Hiram Barney | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 15th Collector of the Port of New York | |
| In office 1861–1864 | |
| Appointed by | Abraham Lincoln |
| Preceded by | Augustus Schell |
| Succeeded by | Simeon Draper |
| Personal details | |
| Born | May 30, 1811 Henderson, New York |
| Died | May 18, 1895(1895-05-18) (aged 83) Spuyten Duyvil,New York |
| Political party | Free Soil Republican |
| Children | Lewis Tappan Barney |
| Profession | Lawyer, politician |
Hiram Barney (May 30, 1811 – May 18, 1895) was an American lawyer, abolitionist, and politician who served asCollector of the Port of New York from 1861 until his resignation in 1864 during the presidency ofAbraham Lincoln. A trusted advisor to Lincoln, the President summoned Barney for his opinion on theEmancipation Proclamation whilst it was being drafted in 1862.[1]
Barney was born inHenderson,Jefferson County, New York and graduated fromUnion College inSchenectady, New York, in 1834.
In 1830, he served as chairman of the executive committee of the Young Men's Anti-Slavery Society in New York City. He was associated withJohn Jay, A.C. Coxe,Theodore Weld, andHenry Stanton. In 1836 Barney was taken into the law office of William C. Mulligan, the son ofHercules Mulligan, and began to practice as Mulligan's partner after his admission to the bar.[2] In 1840, he formed a law partnership with William Mitchell in New York City. The firm was later continued under the name of Barney, Humphrey, and Butler and operates today asKelley Drye & Warren LLP.[3] Mitchell died suddenly, and in March 1849 Barney became associated withBenjamin Franklin Butler and his sonWilliam Allen Butler.
In 1840, he was nominated for theUnited States Congress by the Anti-Slavery Party. He was a presidential elector when theFree Soil Party was formed in 1848. Barney was a delegate to theRepublican National Convention of 1856, which nominatedJohn C. Fremont. He voted forCharles Sumner rather than Fremont while he was there. He attended the Republican National Convention inChicago, Illinois in 1860. Barney met with Lincoln atSpringfield, Illinois shortly after the convention ended. Barney raised $35,000 in New York, which he sent to the Illinois State Committee.
Lincoln called upon Barney at a hotel in Springfield when he was sent by Republicans of New York to consult with Lincoln regarding hisCabinet. Lincoln requested that Barney write out a list in pencil of his choices for Cabinet posts. He choseCaleb Smith asSecretary of the Interior andSimon Cameron asSecretary of War, rather than men Barney had recommended.
Barney was Collector during the first three years of the administration ofAbraham Lincoln. He resigned and refused an appointment to a foreign mission.
His first wife, Susannah Tappan, was the daughter of the abolitionistLewis Tappan. They had six children. One of their sons,Lewis Tappan Barney, became a highly decorated officer during theAmerican Civil War. Barney married his second wife, Harriet E. Kilburne, in 1880.[4]
Barney died atSpuyten Duyvil in 1895, after a long illness. He was 83.[5]
| Government offices | ||
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| Preceded by | Collector of the Port of New York 1861–1864 | Succeeded by |