Friend Humphrey Explained

Office:	Mayor of Albany, New York
Term Start:	1849
Term End:	1850
Predecessor:	John Taylor
Successor:	Franklin Townsend
Term Start1:	1843
Term End1:	1845
Predecessor1:	Barent Philip Staats
Successor1:	John Keyes Paige
Office2:	Member of the New York State Senate for the Third District
Term Start2:	1840
Term End2:	1841
Predecessor2:	Edward P. Livingston
Successor2:	Erastus Corning
Birth Date:	8 March 1787
Birth Place:	Simsbury, Connecticut
Death Place:	Albany, New York
Party:	Whig
Spouse:

Friend Humphrey (March 8, 1787 – March 15, 1854) was an American merchant, Whig state Senator from New York, and Mayor of Albany from 1849 to 1850.

Early life

He was born in Simsbury, Connecticut on March 8, 1787. He was one of the sons of Noah Humphrey Jr. (1726–) and Margaret (Phelps) Humphrey (–). His brother was General Chauncey Humphrey.

Career

In 1811, he moved to Albany, New York, where he engaged in the leather trade,^[1] under the name Friend Humphrey's Son of Albany.^[2]

He was a Whig member of the New York State Senate (3rd D.) in 1840 and 1841.

He was elected as Mayor of Albany from 1843 to 1845, and from 1849 to 1850.^[3] As mayor, he was known for the advancement of learning and "sound morals" by closing the markets on Sunday.^[1]

Personal life

Humphrey married Hannah Hinman (1792–1822), a daughter of Dr. Aaron B. Hinman and Gertrude (VanderHeyden) Hinman. Her sister Gertrude married Andrew Douw Lansing.^[4] Before her death, they were the parents of:^[4]

• Gideon Humphrey (1814–1814), who died in infancy.
• Harriet Louisa Humphrey (1819–1897), who married Clark B. Gregory of Danbury.^[4]
• Aaron Hinman Humphrey (1822–1822), who died in infancy.

In 1824, he married Julia Ann Hoyt (1804–1851), a daughter of Mary (Barnum) Hoyt and David Picket Hoyt, a descendant of Simon Hoyt. The Hoyt family arrived at Massachusetts in 1628 and settled in Windsor, Connecticut, and Walker Hoyt was one of the first settlers of Norwalk.^[5] Through her brother James, she was an aunt to Colgate Hoyt and Wayland Hoyt. Together, they were the parents of:

• Theodore Friend Humphrey (1829–1911), a merchant and member of Friend Humphrey's Sons who married Margaret McPherson in 1854.^{[6] [7]}
• James Holt Humphrey (1832–1897), who married Annie Marie Olmsted, a daughter of George Gaylord Olmsted, in 1857.^[6]
• Correl Humphrey (1839–1907), who married Helen Clarissa Millard, daughter of David Johnson Millard.^[6]
• Alexander Beebe Humphrey (1845–1919), who married Mary Morrison Charles in 1878.^[6]

He died on March 15, 1854, in Albany, leaving a good estate, and was buried at the Albany Rural Cemetery in Menands, New York.^[8]

Residence

Around 1841, Humphrey built a two-story frame farmhouse with a gable roof and two symmetrically placed chimneys, today known as the Friend Humphrey House, in Colonie in Albany County, New York.

The transitional vernacular Greek Revival / Federal style dwelling,^[9] was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.

References

Notes

Sources

External links

• Page 15: Friend Humphrey; Mayor of Albany 1834-1845, 1849-1850, Undated M. E. Grenander Department of Special Collections & Archives Science Library
• List of Public Officials buried at Albany Rural Cemetery

Notes and References

1. Book: Howell . George Rogers . Bi-centennial history of Albany. History of the county of Albany, N. Y., from 1609 to 1886. With portraits, biographies and illustrations. [By] Howell [and] Tenney. Assisted by local writers ]. 1 January 1886 . Dalcassian Publishing Company . 664 . 6 March 2023 . en.
2. Book: Hamilton Literary Magazine . 1911 . Hamilton College. . 169 . 6 March 2023 . en.
3. Book: Hough . Benjamin Franklin . The New York Civil List: Containing the Names and Origin of the Civil Divisions, and the Names and Dates of Election Or Appointment of the Principal State and County Officers from the Revolution to the Present Time . 1858 . Weed, Parsons and Company . 132f, 142, 425 . 6 March 2023 . en.
4. Book: Hinman . Royal Ralph . A Catalogue of the Names of the Early Puritan Settlers of the Colony of Connecticut: With the Time of Their Arrival in the Country and Colony, Their Standing in Society, Place of Residence, Condition in Life, where From, Business, Etc. as Far as is Found on Record . 1852 . Higginson Book Company . 837 . 6 March 2023 . en.
5. News: COLGATE HOYT WEDS MRS. K.S. CHEESMAN; Banker and Railroad Director Married to Widow at Wood Manse, Greenwich, Conn. . 8 November 2019 . . 21 July 1912.
6. https://archive.org/details/humphreysfamilyi02hump The Humphreys family in America, Frederick Humphreys, 1885, p. 570
7. Web site: The Heroes of the American Revolution and their Descendants. Henry Whittemore. The Heroes of the Revolution Publishing Co.. 1897 . 117.
8. Family Memorials in Prose and Verse, Theo. J. Elmore, Savannah, Georgia, Morning News Steam Printing House, 1880, Page 338
9. Web site: National Register of Historic Places Registration: Friend Humphrey House. June 1982. 2010-10-13 . David G. Barnet. New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation.