Charles Stephen Millington

Charles Stephen Millington (March 13, 1855 – October 25, 1913) was an American politician and banker from New York who served as a Republican U.S. Representative from 1909 to 1911. He was born on March 13, 1855, in Norway, Herkimer County, New York, to Harty L. (née Lamberson) and Stephen R. Millington. Raised in upstate New York, he attended the district schools of nearby Poland, reflecting the rural educational environment of the period.

Millington pursued further education at Fairfield Academy in Fairfield, New York, and at the Hungerford Collegiate Institute in Adams, New York. These institutions provided him with the academic grounding that would support both his banking career and later public service. His early schooling and academy training prepared him for responsible positions in the financial sector at a relatively young age.

At the age of 19, Millington began his professional career in banking at the Hungerford National Bank in Adams, New York. Demonstrating early initiative and financial acumen, he later organized the Bank of Poland in Poland, New York, and became its cashier. In 1880, he reorganized the Bank of Poland into a national bank, a significant step that placed the institution under federal charter and regulation. In 1894, he moved to Herkimer, New York, where he became vice president of the Herkimer Bank. The following year, in 1895, he was elevated to president of the bank, and under his leadership it became a national bank in 1898. Millington also served as president of the First National Bank of Dolgeville and as vice president of the Mohawk Valley Real Estate Company, further entrenching his role as a leading financier in the Mohawk Valley region.

Millington’s prominence in business and local affairs led naturally to involvement in Republican Party politics. He was a member of the Republican Party in New York and took part in the broader national political process as a delegate to the 1908 Republican National Convention. His participation in that convention placed him within the inner workings of party deliberations during a period of significant political and economic change in the United States.

Building on his party service, Millington was elected as a Republican to the Sixty-first Congress, representing New York’s 27th congressional district. His term extended from March 4, 1909, to March 3, 1911. During this single term in the U.S. House of Representatives, he contributed to the legislative process at a time when the nation was grappling with issues of industrial regulation, banking, and progressive-era reforms. As a member of Congress, he participated in the democratic process and represented the interests of his constituents from upstate New York. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1910 to the Sixty-second Congress, bringing his formal congressional service to a close after one term.

Following his departure from Congress, Millington continued his public service at the federal level. On May 12, 1911, President William Howard Taft appointed him Assistant Treasurer of the United States in charge of the subtreasury in New York City. In this capacity, he oversaw important federal financial operations in the nation’s principal financial center, a role that drew directly on his decades of experience in banking. He held this position from his appointment in 1911 until his death in 1913.

In his personal life, Millington married Allie T. Webster, the daughter of John Robert Webster of Poland, New York, on March 6, 1878. The couple had three children: Maud, Harty, and Ada. Millington maintained his residence in Herkimer, living on North Prospect Street while carrying out both his banking responsibilities and, later, his federal duties. He died in Herkimer on October 25, 1913, while still serving as Assistant Treasurer of the United States. Charles Stephen Millington was interred in Pine Grove Cemetery in Poland, New York, returning in death to the community where his early education and banking career had begun.