Representative Nicoll Halsey

Nicoll Halsey (March 8, 1782 – March 3, 1865) was an American politician who served one term as a U.S. Representative from New York from 1833 to 1835. He was born in Southampton, Suffolk County, New York, on March 8, 1782, the son of Silas Halsey and the brother of Jehiel Howell Halsey, both of whom were also active in public life. In 1793 he moved with his parents from Long Island to central New York, settling in what later became the town of Lodi in Herkimer County, in the region that would eventually be organized as part of Seneca County. He attended the common schools, receiving the basic education typical of rural New York in the late eighteenth century.

As a young man, Halsey moved again within upstate New York, relocating to Tompkins County in 1808. He settled near Trumansburg, in the town of Ulysses, where he established himself as a farmer and miller. Engaging in agricultural pursuits and milling, he became part of the developing agrarian economy of the Finger Lakes region. His involvement in these enterprises helped root him in the local community and provided the economic foundation for his later public service.

Halsey’s political career began at the town and county levels. He served repeatedly as supervisor for the town of Ulysses, New York, holding that office in 1812, 1814, 1815, 1818, 1821, and 1826. In this capacity he was responsible for local administration and fiscal oversight at a time when town supervisors played a central role in county government. He was elected a member of the New York State Assembly, serving in the state legislature in 1816 and again in 1824, where he participated in shaping state policy during a period of rapid growth and internal improvement in New York. Between these legislative terms, he held the office of sheriff of Tompkins County from 1819 to 1821, overseeing law enforcement and the execution of court orders in the county.

Building on his local and state experience, Halsey advanced to national office in the early 1830s. He was elected as a Jacksonian to the Twenty-third Congress and served as a U.S. Representative from New York from March 4, 1833, to March 3, 1835. In Congress he aligned with the supporters of President Andrew Jackson, reflecting the Jacksonian Democratic emphasis on limited federal government, opposition to the national bank, and advocacy for the interests of small farmers and frontier communities. After completing his single term, he was not a candidate for renomination in 1834, and his service in the House concluded at the expiration of his term.

While still in national office, Halsey also received a significant judicial appointment. On February 11, 1834, he was appointed judge of the Tompkins County Court, an office that placed him at the center of local judicial administration. His judicial role reflected the common nineteenth-century pattern of experienced legislators and county officials moving into the judiciary, and it underscored his standing in Tompkins County public affairs. Following his congressional service and judicial appointment, he returned to his earlier economic pursuits and resumed the milling business near Trumansburg, continuing to live in the community where he had long been established.

In his later years, Halsey remained identified with Tompkins County and the Trumansburg area, though he traveled outside New York State. He died while on a visit to Marshall, Calhoun County, Michigan, on March 3, 1865, just five days before his eighty-third birthday. His body was returned to New York, and he was interred in Grove Cemetery in Trumansburg, New York, reflecting his enduring connection to the region where he had spent most of his adult life and built his career in agriculture, local government, state politics, and national service.