Sanford E. Church

Sanford Elias Church ( born April 18, 1815 in Milford, Otsego County, New York, † May 13, 1880 in Albion, Orleans County, New York) was an American lawyer, judge and politician ( Democratic Party).

Career

His parents, both English and Scottish descent, moved from Otsego to Monroe County ( New York) when he was still a child. There he went to the community schools and to the Monroe Academy. From 1835, he lived in Albion (New York), with the exception of a short period of time in Rochester (New York).

He studied law with Benjamin L. Bessac, which until 1843 was followed by his law firm partner. Then he teamed up with Noah Davis. This company existed for a period of thirteen years. The dissolution of the law firm of Church & Sawyer was made in Albion. Around 1862 he took Judge Selden's place in the law firm of Selden, Munger & Thompson in Rochester one. 1865, the firm was renamed Church, Munger & Cooke and consisted in this form until Churchs election as Judge of the Court of Appeals of New York.

Church decided to pursue a career in politics when he successfully ran for a seat on the Orleans County in the New York State Assembly in 1842. Three years later he was appointed District Attorney of that county and after the constitution of New York of 1846 went into effect, he was elected in a regular election to the same office. He then held this post until the end of 1850.

The Democrats nominated him in 1850 for the office of Lieutenant-Governor Horatio Seymour and as governor. Seymour suffered a defeat against Washington Hunt, a Whigkandidaten, who defeated him by a majority of 200 votes, whereas Church won the gubernatorial elections of its own. In 1852 he was re-elected to the same office, where Seymour was chosen this time for governor.

Church was elected in 1857 to the New York State Comptroller, but he was in his re-election attempt in 1859 and 1863 respectively defeated. Then he was employed in 1867 as a delegate to the Constitutional Convention of New York and Chairman of its Finance Committee.

He was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention of 1844, 1860, 1864 and 1868, in which he defended in 1860 the nomination of Stephen A. Douglas. At the Democratic National Convention, which was held in New York City in July 1868, Church was nominated by the Delegation of New York as their presidential candidate. His name the Convention has been submitted by Samuel J. Tilden, the chairman of the delegation who voted for the first seven rounds of voting for him. Then they switched to Thomas A. Hendricks and voted for him between the eighth and twenty-second ballot to an interruption by other states, according to the then Horatio Seymour, chairman of the convention, was nominated.

In the spring of 1870 Church was nominated by the Democratic convention for the post of Chief Judges at the Court of Appeals of New York. His rival candidates were George F. Comstock in the Assembly and then Henry R. Selden in the election. Church was elected with a majority of nearly 19,000 votes. He died in his office, very suddenly and unexpectedly, without any prior illness, at his estate in Albion, where he spent a three-week vacation. He was buried in Mt Albion Cemetery in Albion.