Edward Wemple

Edward Wemple (October 23, 1843, in Fultonville, Montgomery County, New York – December 18, 1920, in Fultonville, Montgomery County, New York) was an American businessman and Democratic U.S. Representative from New York. Born into a community in New York’s Mohawk Valley, he spent virtually his entire life in his native village, later becoming one of its most prominent public figures in both business and politics.

Wemple attended the public schools in Fultonville and continued his education at Ashland Academy. He then enrolled at Union College in Schenectady, New York, from which he graduated in 1866. After college he studied law for a time, but ultimately chose a career in manufacturing. He entered the foundry business in partnership with his two brothers, establishing himself as a local industrialist. In 1868 he married Adelaide F. Groat (1844–1895); the couple had six children, and their family life was centered in Fultonville.

Wemple’s public career began in local government. He served as President of the Village of Fultonville in 1873, a position that placed him at the head of the village’s municipal administration during a period of economic and civic development. He then served as Supervisor of the Town of Glen from 1874 to 1876, representing the town at the county level and participating in the oversight of local finances and infrastructure. Building on this experience, he entered state politics as a member of the New York State Assembly, representing Montgomery County in 1877 and 1878, where he took part in legislative deliberations in Albany during the post–Civil War era of industrial growth and political realignment.

Advancing within the Democratic Party, Wemple was elected to the Forty-eighth United States Congress as a Democrat, serving from March 4, 1883, to March 3, 1885. As a U.S. Representative from New York, he participated in the legislative process during a significant period in American history, representing the interests of his constituents in the House of Representatives. During his single term in Congress he was particularly noted for his efforts to secure federal funding for the Saratoga Monument, commemorating the Battles of Saratoga in the American Revolutionary War, thereby supporting the preservation of national and state historical memory.

After leaving Congress, Wemple returned to state office and continued to hold important positions in New York government. He served as a member of the New York State Senate for the 18th District in 1886 and 1887, participating in the upper chamber’s work on statewide legislation. He was then elected New York State Comptroller at the state elections of 1887 and 1889, serving from 1888 to 1891. In this capacity he was responsible for overseeing the state’s finances, including auditing public accounts and supervising the management of state funds during a period of expanding governmental responsibilities and public works.

Wemple’s later life was marked by personal and legal difficulties. On November 13, 1895, he was arrested on charges of arson after he burned down his own foundry, which had been sold at an assignee’s sale, along with several other buildings in and around Fultonville. On December 2, 1895, he was pronounced insane and was committed to the Utica Insane Asylum. He was later transferred to the Middletown State Hospital, where he remained under institutional care for many years. On August 13, 1909, he was released from the Middletown Asylum and returned home to Fultonville, withdrawing thereafter from public life.

Edward Wemple died in Fultonville on December 18, 1920. He was buried at Maple Avenue Cemetery in Fultonville, Montgomery County, New York. His career spanned local, state, and national office, and his life reflected both the opportunities and the personal challenges experienced by a nineteenth-century American public servant and businessman.