Elnathan Sweet
| Elnathan Sweet | |
|---|---|
| Born |
November 20, 1837 Cheshire, Massachusetts |
| Died |
January 26, 1903 (aged 65) Albany, New York |
| Education | Union College (1859) |
| Title | New York State Engineer and Surveyor |
| Term | 1884–1887 |
Elnathan Sweet (November 20, 1837 – January 26, 1903) was an American civil engineer and politician from New York. He was New York State Engineer and Surveyor from 1884 to 1887.[1][2]
Biography
He was born on November 20, 1837 in Cheshire, Massachusetts. His family moved to Stephentown, New York in 1842.[1][2][3]
He graduated with a degree in civil engineering from Union College in 1859, and began work as Deputy Surveyor under Ward B. Burnet, Surveyor General of the Kansas and Nebraska Territories. He soon returned to New York and was employed as Assistant Engineer in various railway companies. From 1864 to 1868, he was at Franklin, Pennsylvania engaged in the engineering development of oil wells and coal mines. In 1869, he removed to Chicago, and became Chief Engineer of the Rock Island and Quincy Railroad, later a part of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad. In 1871, he became also Consulting Engineer for the Rockford Central Railroad and the Cairo and St. Louis Railroad, and engaged in railway construction with his partner James R. Young.
In 1875, he was a member of the Tilden Commission which investigated alleged canal frauds. He was appointed Division Engineer of the Eastern Division of the New York State Canals in 1876. He resigned in 1880, and resumed his railway construction business with his former partner, James R. Young.
He was New York State Engineer and Surveyor from 1884 to 1887, elected on the Democratic ticket in 1883 and 1885. Upon retiring from office, he practiced as a Consulting Engineer, and became President of the Canton Bridge Co.
In 1897 he was appointed as receiver for the Lebanon Springs Railroad following the death of William V. V. Reynolds.[4]
In 1900, he was President of the Advisory Commission of Engineers, appointed by State Engineer Edward A. Bond to advise in the conduct of surveys for a thousand-ton barge canal. Later he was a member of the New York Water Storage Commission.
He died from heart disease at the Fort Orange Club in Albany, New York on January 26, 1903 at age 65.[5]
Legacy
His principal contribution to engineering science consists in the determination of the laws that govern the propulsion of vessels in narrow channels, an account of which he published in 1880 in the Transactions of the American Society of Civil Engineers of which organization he was elected a member in 1878.
References
- 1 2 "Elnathan Sweet". Appletons Cyclopedia.
Sweet, Elnathan, civil engineer, born in Cheshire, Massachusetts, 20 November 1837. He was graduated in the scientific Course at Union college in 1859, and became a civil engineer, making a specialty of con-strutting bridges and other engineering work by contract. ...
- 1 2 "Elnathan Sweet". Noted Living Albanians. Retrieved 2012-10-10.
Elnathan Sweet, the subject of this memoir, was about five years old when his parents removed to Stephentown, and there he grew up strong and healthy in the midst of a beautiful, bold and striking scenery. ...
- ↑ "The Democratic Candidates". New York Times. September 26, 1885. Retrieved 2012-10-10.
Elnathan Sweet, the candidate for State Engineer, was born in Cheshire, Mass., on Nov. 20, 1837. He removed to Stephentown, Rensselaer County, in 1842. ...
- ↑ "Elnathan Sweet, Receiver". New York Times. May 6, 1897. Retrieved 2012-10-10.
Justice Fursman has appointed Elnathan Sweet receiver of the Lebanon Springs Railroad Company, to fill the vacancy caused by the death of William V. V. Reynolds ...
- ↑ "Elnathan Sweet". New York Times. November 28, 1903. Retrieved 2012-10-10.
Elnathan Sweet, a well known engineer ...
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Silas Seymour |
New York State Engineer and Surveyor 1884 – 1887 |
Succeeded by John Bogart |