{{short description|American politician (1794–1864)}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Daniel Gott | image = Daniel Gott.jpg | caption = From 1878's ''History of Onondaga County, New York'' | state = New York | district = 24th | term_start = March 4, 1847 | term_end = March 3, 1851 | predecessor = Horace Wheaton | successor = Daniel T. Jones | birth_date = {{birth date|1794|7|10}} | death_date = {{death date and age|1864|7|6|1794|7|10}} | party = Whig (1834–1855) | other_party = Anti-Masonic Party (before 1834)<br/>Republican (from 1855) | birth_place = Hebron, Connecticut, U.S. | death_place = Syracuse, New York, U.S. | resting_place = Pompey Hill Cemetery, Pompey, New York | spouse = Anna (Baldwin) Sedgwick (m. 1819) | children = 5 | relations = Charles B. Sedgwick (stepson)<br>Henry J. Sedgwick (stepson) | allegiance = United States<br/>New York | branch = New York Militia | branch_label = Service | service_years = 1812–1816 | rank = Ensign | unit = 98th Infantry Regiment | battles = War of 1812 | battles_label = Wars }}
'''Daniel Gott''' (July 10, 1794 – July 6, 1864) was an American lawyer and politician who served as a U.S. representative for New York's 24th congressional district from 1847 to 1851.
== Early life and education == Daniel Gott was born in Hebron, Connecticut, on July 10, 1794, to Hazael and Abigail Gott (née Phelps).<ref>{{cite book |last=Walworth |first=Reuben Hyde |date=1864 |title=Hyde Genealogy: Or, The Descendants, in the Female as Well as in the Male Lines, of William Hyde, of Norwich |volume=I |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uQ71hxzFbhcC&pg=PA340 |location=Albany, NY |publisher=J. Munsell |page=340 |isbn=978-1-5484-4298-9 |via=Google Books}}</ref>{{efn|Most sources give the birth year as 1794; a few indicate that Gott was born in 1793.}} He attended the schools of Hebron, then taught school and began to learn the clothier's trade from his uncle Ebenezer Snow.<ref name="Bruce">{{cite book |editor-last=Bruce |editor-first=Dwight Hall |date=1896 |title=Onondaga's Centennial: Gleanings of a Century |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tkI5iujVwwwC&pg=PA354 |location=Boston, MA |publisher=Boston History Company |pages=206, 354 |via=Google Books}}</ref>
After beginning the study of law with attorney Sylvester Gilbert in Hebron, in 1817 Gott moved to Pompey, New York, where he taught school and continued the study of law with attorneys Victory Birdseye and Daniel Wood, the father of Daniel P. Wood.<ref name="Bruce"/> During the War of 1812, Gott served in the New York Militia.<ref name="Bruce"/> Commissioned an ensign in the 98th Regiment, a unit of the 18th Division's 27th Brigade, Gott was subsequently appointed the regimental adjutant.<ref name="Cards">{{cite web |url=https://www.ancestry.com/sharing/6419371?mark=7b22746f6b656e223a2235463473564859766d4e41747470686c41764b4e53324a6b637a51703866456c33572b763477347a636c633d222c22746f6b656e5f76657273696f6e223a225632227d |title=New York Military Service Cards, 1816-1979, Entry for Daniel Gott |date=1816 |website=Ancestry.com |publisher=Ancestry.com LLC |location=Lehi, UT |access-date=September 20, 2023 |url-access=subscription}}</ref> The 98th Regiment was activated for duty in defense of Sackets Harbor, New York during October 1814.<ref name="Bruce"/> Gott remained in the militia until 1816.<ref name="Bruce"/><ref name="Cards"/>
== Law career == Gott was admitted to the bar in 1819 and commenced practice in Pompey, New York as the partner of Samuel Baldwin.<ref name="Bruce"/> Among the aspiring attorneys who studied with him were L. Harris Hiscock, George Henry Williams, Charles Mason, and Charles Foster.<ref name="Clayton">{{cite book |last=Clayton |first=W. Woodford |date=1878 |title=History of Onondaga County, New York |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-9m5ZsZsfxQC&pg=PA391 |location=Syracuse, NY |publisher=Truair, Smith & Bruce |page=After 396 |via=Google Books}}</ref> Gott served for many years as a trustee of Pompey Academy.<ref name="Clayton"/> In 1828, he was afflicted with a condition that affected his vision and sometimes required him to remain confined to a dark room.<ref name="Clayton"/> Despite this condition, he was able to continue practicing law, and he recovered his vision completely in 1840.<ref name="Clayton"/>
