Smith ELY, Jr., Congress, NY (1825-1911)

ELY, Smith, Jr., a Representative from New York; born in Hanover, Morris County, N.J., April 17, 1825; completed preparatory studies; was graduated from the New York University Law School, New York City, in 1846; was admitted to the bar the same year, but never practiced his profession; engaged in mercantile pursuits in New York City; served as school commissioner 1856-1860; served in the State senate in 1858 and 1859; county supervisor in 1860-1870; commissioner of public instruction in 1867; elected as a Democrat to the Forty-second Congress (March 4, 1871-March 3, 1873); was not a candidate for renomination in 1872; elected to the Forty-fourth Congress and served from March 4, 1875, to December 11, 1876, when he resigned; chairman, Committee on Expenditures in the Department of the Treasury (Forty-fourth Congress); mayor of New York City in 1877 and 1878; appointed commissioner of parks in 1895 and served until 1897, when he retired from public life; died in Livingston, Essex County, N.J., July 1, 1911; interment in a private cemetery on his farm at Livingston.

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