John Palmer (politician)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
John Palmer (b. March 22, 1842 Stapleton, Staten Island) was an American politician.
Contents |
[edit] Early life
His parents were Englishmen who returned with him to England when Palmer was still a small child. Later he accompanied his seafaring grandfather, and witnessed the Siege of Sevastopol (1854-1855) from their freighter. In teh meanwhile, his parents returned to the United States, and settled at Bath-on-the-Hudson opposite Albany, New York. Here Palmer joined them and became a house painter.
[edit] Military career
At the outbreak of the American Civil War, he enlisted as a private in the 91st Regiment of New York Volunteers and fought his way up to be brevetted a captain of volunteers, participating in the campaigns of the Army of the Gulf under General Nathaniel P. Banks. At the expiry of his three-year-term, he re-enlisted, and the regiment was transferred to the V Corps of the Army of the Potomac under General G. K. Warren. He was seriously injured at the Battle of Five Forks when a shot horse fell on top of him, and his back was cut by the sword of its rider.
[edit] Political career
After the war, he returned to Albany and resumed his trade as a house painter. He married Margaret Moore in 1867, and they had four children. He became President of the Albany Builders' Exchange, Chairman of the Arbitration Committee, President of the Painters' Association of the State of New York, Vice President of the Decorators's and Painters' Association of the United States. In August 1891, at the national encampment at Detroit, he was chosen Commander-in-Chief of the Grand Army of the Republic. As a Republican, he was Secretary of State of New York from 1894 to 1898.
[edit] Sources
- [1] Presentation of the new Secretary of State, in NYT on December 24, 1893
- [2] Short bios of state officers elected in 1895, in NYT on November 6, 1895
- [3] Political Graveyard
- [4] His wife's obit notice in NYT on May 6, 1922
| Preceded by Frank Rice |
Secretary of State of New York 1894 - 1898 |
Succeeded by John T. McDonough |
|
|||||||
