William Henry KELSEY, Congress, NY (1812-1879)

1812-1879

KELSEY, William Henry, a Representative from New York; born in Smyrna, Chenango County, N.Y., October 2, 1812; attended the common schools; studied law; was admitted to the bar in 1843 and commenced practice in Geneseo, N.Y.; surrogate of Livingston County 1840-1844; district attorney of Livingston County 1850-1853; elected as an Opposition Party candidate to the Thirty-fourth Congress and reelected as a Republican to the Thirty-fifth Congress (March 4, 1855-March 3, 1859); chairman, Committee on Engraving (Thirty-fourth Congress); was not a candidate for renomination in 1858 to the Thirty-sixth Congress; resumed the practice of his profession; elected as a Republican to the Fortieth and Forty-first Congresses (March 4, 1867-March 3, 1871); voluntarily retired from political life and resumed the practice of law in Geneseo, N.Y., where he died on April 20, 1879; interment in Temple Hill Cemetery.

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