John Adams DIX, Congress, NY (1798-1879)

DIX John Adams , a Senator from New York; born in Boscawen, N.H., July 24, 1798; completed preparatory studies; during the War of 1812 was appointed a cadet, promoted to ensign, and took part in the operations on the Canadian frontier; served in the United States Army until 1828, having attained the rank of captain; studied law and was admitted to the bar in Washington, D.C.; settled in Cooperstown, N.Y., and began the practice of law; moved to Albany in 1830, having been appointed adjutant general of the State and served from 1831 to 1833; canal commissioner; member, State assembly 1842; elected as a Democrat to the United States Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Silas Wright, Jr., and served from January 27, 1845, to March 3, 1849; was not a candidate for reelection, having become a candidate for Governor; chairman, Committee on Pensions (Twenty-eighth and Twenty-ninth Congresses), Committee on Commerce (Twenty-ninth and Thirtieth Congresses); unsuccessful Free-Soil candidate for Governor in 1848; Assistant Treasurer of the United States at New York 1853; appointed postmaster of the city of New York 1860-1861; appointed Secretary of the Treasury by President James Buchanan 1861; served in the Union Army as major general 1861-1865; United States Minister to France 1866-1869; Governor of New York 1873-1875; unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1874 and for election as mayor of New York City in 1876; died in New York City, April 21, 1879; interment in Trinity Cemetery.

Bibliography

Dictionary of American Biography; Dix, John Adams. Memoirs of John Adams Dix. Edited by Morgan Dix. 2 vols. New York: Harper and Brothers, 1883; Lichterman, Martin. "John Adams Dix, 1798-1879." Ph.D. dissertation, Columbia University, 1952.

Source: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1771-Present