Representative Aaron Hackley

Aaron Hackley Jr. (May 6, 1783 – December 28, 1868) was a U.S. Representative from New York and a long-serving public official in that state. He was born in Wallingford, New Haven County, Connecticut, on May 6, 1783. He attended local public schools in his youth and pursued classical studies in preparation for higher education. He subsequently enrolled at Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts, from which he graduated in 1805. Shortly after completing his collegiate studies, Hackley moved to Herkimer, New York, a growing community in the Mohawk Valley, where he read law and prepared for a career in public service.

In Herkimer, Hackley became active in local affairs and quickly entered public office. He was elected county clerk of Herkimer County in 1812 and was reelected to that position in 1815, overseeing county records and administrative matters during a period of expansion and legal development in upstate New York. During the War of 1812 he served as a judge advocate, performing legal and judicial duties within the military structure, which reflected both his legal training and his commitment to public duty at a time of national conflict.

Hackley’s political career advanced through service in the New York State Assembly. He was elected a member of the Assembly in 1814 and 1815, representing his district in the state legislature during the closing phase of the War of 1812 and its immediate aftermath. He returned to the Assembly again in 1818, participating in debates over internal improvements, state development, and the evolving party system in New York. His legislative experience and growing prominence in Democratic-Republican circles positioned him for national office.

Hackley was elected as a Democratic-Republican to the Sixteenth Congress and served as a U.S. Representative from New York from March 4, 1819, to March 3, 1821. During his single term in Congress he sat in the House of Representatives at a time marked by issues such as postwar economic adjustment and sectional tensions that would culminate in the Missouri Compromise. Although detailed records of his specific committee assignments and floor activity are limited, his service in the Sixteenth Congress placed him among the cohort of New York lawmakers helping to shape national policy in the early republic.

After leaving Congress, Hackley continued to hold a succession of judicial and legal offices in New York. He served as justice of the county court of St. Lawrence County, New York, in 1823 and 1824, presiding over local civil and criminal matters in the state’s northern region. He later returned to Herkimer County and was appointed district attorney, serving from 1828 to 1833 and prosecuting cases on behalf of the state. In addition to these roles, he served as a master in chancery, a position that involved responsibilities in equity jurisprudence, including the supervision of certain legal proceedings and the taking of testimony in chancery cases.

Hackley also held municipal judicial office in the growing city of Utica, New York. He served as recorder of Utica, a post that combined judicial and administrative functions and made him a key legal officer in one of central New York’s principal urban centers. His continued engagement in public life led to yet another term in the New York State Assembly in 1837, extending a legislative career that had begun more than two decades earlier and underscoring his long-standing role in state politics and governance.

In his later years, Hackley resided in New York and remained associated with the legal and civic affairs of the state he had served for much of his life. He died in New York City on December 28, 1868. His remains were interred in Trinity Church Cemetery in Manhattan, a historic burial ground that is the final resting place of many prominent figures in New York and national history.