Daniel Cady
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Daniel Cady (1773-1859) was a prominent lawyer and judge in upstate New York. While perhaps better known today as the father of Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Judge Cady had a full and accomplished life of his own.
Born in Canaan, Columbia County, New York, Cady studied law in Albany under John Woodworth and eventually settled in Johnstown, New York. Admitted to the bar in 1795, he began to practice law as an attorney during George Washington's presidency. As a young lawyer, he worked with such notables as Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr, and toward the end of his career, he served in a case with Abraham Lincoln, where they each represented clients in a land dispute associated with Beloit College.
For a time, Cady prosecuted cases for the State as District Attorney of Montgomery County, New York. He also served in the New York State Assembly and in the US House of Representatives. He is considered by some to be the father of Fulton County, New York, virtually engineering the county's creation himself after the Montgomery County seat was moved from Johnstown to Fonda, New York. The newly established county was named after Robert Fulton, a cousin of Cady's wife.
After a long and successful career as a trial lawyer, Cady became a Justice of the New York Supreme Court. His service on the Supreme Court, from 1847 to 1855, was a distinguished one. When the judicial system of New York was revised in 1847, Cady presided over the committee setting the rules for the new New York Court of Appeals. He also served a year with distinction on that Court.
Daniel Cady died in Johnstown, New York on October 31, 1859.
