Troy and politics is like salt and pepper - inseparable. Our beloved city has always been a political city and throughout its long 200 years our politicians have influenced not only local events, but a fair share of state and federal ones as well.

There are thirteen politicians who were born in Troy (one born in Lansingburgh) and held higher office at the state or federal level. More than 50 politicians lived in Troy, and almost two dozen are buried here. Several died while visiting or living here. Many of these politicians were members of Congress, state legislatures, mayors, or held other political offices including President of the United States.

Politicians Born in Troy

Ebenezer Jenckes Penniman (1804-1890). B. Lansingburgh. U.S. Representative from Michigan 1st District, 1851-53.

Jacob Collamer (1791-1865). B. January 8, 1791. Member Vermont State House of Representatives, 1821; State court judge, 1833; U.S. Representative from Vermont 2nd District, 1843-49; appointed Postmaster General by President Zachary Taylor 1849-1850; U.S. Senator from Vermont, 1855-65.

John R. Fellows, (1832-1896). B. July 29, 1832. Democrat. Delegate to Arkansas secession convention, 1861; served in Confederate Army during the Civil War; member of Arkansas State Senate, 1866-67; U.S. Representative from New York, 1891-93 (6th District 1891-93, 14th District 1893).

Lucius Frederick Hubbard (1836-1913). B. January 26, 1836. Republican. General in Union Army during the Civil War; member of Minnesota State Senate 16th District, 1872-75; Governor of Minnesota, 1882-87; general in the U.S. Army during the Spanish-American War.

Charles Calvin Bowman (1852-1941). B. November 14, 1852. Republican. U.S. Representative from Pennsylvania 11th District, 1911-13. Attended Lansingburgh Academy; presented credentials as a Republican Member-elect to the Sixty-second Congress and served from March 4, 1911 to December 12, 1912, when the seat was declared vacant.

Walter Irving McCoy (1859-1933). B. December 8, 1859. Democrat. U.S. Representative from New Jersey, 1911-15 (8th District 1911-13, 9th District 1913-15); attended Troy Academy; graduated from Harvard in 1882; appointed by President Wilson on October 5, 1914, as an associate justice, and on May 31, 1918, as chief justice, of the supreme court of the District of Columbia.

John Thomas Norton (b. 1865). B. February 4, 1865. Lawyer; member of New York State assembly, 1895-96.

Ernest Harold Cluett (1874-1954). Albany Academy 1892; treasurer of Cluett, Peabody & Co. 1900-1916, vice president 1916-1929, chairman of the board of directors 1929-1937; head of employment of the Watervliet Arsenal in 1918; elected as a Republican to the Seventy-fifth, Seventy-sixth, and Seventy-seventh Congresses (January 3, 1937-January 3, 1943).

Michael F. Breen (b. 1875). B. October 10, 1875. Democrat. Member of New York State assembly from Rensselaer County 1st District, 1927-35.

Thomas J. Coleman (b. 1890). B. April 25, 1890. Democrat. Member of New York State assembly from Rensselaer County 2nd District, 1923.

George S. Fitzgerald (1901-1980). B. December 26, 1901. Democrat. Candidate for Lieutenant Governor of Michigan, 1954; member of Michigan State Senate 1st District, 1965-74.

Dean Park Taylor (1902-1977). B. January 1, 1902; U.S. Representative from New York, 1943-61 (29th District 1943-45, 33rd District 1945-53, 31st District 1953-61); assistant United States attorney, northern district of New York, 1927-1930; chairman, Rensselaer County Republican Committee, 1938-1952; chairman, NYS Republican Committee, 1953-1954. Taylor Apartments were named for him.

Willsie Ernest Brisbin (b. 1908). B. April 2, 1908. Republican. Member of Vermont Republican State Committee, 1938-42.

Elbert George Mathews (1910-1977). B. November 24, 1910. U.S. Ambassador to Liberia, 1959; U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria, 1964-69.

William B. Fitzgerald (1914-1970). B. February 3, 1914. Democrat. Member of Michigan State House of Representatives 4th District, 1965-70.

Malcolm Toon (b. 1916). B. July 4, 1916. Served in U.S. Navy during World War II; U.S. Ambassador to Czechoslovakia, 1969-71; U.S. Ambassador to Yugoslavia, 1971; U.S. Ambassador to Israel, 1975-76; U.S. Ambassador to Soviet Union, 1976-79.

Edward Worthington Pattison (1932-1990). B. April 29, 1932. Democrat. Albany Academy,1949; served as Rensselaer County (N.Y.) treasurer, 1970 1975; elected as a Democrat to the Ninety-fourth and to the Ninety-fifth Congresses (January 3, 1975-January 3, 1979).

Michael Robert McNulty (b. 1947). B. September 16, 194. Member of New York State assembly, 1983; U.S. Representative from New York, 1989-95 (23rd District 1989-93, 21st District 1993-95). In 1969, at age 22, elected Green Island town supervisor, then the youngest elected town supervisor in the history of NYS.