== Politics == In the early 1830s Gott became active in politics as a member of the Anti-Masonic Party.<ref>{{cite news |date=October 23, 1832 |title=A Clay Trick |url=https://www.genealogybank.com/newspaper-clippings//xyeajjwemwukljjugqhjfbnvlzrlqtgo_wma-gateway013_1695232486707 |work=Albany Argus |location=Albany, NY |page=1 |via=GenealogyBank.com }}</ref> He later became identified with the Whig Party,<ref>{{cite news |date=July 8, 1834 |title=Letter: Yesterday was a glorious day for old Onondaga |url=https://www.genealogybank.com/newspaper-clippings//okdtkehgftwzyszemtlhyvzvrskoykem_wma-gateway012_1695239443929 |work=The Albany Journal |location=Albany, NY |page=2 |via=GenealogyBank.com }}</ref> and in 1844 was chosen as an elector for Whig presidential nominee Henry Clay, but Democratic nominee James K. Polk carried New York in the November election.<ref name="Clayton"/>
=== U.S. Representative === In 1846, Gott was elected to the United States House of Representatives.<ref name="Clayton"/> He was re-elected in 1848 and served in the 30th and 31st Congresses, March 4, 1847, to March 3, 1851.<ref name="Clayton"/> He was an unsuccessful candidate for re-election in 1852.<ref>{{cite news |date=December 31, 1852 |title=Official Canvass of Votes |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-buffalo-daily-republic-canvass/132131738/ |work=The Buffalo Daily Republic |location=Buffalo, NY |page=6 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> During his House service, Gott was a member of the Committee on Territories.<ref>{{cite book |date=1851 |title=Journal of the House of Representatives of the United States |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bWlUAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA28 |location=Washington, DC |publisher=United States House of Representatives |page=28 |via=Google Books}}</ref>
As an advocate of ending slavery, in December 1848 Gott introduced a resolution condemning slavery in the District of Columbia and ordering the committee with jurisdiction to prepare legislation to end it.<ref name="Osborne">{{cite web |url=https://hd.housedivided.dickinson.edu/node/34449 |title=December 21, 1848: Daniel Gott of New York introduces his resolution to ban slavery in the District of Columbia |last=Osborne |first=John |website=House Divided |publisher=Dickinson College |location=Carlisle, PA |access-date=September 19, 2023}}</ref> With many proponents of slavery out of the chamber when the vote took place, the resolution passed 98 to 88.<ref name="Osborne"/> Infuriated pro-slavery members were able to reverse Gott's resolution in January 1849.<ref name="Osborne"/> Abraham Lincoln, another Whig representative opposed to slavery, proposed a compromise that would include compensation for owners whose slaves were freed.<ref name="Donald">{{cite book |last=Donald |first=David Herbert |author-link=David Herbert Donald |date=2011 |title=Lincoln |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lTQSlhUUEOQC&pg=PA135 |location=New York, NY |publisher=Simon & Schuster |page=135 |isbn=978-0-6848-2535-9 |via=Google Books}}</ref> While he was encouraged by the private feedback he received, including support from Gott, this proposal failed to attract many public backers, so Lincoln never formally introduced it.<ref name="Donald"/>
