Timothy Childs
Birth dateJanuary 1, 1790
Birth placePittsfield, Massachusetts, US
Death dateNovember 25, 1847 (aged 57)
Death placeAt sea aboard the ship Emily
OfficeMember of the
U.S. House of Representatives
from New York
Constituency 128th district
Term start 1March 4, 1841
Term end 1March 3, 1843
Preceded 1Thomas Kempshall
Succeeded 1Thomas J. Paterson
Constituency 228th district
Term start 2March 4, 1835
Term end 2March 3, 1839
Preceded 2Frederick Whittlesey
Succeeded 2Thomas Kempshall
Constituency 327th district
Term start 3March 4, 1829
Term end 3March 3, 1831
Preceded 3Daniel D. Barnard
Succeeded 3Frederick Whittlesey
Office 4Chairman of the U.S. House Committee on Expenditures in the Post Office Department
Term start 41837
Term end 41839
Predecessor 4Albert Gallatin Hawes
Successor 4Richard P. Marvin
Office 5Member of the New York State Assembly
Term start 5January 1, 1833
Term end 5December 31, 1833
Alongside 5Levi Pond, Milton Sheldon
Constituency 5Monroe County
Predecessor 5Samuel G. Andrews, Ira Bellows, William B. Brown
Successor 5Elihu Church, Fletcher Mathews Haight, Jeremy S. Stone
Term start 6January 1, 1828
Term end 6December 31, 1828
Alongside 6Ezra Sheldon Jr., Francis Storm
Constituency 6Monroe County
Predecessor 6Peter Price, Abelard Reynolds, Joseph Sibley
Successor 6John Garbutt, Heman Norton, Reuben Willey
Office 7District Attorney of Monroe County, New York
Term start 71821
Term end 71831
Predecessor 7None (position created)
Successor 7Vincent Mathews
SpouseCatherine Adams
Louisa S. Dickinson
Professionlawyer
PartyFederalist
Anti-Masonic
Anti-Jacksonian
Whig
Alma materWilliams College
Litchfield Law School

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.

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 medical doctor and served in the Massachusetts House of Representatives.

Timothy Childs 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 district attorney of Monroe County, New York, 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

In the late 1840s, Childs traveled to Saint Croix, where he went 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]

Personal life

In 1817, he married Catherine Adams.[30][31]

In December 1830 he married Louisa Stewart (née Shepherd) Dickinson of North Carolina in a ceremony in Norfolk, Virginia.[32][33] Louisa was the widow of Joel Dickinson.[34]

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". 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. ^ 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
  31. ^ Some Finger Lakes NY Genealogy, Transcript of Marriages for 1817, retrieved October 4, 2013
  32. ^ George Hobart Tucker, Abstracts from Norfolk City Marriage Bonds 1797-1850, 1934, page 122
  33. ^ Norfolk County, Virginia Genealogy Trails, Miscellaneous Marriages Archived October 4, 2013 at archive.today, published in the National Intelligencer, January 1, 1831
  34. ^ Charles Poytnz Stewart, Historic Memorials of the Stewarts of Forthergill, Perthshire, and their Male Descendants, 1879, page 148
  • Timothy Childs, Jr., Litchfield Historical Society, The Ledger: A Database of Students of the Litchfield Law School and the Litchfield Female Academy