Thomas Beekman

Thomas Beekman
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York's 22nd district
In office March 4, 1829 – March 3, 1831
Preceded by	John G. Stower
Succeeded by	Edward C. Reed
Personal details
Born	July 4, 1790 Kinderhook, New York
Died	February 2, 1870 (aged 79) Kinderhook, New York
Citizenship	United States
Political party	Anti-Jacksonian Anti-Masonic
Spouse(s)	Lydia Van Schaack Beekman
Profession	lawyer farmer politician

Thomas Beekman (July 4, 1790 – February 2, 1870)^[1] was an American politician and a U.S. Representative from New York.

Biography

Born in Kinderhook, New York, Beekman studied law and became an attorney and farmer in Smithfield and later Peterboro. He married Lydia Van Schaack.^[2]

Career

Beekman served in local offices including Town Clerk,^[3] and was active in the militia as aide-de-camp to the commander of its 17th Division.^[4] Beekman was also active in the Anti-Masonic movement of the 1820s and 1830s.^[5]

Elected as an Anti-Jacksonian to the Twenty-first Congress Beekman was U. S. Representative for the twenty-second district of New York and served one term, from March 4, 1829 to March 3, 1831.^[6] In 1831 he was an unsuccessful Anti-Masonic candidate for the New York State Senate.^[7]

Beekman later moved back to Kinderhook, where he farmed, practiced law, was active in several businesses, including the Kinderhook National Bank,^[8] and served as Columbia County Excise Commissioner from 1857 to 1859.^[9] After his retirement in the 1860s he spent summers in Kinderhook and winters living with his daughter in New York City.

Death

Beekman died in Kinderhook on February 2, 1870 (age 79 years, 213 days). He is interred at Kinderhook Reformed Church Cemetery, Kinderhook, Columbia County, New York, USA.^[10]

References

1. New York Genealogical and Biographical Society, The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, Volumes 20-22, 1889, page 245
2. "Thomas Beekman". The Political Graveyard. Retrieved 22 August 2013.
3. Luna M. Hammond Whitney, History of Madison County, State of New York, 1872, page 711
4. New York Council of Appointment, Military Minutes, 1783-1821, accessed January 15, 2013
5. Boston Type and Stereotype Foundry, The Proceedings of the Second United States Anti-Masonic Convention, 1832, page 86
6. Roger Sherman Skinner, The New-York State Register for 1830-1831, 1830, page 54
7. Henry J. Cookinham, History of Oneida County, New York, Volume 1, Part 1, 1912, page 101
8. Edward Augustus Collier, A History of Old Kinderhook From Aboriginal Days to the Present Time, 1914, page 301
9. Franklin Ellis, History of Columbia County, New York, 1878, page 79
10. Thomas Beekman at Find A Grave, accessed January 15, 2013

External links

• United States Congress. "Thomas Beekman (id: B000308)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
• Govtrack US Congress

 This article incorporates public domain material from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress website http://bioguide.congress.gov.