Biography

John Adams Dix was a United States Senator, Secretary of the Treasury, Union Major General of Volunteers, Minister to France, and Governor of New York. He was born in New Hampshire and at 14 fought in the War of 1812 under his father, Lieut. Col. Timothy Dix Jr. as an ensign. He resigned from military service in 1828 and moved to Cooperstown, NY to work in commercial interests.He then entered politics as a Jacksonian Democrat. He became New York adjutant general and New York school superintendent, as well as a strong member of the Jacksonian party, becoming a member of the Albany Regency which was the controlling political machine in the state. He filled an unexpired term in the United States Senate in 1845 and remained there until 1850. After this he served as the president of 2 railroads and practiced law in New York City. In 1859 he was appointed postmaster of New York City by President James Buchanan and then served as his Secretary of the Treasury, beginning on January 15, 1861. On May 16, 1861 he was commissioned Major General of Volunteers by President Abraham Lincoln and commanded various departments during the war, his final one being the Department of the East. He was also a Union commander at Baltimore. In 1863 he forcefully suppressed the New York Draft Riots. On November 30, 1865 he resigned and returned to private life before becoming Minister to France in 1866, which he served as until 1869. In 1872 he was elected Governor of New York for one term, retiring in 1874 after failing to be re-elected.