Timothy Childs

Timothy Childs Jr. (January 1, 1790 – November 25, 1847) was a U.S. Representative from New York. He represented Monroe County for eight non-consecutive terms in Congress between 1829 and 1843.

Timothy Childs
Member of the
U.S. House of Representatives
from New York
In office
March 4, 1841 – March 3, 1843
Preceded byThomas Kempshall
Succeeded byThomas J. Paterson
Constituency28th district
In office
March 4, 1835 – March 3, 1839
Preceded byFrederick Whittlesey
Succeeded byThomas Kempshall
Constituency28th district
In office
March 4, 1829 – March 3, 1831
Preceded byDaniel D. Barnard
Succeeded byFrederick Whittlesey
Constituency27th district
Chairman of the Committee on Expenditures in the Post Office Department
In office
1837-1839
Member of the New York State Assembly
In office
1833
Member of the New York State Assembly
In office
1828
Monroe County District attorney
In office
1821-1831
Personal details
Born(1790-01-01)January 1, 1790
Pittsfield, Massachusetts
DiedNovember 25, 1847(1847-11-25) (aged 57)
At sea aboard the ship Emily
Political partyFederalist
Anti-Masonic
Anti-Jacksonian
Whig
Spouse(s)Catherine Adams
Louisa S. Dickinson
Alma materWilliams College
Litchfield Law School
Professionlawyer
Death record, Timothy Childs, Jr.
Obituary for Timothy Childs, Jr. Oneida (N.Y.) Morning Herald, December 8, 1847

Early life

Childs was born in Pittsfield, Massachusetts on January 1, 1790.[1] He was the son of Rachel (née Easton) Childs (1760–1852) and Timothy Childs (1748–1821), a Revolutionary War officer who studied at Harvard, became a physician and served in the Massachusetts House of Representatives.

He graduated from Williams College in 1811[2] and Litchfield Law School in 1814.[3] He completed his studies at the Albany firm of Harmanus Bleecker,[4] afterwards practicing law in New York, first in Canandaigua, and then in Rochester.[5]

Career

Originally a Federalist,[6] while residing in Canandaigua, Childs served in offices including Ontario County Commissioner and the judicial position of Master in Chancery.[7]

He served as Monroe County, New York District Attorney from 1821 to 1831, the first to hold this position.[8][9] He served as a member of the New York State Assembly in 1828,[10] and in the late 1820s he also served as Monroe County Judge.[11][12][13]

Childs was elected as an Anti-Mason to the Twenty-first Congress (March 4, 1829 – March 3, 1831).[14][15] After his term expired he returned to practicing law in Rochester.

In 1833, he was elected again to the New York State Assembly.[16]

In 1834, he was elected as an Anti-Jacksonian to the Twenty-fourth Congress.[17] He was reelected as a Whig in 1836,[18] and served from March 4, 1835 to March 3, 1839. During his 1837 to 1839 term Childs was appointed Chairman of the Committee on Expenditures in the Post Office Department.[19]

Childs was elected to Congress again as a Whig in 1840 and served one term, March 4, 1841 to March 3, 1843.[20] He resumed practicing law following the completion of his final term in Congress.

Death and burial

In the late 1840s, Childs traveled to Saint Croix, where he went in an effort to improve his health.[21][22] He died aboard the ship Emily on November 25, 1847 while en route from Saint Croix to the United States.[23][24][25][26][27][28][29] Childs was buried in Pittsfield Cemetery in Pittsfield, Massachusetts.[30]

Personal life

In 1817, he married Catherine Adams.[31][32]

In December 1830 he married Louisa Stewart (née Shepherd) Dickinson of North Carolina in a ceremony in Norfolk, Virginia.[33][34] Louisa was the widow of Joel Dickinson.[35]

