Nathan Sanford


Nathan Sanford was an American politician.

Early life

Sanford was born on November 5, 1777 in Bridgehampton, New York. He was the son of Thomas Sanford and Phebe Sanford, a family of farmers and tradesmen.
He attended Yale University, studied law, was admitted to the bar, and commenced practice in New York City.

Career

In 1803, he was appointed as United States Attorney for the District of New York, and remained in office until 1815 when the district was split into the Northern and the Southern District of New York.
He was a member of the New York State Assembly in 1808-09 and 1811. In 1811, he was elected Speaker on January 29, but could not attend the session after February 10 because of ill health. The Assembly moved to elect a new Speaker and proceeded to the election of William Ross. He was a member of the New York State Senate from 1812 to 1815, sitting in the 35th, 36th, 37th and 38th New York State Legislatures.
In 1815, he was elected as a Democratic-Republican to the United States Senate and served from March 4, 1815, to March 3, 1821. He was Chairman of the Committee on Commerce and Manufactures, and a member of the Committee on Naval Affairs and the Committee on Finance. In 1821, he ran for re-election as a Clintonian, but was defeated by Bucktail Martin Van Buren.
He was a delegate to the New York State Constitutional Convention of 1821, and was Chancellor of New York from 1823 to 1826. In 1824, he received 30 electoral votes for U.S. Vice President.
In 1826, he resigned the chancellorship after his nomination in caucus, and was elected again to the U.S. Senate. He took his seat on January 31, 1826, and served until March 3, 1831. He was Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Relations. Afterwards he resumed the practice of law in Flushing, New York.

Personal life

Sanford was married three times. His first marriage was to Elizabeth "Eliza" Van Horn. His residence in Flushing, "Sanford Hall", became a private insane asylum in 1845, run by Dr. James Macdonald, MD and Gen. Allan Macdonald. Together, Nathan and Eliza were the parents of several children, including:
After his first wife's death in 1811, Sanford was remarried to Mary Esther Malbone Isaacs, the eldest daughter of Col. Ralph Isaacs and Elizabeth Isaacs, in 1813. Together, they were the parents of two children:
After his second wife's death, he remarried for a third time to Mary Buchanan, whom he married in May 1828. Together, they were the parents of:
He died in Flushing on October 17, 1838 and was buried at St. George's Episcopal Church Cemetery in Flushing.