Elizur K. Hart

Elizur Kirke Hart (April 8, 1841 – February 18, 1893) was an American banker and politician who served one term as a U.S. representative from New York from 1877 to 1879.

Biography Born in Albion, New York, to Elizur Hart and Loraine Field, Hart attended the Albion Academy. Hart's father was a prominent member of the community, establishing the Orleans County Bank in 1860 with a capital of $100,000. Elizur K. Hart was first employed as a bookkeeper until the bank was reorganized as the Orleans County National Bank in 1865. He was then promoted to teller and eventually cashier upon the death of his father in 1870. Following the death of Joseph Cornell in 1890, Elizur assumed the position of bank president, serving in that capacity until his death in 1893.

He served as member of the 95th New York State Legislature (1872) as a Republican. During the presidential campaign of Horace Greeley, Hart found himself attracted to liberal ideas and became associated with the Democratic Party.

Tenure in Congress Hart was elected as a Democrat to the Forty-fifth Congress (March 4, 1877 – March 3, 1879), but did not seek reelection in 1878.

Later career Upon his return to Albion, Hart served as a member of the Village of Albion Board of Trustees (1879 - 1886), a member of the Albion Board of Education, and one of the first trustees of the Albion Library Association. Founder and president of the Rochester (New York) Post-Express in 1882, he was a principal stockholder in that company until 1892.

As a philanthropist, Hart was a charter member of the Orleans County Monument Association, which was responsible for raising the funds to erect the Soldiers and Sailors Monument at Mount Albion Cemetery.

Hart purchased Hemlock Island in the Thousand Islands from Charles and John Walton for $100 on July 31, 1871. Renaming the island "Hart Island," he constructed an 80-room cottage, 84 feet long and 74 feet wide at a cost of $12,000. Eventually the island was sold to George C. Boldt, who relocated the cottage to Wellesley Island, renamed the island "Heart Island," and constructed Boldt Castle upon the site.

Death He died in Albion, New York, February 18, 1893 and was interred in Mount Albion Cemetery.