Philip Dorsheimer

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Philip Dorsheimer
New York State Treasurer
In office
1860–1861
GovernorEdwin D. Morgan
Preceded byIsaac V. Vanderpoel
Succeeded byWilliam B. Lewis
Personal details
Born(1797-04-15)April 15, 1797
Wöllstein, Germany
DiedApril 11, 1868(1868-04-11) (aged 70)
Buffalo, New York
Political partyDemocratic Party
Republican Party (upon its formation in 1854)
Spouse
Sarah Gorgas
(m. 1821; died 1867)
ChildrenWilliam Dorsheimer

Philip Dorsheimer (April 15, 1797 – April 11, 1868) was a German born American politician.

Early life[edit]

Dorsheimer was born on April 15, 1797, in Wöllstein, then in the Mont-Tonnerre Department, which is now in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.[1][2]

Career[edit]

He came to the United States in 1815, and settled in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.[3] In 1826, he moved to Lyons, N.Y., and in April 1836 to Buffalo, New York.[4] He owned a hotel in Buffalo and became very wealthy.[5]

In 1838, he was appointed Postmaster of Buffalo by President Martin Van Buren.[6] On April 1, 1845, he was appointed again Postmaster of Buffalo by President James K. Polk.[7][8][9] Following his appointment, George W. Clinton wrote to President Polk on April 9, 1845, indicating that there were reports that the people of Buffalo reacted unfavorably to Dorsheimer's appointment as postmaster.[10]

He had been always a Democrat, but joined the Republican Party upon its foundation.[11] He was a delegate to the 1856 Republican National Convention.[12][13] He was New York State Treasurer from 1860 to 1861. While treasurer, he hosted first lady-elect, Mary Todd Lincoln, in a suite at the Astor House while she was visiting New York.[14][15] During the U.S. Civil War, as Treasurer, Dorsheimer, along with Governor Edwin D. Morgan, awarded the clothing firm of Brooks Brothers the contract for the manufacture of 12,000 Union army uniforms.[16] From 1862 to 1864, he was Inland Tax Collector at Buffalo.[3][17]

Personal life[edit]

On August 23, 1821,[18] he was married Sarah Gorgas (1802–1867). She was the daughter of Jacob Gorgas and Christina Maria (née Mack) Gorgas.[19] Together, they were the parents of:[20]

Dorsheimer died on April 11, 1868.[3] He was buried at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Buffalo.

References[edit]

  1. ^ Schrader, Frederick Franklin (2013). The Germans In The Making Of America. Read Books Ltd. p. 106. ISBN 9781473388963. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
  2. ^ Nevins, Allan (1992). Fremont, Pathmarker of the West. U of Nebraska Press. p. 428. ISBN 0803283644. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
  3. ^ a b c Mingus, Nancy Blumenstalk (2003). Buffalo: Good Neighbors, Great Architecture. Arcadia Publishing. p. 42. ISBN 9780738524498. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
  4. ^ LaChiusa, Chuck. "Dorsheimer House". buffaloah.com. Buffalo Architecture and History. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
  5. ^ Gates, Lilian F. (1996). After the Rebellion: The later years of William Lyon Mackenzie. Dundurn. p. 61. ISBN 9781554880690. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
  6. ^ Smith, Henry Perry (1884). History of the City of Buffalo and Erie County: With ... Biographical Sketches of Some of Its Prominent Men and Pioneers ... D. Mason & Company. p. 527. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
  7. ^ "Dorsheimer Laboratory/Greenhouse - University Facilities | University at Buffalo". www.buffalo.edu. University at Buffalo. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
  8. ^ Polk, James K. (2015). The Diary of James K. Polk During His Presidency. p. 297. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
  9. ^ Buffalo Historical Society (1896). Publications of the Buffalo Historical Society. Buffalo, N.Y.: Bigelow Brothers. p. 300. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
  10. ^ Polk, James Knox (1996). Correspondence of James K. Polk: January-June 1845. Univ. of Tennessee Press. p. 528. ISBN 9780870499470. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
  11. ^ Wilson, James Grant; Fiske, John (1898). Appletons' Cyclopaedia of American Biography: Crane-Grimshaw. D. Appleton. p. 208. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
  12. ^ Johnson, Andrew (1967). The Papers of Andrew Johnson: February-July 1866. Univ. of Tennessee Press. p. 771. ISBN 9780870497643. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
  13. ^ Dorshsimer, Phillp (August 9, 1856). "Letter from Hon, Phillp Dorshsimer" (PDF). The New York Times. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
  14. ^ Williams, Frank J.; Burkhimer, Michael (2012). The Mary Lincoln Enigma: Historians on America's Most Controversial First Lady. SIU Press. p. 149. ISBN 9780809331253. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
  15. ^ Mansch, Larry D. (2005). Abraham Lincoln, President-elect: The Four Critical Months from Election to Inauguration. McFarland. p. 107. ISBN 9780786420261. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
  16. ^ Brandes, Stuart D. (2015). Warhogs: A History of War Profits in America. University Press of Kentucky. p. 71. ISBN 9780813157603. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
  17. ^ "OUR SPECIAL WASHINGTON DISPATCHES.; BUILDINGS FOR HOSPITALS. THE MAINE LAW TO BE ENFORCED. NO CROSSING THE POTOMAC. SEIZURE OF HORSES. PROPRIETARY STAMPS. TAX APPOINTMENTS FOR NEW-YORK FOR THE STATE OF PENNSYLVANIA. FOR THE STATE OF OHIO. THE EXPORT OF MEDICINES TO SPAIN" (PDF). The New York Times. 1 September 1862. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
  18. ^ Hocker, Kristen (2015). Marriage and Death Notices from the Harrisburg Chronicle, 1820-1834. Lulu Press, Inc. p. 15. ISBN 9781312978898. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
  19. ^ Gorgas, Josiah (1995). The Journals of Josiah Gorgas, 1857–1878. University of Alabama Press. p. 264. ISBN 9780817356026. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
  20. ^ a b c Widener, Jay Carlton (1989). The Sons of Catherine Weidner. J.C. Widener. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
  21. ^ The Ancestors of Ebenezer Buckingham, who was Born in 1748, and of His Descendants. R. R. Donnelley & Sons. 1892. p. 198. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
  22. ^ "WILLIAM DORSHEIMER DEAD.; HE EXPIRES IN SAVANNAH FROM PNEUMONIA AFTER A SHORT ILLNESS". The New York Times. 28 March 1888. Retrieved 17 May 2017.
Sources
  • [1] Bios of German-Americans in Buffalo, with photo (giving as birthplace "Weistein", a misspelling of "Wollstein")
  • [2] Political Graveyard
  • [3] Dorsheimer genealogy (giving as birthplace "Dondersberg" - a variant spelling of Donnersberg, translated to Mont-Tonnerre in French, "Canton Wollstein" - cantons are the divisions of the départements)

External links[edit]

Political offices
Preceded by New York State Treasurer
1860–1861
Succeeded by