History of Cherry Valley, (Otsego County) New York United States of America

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Biographies:

Albert Gallatin Brackett, soldier, was born in Cherry valley, N.Y., Feb. 14, 1829. When a boy of seventeen he went to Indiana, where he, upon the outbreak of the war with Mexico, joined the volunteer force enlisted from that state, and was given the rank of 1st lieutenant and assigned to Lane's brigade. After serving bravely in the several battles in Which the brigade was engaged, he was honorably discharged July 16, 1848. In 1855 he raised a company of Indiana and Illinois volunteers for frontier service against the Comanche Indians on the Texas border. At the beginning of the civil war he was stationed at Texas as captain of cavalry, and escaped when General Twiggs surrendered to the Confederates. He repaired to Washington, where he was in command of the cavalry at the battle of Blackburn Ford in 1861, and also at Bull Run. He was promoted to the rank of colonel in August, 1861, and commanded the 9th Illinois cavalry in the Arkansas campaign, where he served with distinguished bravery, and at its close was given the rank of major in the regular army, June 28, 1862. The following year he was attached to the department of the Missouri as chief of cavalry, and in 1864 to the department of the Cumberland as inspector general of cavalry. He afterwards received the brevets of lieutenant-colonel and colonel, and later was given the full commission. His subsequent service was mostly in the west against the Indians. He was made colonel of the 3d cavalry in 1879, and later was commander of Fort Davis, Texas. He was retired at his own request, being over sixty-two years of agr, Feb. 18, 1891. He is the author of "General Lane's Brigade in Central Mexico" (1854), and "History of the United States Cavalry" (1865), besides several short articles. He died June 25, 1896.

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor

Douglas Campbell, lawyer, was born in Cherry Valley, Otsego county, N. Y., in 1839; son of Judge William M. Campbell of New York. At the age of twenty-one he was graduated from Union college, and the following year, when the civil war broke out, he enlisted in the Union army as a private, reaching by promotion the rank of major. In 1866, after taking a course in the law school of Harvard college, he obtained admission to the New York bar, and began to practice in that city. He was deeply interested in historical research, and finally retired from active professional labors to give his undivided attention to study and writing. In 1892 he issued two volumes, entitled, "The Puritan in Holland, England and America, an Introduction to American History," an attempt to investigate and expound the origin of American history upon entirely new lines and from a new point of view. The book is a remarkable production and of great value to historians. He also published, Historical Fallacies Regarding Colonial New York (1879), and The Origin of American Institutions as Illustrated in the History of the Written Ballot (1891). He died in Schenectady, N. Y., March 7, 1893.

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor

William W. Campbell, jurist, was born at Cherry Valley, N. Y., June 10, 1806. He was graduated at Union college in 1827; began the practice of law in New York city in 1831, was appointed master in chancery in 1841, afterward commissioner in bankruptcy, and was a representative in the 29th Congress, where he effected decided reforms in the consular system. In 1848 he was elected judge of the supreme court of New York city, and soon after the expiration of his term, in December, 1855, he returned to Cherry Valley, N. Y. In the fall of 1857 he was elected judge of the supreme court of New York for the sixth judicial district, also serving in the court of appeals. He was a frequent contributor to magazines and other periodical literature, his writings being principally historical sketches, especially of New York state. He received the degree of LL. D. from Union college, and was elected trustee in 1848, and a visitor of the Nott trust fund in 1853. In his last months he took special pleasure in studying the Bible and in religious conversation. He is the author of Annals of Tryon County, New York (1831); Life of Mrs. Grant, Missionary to Persia (1840); Life and Writings of De Witt Clinton (1849); Sketches of Robin Hood and Capt. Kidd (1853). He died at Cherry Valley. N. Y., Sept. 7, 1881.

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor