Ransom Balcom

1818-1879

Ransom Balcom served in 1863. Born in Oxford, Broome County, N.Y., Apr. 18, 1818. His house, the Judge Ransom Balcom House, built in 1836 in Greek Revival style, is featured in a walking tour of Oxford. Elected to represent Chenango County in the state assembly in 1847. Elected supreme court justice, sixth judicial district, in 1855, served for over 20 years, resigning in 1877 on account of ill health. See 19 Alb LJ 40 (1879). He was one of the first judges in New York to use the expression “due process of law” in a way that resembles today’s usage (Mtr. of Janes, 30 How. Pr. 446 [1866]). Died in Binghamton Jan. 6, 1879. Five of his great-grandchildren are living in the town of Oxford under the names Balcom and Wheeler.

This biography appears in The Judges of the New York Court of Appeals: A Biographical History, ed. Hon. Albert M. Rosenblatt (New York: Fordham University Press, 2007). It has not been updated since publication.

 

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