Severyn Bruyn Sharpe (1857-1929)

 

From the 1915 Manual of the New York Constitutional Convention.

  A leading lawmaker in Ulster County, New York in the late 19th and early 20th century, Severyn Bruyn Sharp served briefly as Ulster County judge and in 1914 was elected as a delegate to the New York state constitutional convention. The son of George Henry and Caroline (Hasbrouck) Sharp, Severyn Bruyn Sharp was born on New Year's Day 1857 in Kingston. A distinguished figure in his own right, George Henry Sharp (1828-1900) was a Civil War Brigadier General, a former state assemblyman and Speaker of the House from Ulster County,  a U.S. Marshal, Surveyor of Customs of the Port of New York from 1873-78, and from 1884-85 was a U.S. Commissioner to the South American Republic.

  Being the son of a prominent New York family, Sharpe had the benefit of an excellent education, studying at the Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts. He would enroll at Yale University in the late 1870s, and graduated in 1879. Deciding to pursue a law degree, Sharpe enrolled at the Columbia University Law School and was admitted to practice in 1881. He soon returned to Kingston to join his father's law practice, and in 1883 joined the New York City law firm of Alexander and Green. He practiced there several years and later removed back to his hometown of Kingston, where he established his law practice. In addition to private practice, Sharpe served as the attorney for the Ulster County Savings Institution for an indeterminate period.

  Sharpe married in  February 1897 to fellow Kingston native Frances Payntar (1868-1949), to who he was wed until his death. The couple had one daughter, Katherine (born 1901). A former chairman of the Ulster County Republican Committee for three years, Sharpe was selected by Governor Frank S. Black to succeed Alphonso T. Clearwater as Ulster County judge in January 1898. This appointment, occasioned by Clearwater's appointment to the state supreme court, saw Sharpe serve briefly on the bench, and in November 1898 was defeated for reelection by John G. Van Etten, the latter's six-year term beginning in January 1899.

  Returning to his law practice in Kingston, Sharpe resided there until 1904, when he removed his practice back to New York City, where he specialized in "the legal interests of banking and railroad corporations." In 1914 he was elected from the 27th senatorial district as a delegate to the 1915 state constitutional convention, and during the proceedings sat on the committees on Contingent Expenses and Counties, Towns, and Villages.

From the History of the Class of '79, 1906.

  Following his convention service, Sharpe continued with his law practice in New York City, where he died on November 24, 1929, aged 72. He was survived by his wife Frances and was returned to Ulster County for burial at the Wiltwyck Cemetery in Kingston.