Daniel Cady

Daniel Cady (1773-1859) was a prominent lawyer and judge in upstate New York. Best known today as the father of Elizabeth Cady Stanton, he had a full and accomplished life of his own. Born in Columbia County, Cady studied law in Albany and eventually settled in Johnstown, New York. He became an attorney during Washington's presidency. As a young attorney he worked with such notables as Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr. At the end of his career he represented one defendant in a case where Abraham Lincoln represented another defendant in a case related to land associated with Beloit College.

Cady served as District Attorney of Montgomery County, New York, and also in the New York State Assembly and the US House of Representatives. He is considered by some to be the father of Fulton County, New York, engineering the county's creation after the Montgomery County seat was moved from Johnstown to Fonda. The new county was named after Robert Fulton, a cousin of Cady. After a long and successful career as a trial lawyer, Cady became a Justice of the Supreme Court. His service on the Court was distinguished. When the judicial system was revised, Cady presided over the committee setting the rules for the new New York Court of Appeals. He also served a term on that Court.

References: http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=C000014

The Syracuse University Library has collections of letters for Peter and Gerrit Smith, which contain hundreds of letters from Cady. Cady's life is being researched by Warren Redlich