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Joseph H. Ramsey
Member of theNew York State Senate
In office 1860–1863
Constituency	13th District
Member of the New York State Senate
In office 1856–1857
Constituency	17th District
Member of theNew York State Assembly
In office 1855
Constituency	Schoharie County, 2nd District
Personal details
Born	Joseph Henry Ramsey (1816-01-29)January 29, 1816 Sharon, New York
Died	May 12, 1894(1894-05-12) (aged 78) Howes Cave, New York
Political party	Whig Republican
Spouse	Sarah S. Boyce ​ (m. 1835)​
Children	2
Occupation	Lawyer, railroad executive, politician
Signature

Joseph Henry Ramsey (January 29, 1816 – May 12, 1894) was an American lawyer, railroad executive and politician fromNew York.

Joseph H. Ramsey was born inSharon, New York on January 29, 1816, the son of Rev. Frederick Ramsey (1790–1879) and Sarah (Van Schaick) Ramsey (1799–1892).^[1][2] On March 17, 1835, he married Sarah S. Boyce, a granddaughter of Assemblyman John Rice, and they had two sons. Ramsey studied law in the office of Assemblyman Jedediah Miller, was admitted to the bar in 1840, and practiced law inLawyersville.

He was a member of theNew York State Assembly (Schoharie County, 2nd District) in1855 as aWhig; and of theNew York State Senate (17th D.) in1856 and1857 as aRepublican.^[3] While in the Senate, Ramsey secured a law to finance the construction of theAlbany and Susquehanna Railroad by authorizing the towns along the line to subscribe to the stock of the company, and he was chosen Vice President of the railroad in 1858. Litigation ensued, but theNew York Court of Appeals upheld the law. In 1859, the Legislature authorized the State to help the railroad with $200,000 (~$5.58 million in 2024) but the law was vetoed by Gov.Edwin D. Morgan.

He was again a member of the State Senate (13th D.) from 1860 to 1863, sitting in the83rd,84th,85th and86th New York State Legislatures. He introduced three more bills to grant State funds for the completion of the railroad which also were all vetoed by Gov. Morgan. Finally, a bill appropriating $500,000 passed the Legislature and was signed by Gov.Horatio Seymour in 1863, and Ramsey was chosen President of the railroad. In 1868, Gov.Reuben E. Fenton allowed another $250,000 (~$5.22 million in 2024) of State funds to complete the construction, and the railroad began operating the completed line from Albany toBinghamton in 1869. Shortly afterwards Ramsey opposed the hostile take-over of the railroad byJay Gould andJames Fisk, and the next year the railroad was leased to theDelaware and Hudson Canal Company.^[2]

Ramsey died inHowes Cave, New York on May 12, 1894.^[2]

• The New York Civil List compiled by Franklin Benjamin Hough, Stephen C. Hutchins and Edgar Albert Werner (1867; pg. 441ff and 480)
• Biographical Sketches of the State Officers and Members of the Legislature of the State of New York by William D. Murphy (1861; pg. 103ff)
• Bio transcribed fromNoted Living Albanians and State Officials (1891), at Access Genealogy

• 1816 births
• 1894 deaths
• New York (state) state senators
• People from Sharon, New York
• New York (state) Republicans
• New York (state) Whigs
• 19th-century American business executives in rail transportation
• 19th-century members of the New York State Legislature

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