Name William Rochester Role American Politician | Died June 14, 1838 Parents Nathaniel Rochester | |
Education Charlotte Hall Military Academy | ||
William Beatty Rochester (January 29, 1789 Hagerstown, Washington County, Maryland – June 14, 1838) was an American lawyer and politician from New York.
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Early life
Rochester was the first child of Col. Nathaniel Rochester (1752–1831), founder of the City of Rochester, New York, and Sophia (née Beatty) Rochester (1768–1845). Mayor Thomas H. Rochester was his brother.
He attended the public schools and graduated from Charlotte Hall Military Academy.
Career
During the War of 1812, Rochester was an aide-de-camp to Gen. George McClure. After the war, he studied law with his uncle Judge Adam Beatty and with Henry Clay, was admitted to the bar, and began practice in Bath, New York. Later, he removed to Angelica, New York.
Rochester was a member of the New York State Assembly (Allegany and Steuben Co.) in 1816-17 and 1818. Rochester was a presidential elector in 1820, voting for James Monroe and Daniel D. Tompkins.
Rochester was elected as a Democratic-Republican to the 17th, and re-elected as a Crawford Democratic-Republican to the 18th United States Congress, holding office from December 3, 1821, to April 21, 1823 when he resigned upon his appointment as Judge of the Eight Circuit Court. He resigned from the bench to run on the Bucktails ticket for Governor of New York in 1826, but was narrowly defeated by DeWitt Clinton.
He was Secretary to the Special Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to Colombia in 1826, and Chargé d'affaires to Central America in 1827-28. He was appointed Chargé d’Affaires of Guatemala on March 3, 1827 and was commissioned to the Republic of Central America. He reached Central America, but returned to the United States without presenting credentials.
Later career
In 1828, he was appointed by Nicholas Biddle as President of the branch of the Second Bank of the United States at Buffalo, New York, remaining there until 1836. He later served as President of the Bank of Pensacola, Florida and a director of the Alabama and Florida Railroad.
Personal life
In 1812, he married his first wife Harriet Irwin (d. 1815), and their son was:
On January 31, 1816, he married his second wife Amanda Hopkins (1799–1831), and their children were:
On April 9, 1832, he married his third wife Eliza (née Hatch) Powers (1800–1885), a half-sister of Gov. Enos T. Throop and the widow of U.S. Rep. Gershom Powers. Together, William and Eliza were the parents of:
Rochester died in the wreck of the steamer Pulaski off the coast of North Carolina on June 14, 1838.