Abraham Lansing
Abraham Lansing (February 27, 1835 – October 4, 1899) was an American lawyer and politician.
Life
Born in Albany, Albany County, New York, Lansing was a grandson of state Treasurer Abraham G. Lansing, and son of Christopher Yates Lansing (1796–1872) and Caroline Mary Thomas Lansing (1805–1845). Chancellor John Lansing, Jr. was his great-uncle, Gerrit Y. Lansing was his uncle. Lansing attended The Albany Academy, graduated from Williams College with an A.B. in 1855, and was a member of The Kappa Alpha Society. He read law with his father, graduated from Albany Law School in 1857, and later practiced law in partnership with his brother William.
In 1868, he was appointed City Attorney of Albany, and in 1869 became the first New York Supreme Court reporter. He published the first seven volumes of the Supreme Court Reports.
On November 26, 1873, he married Catherine Gansevoort (granddaughter of Peter Gansevoort and Nathan Sanford).
From June 1 to August 19, 1874, he was Acting New York State Treasurer, appointed by Governor John Adams Dix while Treasurer Thomas Raines was incapacitated due to a nervous breakdown, and was treated at the Utica State Asylum.
In 1876, he was chosen Corporation Counsel of Albany. Elected as a Democrat, he was a member of the New York State Senate (17th D.) in 1882 and 1883. There he worked for the establishment of the State Railroad Commission and the Niagara Falls State Park.
He was a director of the National Commercial Bank, trustee of the Albany Savings Bank, Park Commissioner of Albany, Governor of the Albany Hospital, trustee of The Albany Academy, the Albany Medical College, the Albany Rural Cemetery, the Dudley Observatory. In 1879 he was an American delegate to the International Conference (London) for the Codification of the Law of Nations.
Lansing died in Albany on October 4, 1899, and was buried at the Albany Rural Cemetery at Menands, New York.
Sources
- Political Graveyard
- Lansing appointed, New York Times, June 2, 1874. (Stating erroneously he was a descendant of Chancellor Lansing who in fact was a brother of his grandfather, and so was Abraham Lansing's great-uncle.)
- Raines reinstated, New York Times, August 20, 1874
- DEATH LIST OF A DAY; ...Abraham Lansing, New York Times, October 5, 1899
- Lansing genealogy in Hudson-Mohawk Genealogical and Family Memoirs ed. by Cuyler Reynolds (Vol I, pages 72ff; Lewis Historical Publishing Co., New York, 1911)
- Abraham Lansing at Find a Grave
- Recollections: Abraham Lansing. 1909. Charles E. Fitch, editor. De Vinne Press, publisher.
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Thomas Raines |
New York State Treasurer Acting 1874 |
Succeeded by Thomas Raines |
| New York State Senate | ||
| Preceded by Waters W. Braman |
New York State Senate 17th District 1882–1883 |
Succeeded by John Boyd Thacher |