Edgar T. Brackett

Edgar T. Brackett (1900)

Brackett and Hiram R. Wood circa 1913

Edgar Truman Brackett (July 30, 1853 – February 27, 1924), was a lawyer, businessman, and a member of the New York State Senate.^[1]

Biography

Edgar Brackett was born on July 30, 1853 at Emerson's Corners (now Gurn Spring)^[2] in Wilton, New York to William Brackett and Elizabeth Ann Sherman. After spending his youth in Iowa he returned to Saratoga Springs in 1872 to practice law. In 1882, he married Mary Emma Corliss (1857-1931),^[3] and they had several children, among them the screenwriter Charles Brackett (1892–1969).

His accomplishments included participation in the impeachment of New York Governor William Sulzer in 1913^[4] and the founding of McGregor Links golf course near Saratoga Springs, "considered by experts to be one of the best in the country^[4]" in 1921.

Edgar T. Brackett was a member of the New York State Senate (28th D.) from 1896 to 1906, sitting in the 119th, 120th, 121st, 122nd, 123rd, 124th, 125th, 126th, 127th, 128th and 129th New York State Legislatures.

He was again a member of the State Senate (30th D.) from 1909 to 1912. sitting in the 132nd, 133rd, 134th and 135th New York State Legislatures; and was Minority Leader from 1911 to 1912.

He died on February 27, 1924, in Saratoga Springs, New York.^[4]

Business interests

In 1889 Brackett was a founder, with Sidney Rickard and George F. Harvey, of the G.F. Harvey Company, a pharmaceutical manufacturer in Saratoga Springs, and was a director of the company. In 1901, Edgar Brackett founded the Adirondack Trust Company and remained as president until his death in 1924.

Postscript

In 2013 a large cache of Senator Brackett's personal records and correspondence was discovered concealed by a dropped ceiling in Saratoga Springs City Hall, where he had a law office. The records, dating from the 1890s to 1905 are now being digitized "and hopefully they'll be available to the public."^[5]

References

1. "Edgar T. Brackett". A Descriptive And Biographical Record of Saratoga County, New York. Retrieved 2010-12-18. Edgar Truman Brackett stands pre-eminent among the bar of Saratoga county; born at Emerson’s Corners in the town of Wilton, Saratoga county, July 30, 1853, son of William and Elizabeth Ann (Sherman) Brackett, our subject is seventh in descent of Capt. Richard Brackett who came from Scotland to Boston in 1629. In childhood he accompanied his parents to Mount Vernon, Linn county, Iowa, where he remained until he had attained mans estate. In 1872 he was graduated from Cornell College at Mount Vernon, a denominational institution of learning under the management of the Methodist Ep ...
2. "The Way We Were - Town of Wilton". Saratoga Country Government. Retrieved June 5, 2013.
3. "Mary Emma Corliss Brackett". Find A Grave. Retrieved July 12, 2013.
4. "Former Senator Edgar T. Brackett Died Last Evening" (PDF). Ballston Spa Journal. February 28, 1924.
5. Mulholland, Mark. "Retiring city employee uncovers historic documents stashed in ceiling". Newschannel 13. Retrieved June 25, 2013.