Gott appointed Henry Warner Slocum to the United States Military Academy in 1848.<ref name="Doings">{{cite news |date=November 17, 1890 |title=Town Talk and Doings |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-standard-union-doings/132109023/ |work=The Daily Standard-Union |location=Brooklyn, NY |page=2 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> Slocum served as a major general in the Union Army during the American Civil War, and later served as a member of the U.S. House.<ref name="Doings"/><ref>{{cite book |last=Poore |first=Ben Perley |author-link=Benjamin Perley Poore |date=1884 |title=Congressional Directory |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=x9c-AAAAYAAJ&pg=PA57 |location=Washington, DC |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |page=57 |via=Google Books}}</ref> In 1849 and 1851, Gott was elected as his Assembly district's delegate to the Whig Party state convention.<ref>{{cite news |date=September 24, 1849 |title=Onondaga ‒ Fourth District |url=https://www.genealogybank.com/newspaper-clippings//zxovlbkfbxywrlcdnmkrzxsrsshnjerv_wma-gateway015_1695238281903 |work=Albany Evening Journal |location=Albany, NY |page=2 |via=GenealogyBank.com }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=September 8, 1851 |title=Delegates to the Whig State Convention |url=https://www.genealogybank.com/newspaper-clippings//dvxnkyokufiitwihovadmpgfudmkdugj_wma-gateway019_1695238602223 |work=Albany Evening Journal |location=Albany, NY |page=2 |via=GenealogyBank.com }}</ref>
=== Later career === In 1851, Gott was the unsuccessful Whig nominee for a seat on the New York Supreme Court.<ref name="Clayton"/> He moved to Syracuse, New York, in 1853 where practiced law in partnership with his son Daniel F. Gott.<ref name="Clayton"/> When the Republican Party was founded as the main anti-slavery party in the mid-1850s, Gott became an early adherent.<ref>{{cite news |date=October 26, 1855 |title=Republican Meetings |url=https://www.genealogybank.com/newspaper-clippings//tlhaujldvzojzmnhvnjykvwaxdkkapsp_wma-gateway012_1695233058207 |work=Albany, NY |location=Albany Journal |page=2 |via=GenealogyBank.com }}</ref>
Gott was a lifelong member of the Presbyterian Church.<ref name="Clayton"/> In 1852, he was a founder of the Pompey Bible Society, and he was chosen to serve as its first president.<ref>{{cite news |date=August 5, 1852 |title=Pompey Bible Society |url=https://www.genealogybank.com/newspaper-clippings//tndkxvqgmxbsqezohovzldqxgjwouamr_wma-gateway002_1695234578278 |work=The Religious Recorder |location=Syracuse, NY |page=2 |via=GenealogyBank.com }}</ref>
== Personal life == Gott died in Syracuse, on July 6, 1864, aged 69,<ref name="Clayton"/> and was interred at Pompey Hill Cemetery in Pompey, New York.<ref>{{cite book |editor-last=Mott |editor-first=Hopper Striker |date=1913 |title=The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record |volume=XLIV |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wtYUAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA74 |location=New York, NY |publisher=New York Genealogical and Biographical Society |page=74 |via=Google Books}}</ref>
In 1819, Gott married Anna Baldwin, the sister of his law partner Samuel Baldwin, who was widowed after the death of attorney Stephen Sedgwick.<ref name="Clayton"/>{{efn|Some sources indicate that Anna Baldwin and Stephen Sedgwick divorced before she married Gott.}} Their children included Daniel Francis, Amelia, Anne, Charles, and Samuel Sackett.<ref name="Clayton"/> Congressman Charles B. Sedgwick (1815–1883) and State Senator Henry J. Sedgwick (1812–1868), both of whom studied law under Gott, were his stepsons.<ref name="Clayton"/>
==Notes== {{notelist}}
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== {{CongBio|G000339}} *{{Find a Grave|17054281}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Gott, Daniel}} Category:1794 births Category:1864 deaths Category:Politicians from Syracuse, New York Category:Anti-Masonic Party politicians from New York (state) Category:Whig Party United States representatives from New York (state) Category:New York (state) Republicans Category:Lawyers from Syracuse, New York Category:19th-century American lawyers Category:19th-century United States representatives