Abraham Bockee

Abraham Bockee (February 3, 1784 – June 1, 1865) was an American lawyer, agriculturist, and politician from New York who served three terms in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1829 to 1831, and from 1833 to 1837. He was born in Shekomeko, a hamlet in what is now the town of North East, Dutchess County, New York, where he spent much of his life and maintained close ties to the local community.

Bockee attended the public schools of his native area before pursuing higher education at Union College in Schenectady, New York. He graduated from Union College in 1803, a period when the institution was emerging as a prominent center of classical and legal education in the state. Following his graduation, he chose to study law, a common path for young men seeking public careers in the early republic.

After completing his legal studies in Poughkeepsie, New York, Bockee was admitted to the bar in 1806. He established a law practice in Poughkeepsie, where he practiced until 1815. During this time he developed his professional reputation and became familiar with the legal and commercial affairs of the Hudson Valley region. In 1815 he returned to his birthplace of Shekomeko, where he shifted his primary focus from law to agricultural pursuits, managing and improving his farm while remaining an influential figure in local affairs.

In his personal life, Bockee married Martha Oakley. Together they had six children: Catharine Jerusha, Mary, Jesse Oakley, Alexander Phoenix, Isaac Smith, and Phoenix. His family connections and standing as both a lawyer and landowner in Dutchess County helped establish the social and political base from which he entered public life.

As a member of the Jackson Party representing New York, Abraham Bockee contributed to the legislative process during three terms in office. He was first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives as a supporter of Andrew Jackson and served in the Twenty-first Congress from 1829 to 1831. After a brief interval out of federal office, he returned to serve in the Twenty-third and Twenty-fourth Congresses from 1833 to 1837. His service in Congress occurred during a significant period in American history marked by debates over federal power, banking policy, internal improvements, and the expansion of democratic participation. In this context, Bockee participated in the democratic process and represented the interests of his New York constituents in the House of Representatives.

Following his congressional service, Bockee resumed his agricultural and local interests in Shekomeko. He remained a respected elder statesman in his community, identified with the generation that had helped shape New York’s political life in the Jacksonian era. Abraham Bockee died on June 1, 1865, closing a life that spanned from the early years of the new republic through the end of the Civil War, and he was remembered as a lawyer, farmer, and public servant who represented his region in the national legislature during a transformative period in American politics.