
land agent for the new proprietors and moved to Batavia, NY.
On April 14, 1846, he married Constance C. Bolles (d. 1909), and they
had four children.
President Franklin Pierce appointed Redfield Naval Officer of the
Port of New York, and on November 1, 1853, Collector of the Port of
New York. He resigned on July 1, 1857, and retired from politics.
Source: Wikipedia
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