Asa Adgate


Asa Adgate was an iron manufacturer, farmer, and local government official who was selected to fill the vacancy in the United States House of Representatives caused by the death of Benjamin Pond.

Biography

Adgate was born in Canaan, New York in 1767 the son of Judge Matthew Adgate and Eunice Baldwin Adgate. He married Annar Allen on January 28, 1798, and they had four children, Theodore, Julia, Eunice, and Asa. He married Anna Waterman on August 22, 1819, and they had one daughter, Catherine.

Career

In 1793, Adgate moved to what became known as Adgates Falls in New York, and engaged in the manufacture of iron and agricultural pursuits there. The same year, the town of Peru, New York, was reorganized, and Adgate was elected to the office of town clerk, and reelected to the same office in 1794. He continued to serve in a number of positions, including supervisor in 1795, assessor from 1796 to 1797, as well as commissioner of schools in 1798. That same year, he was elected to the New York State Assembly. He also served as a lieutenant of infantry in the New York State Militia in 1798 and 1799. In 1799, he was appointed by New York Governor John Jay to the first commission of the peace for Essex County, New York, to be one of the judges of the court of common pleas. He remained in that position for several years.
In 1815, Adgate was elected as a Democratic-Republican to fill the vacancy in the United States House of Representatives caused by the death of Benjamin Pond and served in that body for the remainder of the term, from December 4, 1815 to March 3, 1817. He chose not to run for reelection, and resumed his earlier occupations, including another term in the New York State Assembly in 1823.

Death

Adgate died in Ausable Chasm, Chesterfield Township, Essex County, New York, on February 15, 1832. He is interred at Ausable Chasm Cemetery, Ausable Township, Clinton County, New York.