Andrew Wheeler Doig

Andrew Wheeler Doig (July 24, 1799 – July 11, 1875) was an American businessman and Democratic politician who served two terms as a U.S. Representative from New York from 1839 to 1843. He represented New York’s Sixteenth Congressional District during a formative period in the nation’s political development, participating in the legislative process and representing the interests of his constituents in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Doig was born on July 24, 1799, in Salem, Washington County, New York. He pursued an academic course in his youth, a common description of the period indicating study in local schools and private instruction rather than formal collegiate training. Seeking opportunity in the growing communities of upstate New York, he moved to Lowville, in Lewis County, where he began to build a career in business and public service.

In Lowville, Doig engaged in mercantile pursuits, establishing himself as a businessman in the local economy. His involvement in community affairs led to his election as town clerk of Lowville in 1825. That same year he advanced to county office, serving as county clerk of Lewis County from 1825 to 1831. His work as a county official brought him into close contact with legal and administrative matters and helped establish his reputation as a capable local leader.

Doig entered state-level politics as a member of the New York State Assembly in 1832, aligning himself with the Democratic Party during the Jacksonian era. In 1833 he moved to Martinsburg, New York, another community in Lewis County, where he further developed his experience in finance by serving as cashier of the Lewis County Bank in 1833 and 1834. He subsequently returned to Lowville and continued his public service as surrogate of Lewis County from 1835 to 1840, overseeing probate matters and estate administration.

Building on his local and state experience, Doig was elected as a Democrat to the Twenty-sixth and Twenty-seventh Congresses, serving from March 4, 1839, to March 3, 1843. Throughout his two terms in the U.S. House of Representatives, he represented New York’s Sixteenth District. His tenure in Congress coincided with significant national debates over economic policy, westward expansion, and the evolving party system, and he took part in the democratic process at the federal level as a member of the Democratic Party, contributing to the legislative work of the period and advocating for the interests of his upstate New York constituents.

After leaving Congress, Doig returned to financial pursuits in his home region. From 1843 to 1847 he served as a member of the board of directors and vice president of the Bank of Lowville, reflecting his continued prominence in local banking and commerce. In 1849, during the California Gold Rush, he moved to California and engaged in mining, joining many Americans who sought new economic opportunities in the West. His stay there was relatively brief, and in 1850 he returned to Lowville, where he again took up residence and remained connected to the community that had long been the center of his professional and political life.

In the 1850s Doig accepted a federal administrative post, serving as a clerk in the Customs House in New York City from 1853 to 1857. This position placed him within the federal revenue and trade apparatus at one of the nation’s most important ports, extending his public service beyond elective office into the executive branch. Later in life he resided in Brooklyn, New York, where he spent his final years.

Andrew Wheeler Doig died in Brooklyn on July 11, 1875. He was interred in the Rural Cemetery in Lowville, New York, returning in death to the community where he had first established himself as a merchant, local official, banker, and public servant.