References
  1. Massachusetts Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988, birth entry for Timothy Childs, retrieved via Ancestry.com, October 4, 2013
  2. William Thomas Davis, Bench and Bar of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Volume 2, 1895, page 291
  3. Marian C. McKenna, Tapping Reeve and the Litchfield Law School, 1986, page 189
  4. "From Saint Croix" (PDF). Oneida (N.Y.) Morning Herald. December 8, 1847.
  5. Blake McKelvey, Rochester on the Genesee: The Growth of a City, 1993, page 21
  6. Rochester Historical Society, Publications, Volume 21, 1943, page 63
  7. Index to the Newspapers Published in Geneva, New York, Volume 1, 1981, page 19
  8. William Farley Peck, Semi-Centennial History of the City of Rochester, 1884, page 369
  9. William Farley Peck, History of Rochester and Monroe County, New York, Volume 1, 1908, page 358
  10. W. H. McIntosh, History of Monroe County, New York, 1877, page 39
  11. Rochester Daily Advertiser and Telegram, Legal Notices, April 1829
  12. Batavia Republican Advocate, Legal Notices, April 1829
  13. National Youth Administration, Index to Newspapers Published in Rochester, New York, 1818-1897, digitized 2006, page 271
  14. E. and G. W. Blunt, The American Annual Register for the Year 1829-30, 1832, page 473
  15. Sherry Penney, Patrician in Politics: Daniel Dewey Barnard of New York, 1974, page 17
  16. Edwin Williams, editor, Williams's New York Annual Register, 1833, page 278
  17. Niles' Weekly Register, Elections, Volume 47, November 15, 1834, page 166
  18. Niles' Weekly Register, Elections, Volume 51, December 10, 1836, page 177
  19. Perry M. Goldman, James S. Young, editors, The United States Congressional Directories, 1789-1840, 1973, page 337
  20. Niles' Weekly Register, Elections, Volume 59, November 21, 1840, page 170
  21. Judy J. Stebbins, Painesville Telegram microfilm transcript, Dec. 8, 1847 Wed., May 8, 2012, pages 203 (two entries)
  22. Watertown Chronicle, Death notice, Hon. Timothy Childs, December 22, 1847
  23. Oneida Morning Herald, From Saint Croix, December 8, 1847
  24. Chapin Family Association, The Chapin Book of Genealogical Data: With Brief Biographical Sketches of the Descendants of Deacon Samuel Chapin, Volume 1, 1924, page 179
  25. Massachusetts Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988, death entry for Timothy Childs, Esq., 1848, retrieved via Ancestry.com, October 4, 2013
  26. Geneva Courier, A Telegraphic Despatch Archived October 4, 2013, at the Wayback Machine, December 8, 1847
  27. Batavia Republican Advocate, Legal Notices, April 1829
  28. National Youth Administration, Index to Newspapers Published in Rochester, New York, 1818-1897, digitized 2006, page 274
  29. Note: Some sources indicate that Childs died in Santa Cruz, New Mexico. This seems unlikely, given the newspaper references to his travel to the West Indies and his death aboard ship. Vera Cruz, Mexico is also unlikely, given that the Mexican-American War was happening at the time of Childs's death, meaning he wouldn't have gone there to restore his health.
  30. Timothy Childs at Find a Grave
  31. Hobart and William Smith Colleges, Geneva Newspaper Index Archived October 5, 2013, at the Wayback Machine, entry Childs, Timothy, April 9, 1817, retrieved October 4, 2013
  32. Some Finger Lakes NY Genealogy, Transcript of Marriages for 1817, retrieved October 4, 2013
  33. George Hobart Tucker, Abstracts from Norfolk City Marriage Bonds 1797-1850, 1934, page 122
  34. Norfolk County, Virginia Genealogy Trails, Miscellaneous Marriages Archived October 4, 2013, at archive.today, published in the National Intelligencer, January 1, 1831
  35. Charles Poytnz Stewart, Historic Memorials of the Stewarts of Forthergill, Perthshire, and their Male Descendants, 1879, page 148

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