Hiram Gray

Hiram Gray (July 10, 1801, in Salem, Washington County, New York – May 6, 1890, in Elmira, Chemung County, New York) was an American lawyer, jurist, and Democratic politician from New York who served one term in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1837 to 1839 and later held prominent judicial offices at both the state and federal levels. Over a long public career, he participated in the legislative process during a significant period in American history and played an important role in the development of New York’s judiciary.

Gray spent his early years in upstate New York and pursued a classical education that prepared him for the legal profession. He attended Union College in Schenectady, New York, an institution that educated many future public officials in the early nineteenth century, and graduated in 1821. Following his graduation, he read law in the traditional manner of the period and was admitted to the bar in 1823. He then commenced the practice of law in Elmira, New York, which would remain his home and professional base for the rest of his life.

Building a reputation as an able lawyer in Elmira, Gray became active in public affairs and aligned himself with the Democratic Party. His legal practice and growing prominence in the community led to his election to national office. In 1836, he was elected as a Democrat to represent New York in the 25th United States Congress. He served in the U.S. House of Representatives from March 4, 1837, to March 3, 1839, during a period marked by significant political and economic issues, including the aftermath of the Panic of 1837. As a member of Congress, he contributed to the legislative process and represented the interests of his New York constituents in the national government.

After completing his single term in Congress, Gray returned to his legal career and soon moved into judicial service. He was appointed Judge of the Sixth Judicial District of New York, serving from 1846 to 1847, at a time when the state’s judicial system was undergoing reorganization under the New York Constitution of 1846. In 1847, he became a justice of the New York Supreme Court, a position he held until 1859. By virtue of this office, he served ex officio as a judge of the New York Court of Appeals in 1851 and again in 1859, participating in the work of the state’s highest court.

Gray’s judicial career included service in one of the most influential appellate bodies of his era. From 1870 to 1875, he was a Commissioner of Appeals, a position created to assist in handling the heavy caseload of the New York Court of Appeals. In this capacity and as a Supreme Court justice sitting on the Court of Appeals, he took part in decisions that helped shape New York jurisprudence. Among his most notable contributions to American law was his majority opinion in the 1859 case of Lawrence v. Fox, in which he recognized contractual rights for a third-party beneficiary, Lawrence, in a debt collection dispute. This decision became a landmark in contract law, establishing an important precedent for third-party beneficiary rights.

Hiram Gray spent his later years in Elmira, where he remained a respected figure in legal and civic circles. He died there on May 6, 1890, at the age of eighty-eight. He was buried at Woodlawn Cemetery in Elmira, New York, leaving a legacy as a congressman, a long-serving state judge, and a jurist whose opinions, particularly in Lawrence v. Fox, had a lasting impact on American legal doctrine.