Frederick Whittlesey Papers

Frederick Whittlesey was born June 12, 1799 in New Preston, Connecticut. He attended Yale College, graduating in 1818, and then studied law. After passing the bar in 1821, he established a practice in Cooperstown, New York. That same year, he movd to Rochester, New York, establishing a law practice and soon entering politics. He served as treasurer of Monroe County (1829-30) and was elected to the Twenty-second and Twenty-third Congresses (1831-35) on the Anti-Masonic ticket. He returned to his law practice after leaving Congress, serving as Rochester's City Attorney in 1838. He also served as chancellor of the eighth judicial district of New York from 1839 to 1847 and as a justice of the New York State Supreme Court in 1847 and 1848. Whittlesey served as profesor of law at Genesee College from 1850 to his death, on September 19, 1851.

During his years in Rochester, Whittlesey was involved in railroad promotion, advocated for temperance, and became a vestryman of St, Luke's Church. He married Ann Hinsdale; the exact date of the nuptials is unknown. Together, the couple had seven children. Ann long outlived Frederick, not passing away until 1890.