George F. Carman
George Franklin Carman | |
|---|---|
| Born | Template:Birth date Patchogue, New York, U.S. |
| Died | September 30, 1891 (aged 64) Patchogue, New York, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Politician, builder, railroad executive, newspaper editor |
| Years active | 1850s–1891 |
| Known for | Political figure from Patchogue, New York; Sheriff of Suffolk County; Collector of Internal Revenue; President of South Side Railroad Company; President of Patchogue Bank |
George Franklin Carman (April 18, 1827 – September 30, 1891) was a political figure from Patchogue, New York, in the United States.
Life
Born on April 18, 1827, in Patchogue, New York, Carman was the son of Gilbert Carman and Mary Ann Homan. His great-grandfather, Stephen Carman, held a seat in the New York State Legislature for 31 years, spanning from 1788 to 1819.
During his youth, he divided his time between attending school in winter and working on the family farm during summer. At age sixteen, he began an apprenticeship in carpentry. Four years later, he embarked on a whaling voyage aboard the Nile, departing from Greenport and traversing the Pacific Ocean for over three years. Following this maritime experience, he pursued a career as a builder and contractor.
In 1855, Carman was elected Sheriff of Suffolk County, New York representing the American Party and relocated to Riverhead. That same year, he also held positions as Town Trustee and Overseer of the Poor. After serving as Under-Sheriff under Stephen J. Wilson, he returned to Patchogue to take ownership and editorial control of the Suffolk County Herald, a role he fulfilled until 1862. In that year, President Abraham Lincoln appointed him Collector of Internal Revenue for New York's First District; he was reappointed in 1863 and resigned from this post in 1869.
Subsequently, Carman became general manager of the South Side Railroad Company under Charles Fox’s leadership. When Jacob R. Shiphard & Co. acquired the company, Carman assumed its presidency after it reverted to its original shareholders. Confronted with financial difficulties and mismanagement leading to insolvency, he transferred operational control to a receiver until it was sold to Conrad Poppenhusen. In 1870, Carman purchased the Orange Railroad from Orange Judd for $100,000 and later sold it to the South Side Railroad Company.
In terms of political activity, Carman unsuccessfully contested a seat in the New York State Assembly in 1859 as a candidate representing both the Republican and American Parties but secured election in 1870 and served during 1871. A closely disputed election in 1878 resulted in his victory by a single vote, allowing him to serve again in 1879.
Carman supported Liberal Republican Horace Greeley during the 1872 presidential campaign and led Long Island delegates who opposed Ulysses S. Grant at the 1880 Republican National Convention. Identified with the Half-Breed faction, he endorsed Rutherford B. Hayes and James A. Garfield but opposed Chester A. Arthur and Roscoe Conkling—whose actions diminished Carman’s political standing by removing his preferred postmaster in Patchogue following Arthur’s assumption of the presidency.
He held the position of president at the Patchogue Bank from its inception until his death and served as chairman of the local Board of Education for a decade.
In 1850, Carman married Ellen Prior from Patchogue. Their offspring included Arrington Carman, who served as Justice of the Peace for Brookhaven, and a daughter who married Captain John Prior.
George Franklin Carman passed away at his residence on September 30, 1891, and was interred in the family burial ground located within Patchogue cemetery.