Timothy Childs

Timothy Childs Jr. (January 1, 1790 – November 25, 1847) was a U.S. Representative from New York. He represented Monroe County for eight non-consecutive terms in Congress between 1829 and 1843.

Timothy Childs
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York
In office March 4, 1841 – March 3, 1843
Preceded by	Thomas Kempshall
Succeeded by	Thomas J. Paterson
Constituency	28th district
In office March 4, 1835 – March 3, 1839
Preceded by	Frederick Whittlesey
Succeeded by	Thomas Kempshall
Constituency	28th district
In office March 4, 1829 – March 3, 1831
Preceded by	Daniel D. Barnard
Succeeded by	Frederick Whittlesey
Constituency	27th district
Chairman of the U.S. House Committee on Expenditures in the Post Office Department
In office 1837–1839
Preceded by	Albert Gallatin Hawes
Succeeded by	Richard P. Marvin
Member of the New York State Assembly
In office January 1, 1833 – December 31, 1833 Serving with Levi Pond, Milton Sheldon
Preceded by	Samuel G. Andrews, Ira Bellows, William B. Brown
Succeeded by	Elihu Church, Fletcher Mathews Haight, Jeremy S. Stone
Constituency	Monroe County
In office January 1, 1828 – December 31, 1828 Serving with Ezra Sheldon Jr., Francis Storm
Preceded by	Peter Price, Abelard Reynolds, Joseph Sibley
Succeeded by	John Garbutt, Heman Norton, Reuben Willey
Constituency	Monroe County
District Attorney of Monroe County, New York
In office 1821–1831
Preceded by	None (position created)
Succeeded by	Vincent Mathews
Personal details
Born	(1790-01-01)January 1, 1790 Pittsfield, Massachusetts, US
Died	November 25, 1847(1847-11-25) (aged 57) At sea aboard the ship Emily
Political party	Federalist Anti-Masonic Anti-Jacksonian Whig
Spouse(s)	Catherine Adams Louisa S. Dickinson
Alma mater	Williams College Litchfield Law School
Profession	lawyer

Death record, Timothy Childs, Jr.

Obituary for Timothy Childs, Jr. Oneida (N.Y.) Morning Herald, December 8, 1847

Early life

Childs was born in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, on January 1, 1790.^[1] He was the son of Rachel (née Easton) Childs (1760–1852) and Timothy Childs (1748–1821), a Revolutionary War officer who studied at Harvard, became a physician and served in the Massachusetts House of Representatives.

He graduated from Williams College in 1811^[2] and Litchfield Law School in 1814.^[3] He completed his studies at the Albany firm of Harmanus Bleecker,^[4] afterwards practicing law in New York, first in Canandaigua, and then in Rochester.^[5]

Career

Originally a Federalist,^[6] while residing in Canandaigua, Childs served in offices including Ontario County Commissioner and the judicial position of Master in Chancery.^[7]

He served as Monroe County, New York District Attorney from 1821 to 1831, the first to hold this position.^[8][9] He served as a member of the New York State Assembly in 1828,^[10] and in the late 1820s he also served as Monroe County Judge.^[11][12][13]

Childs was elected as an Anti-Mason to the Twenty-first Congress (March 4, 1829 – March 3, 1831).^[14][15] After his term expired he returned to practicing law in Rochester.

In 1833, he was elected again to the New York State Assembly.^[16]

In 1834, he was elected as an Anti-Jacksonian to the Twenty-fourth Congress.^[17] He was reelected as a Whig in 1836,^[18] and served from March 4, 1835, to March 3, 1839. During his 1837 to 1839 term, Childs was appointed Chairman of the Committee on Expenditures in the Post Office Department.^[19]

Childs was elected to Congress again as a Whig in 1840 and served one term, March 4, 1841, to March 3, 1843.^[20] He resumed practicing law following the completion of his final term in Congress.

Death

In the late 1840s, Childs traveled to Saint Croix, where he went to improve his health.^[21][22] He died aboard the ship Emily on November 25, 1847, while en route from Saint Croix to the United States.^{[23][24][25][26][27][28][29]}

Personal life

In 1817, he married Catherine Adams.^[30][31]

In December 1830 he married Louisa Stewart (née Shepherd) Dickinson of North Carolina in a ceremony in Norfolk, Virginia.^[32][33] Louisa was the widow of Joel Dickinson.^[34]