Presidential Cabinet Secretary. Educated at Westfield State University, plus graduating from the Law School of George Washington University, he obtained a position as secretary to the chief Postal Inspector of New York, in 1891. In 1892, he was promoted the secretary to the Fourth Assistant Postmaster General. Cortelyou was working on improvements in postal office efficiency when President McKinley was assassinated in 1901. President Theodore Roosevelt appointed him the 1st United States Secretary of Commerce and Labor, serving (1903-04) and he also served as the Postmaster General, (1905-07). In 1907, Theodore Roosevelt appointed him the 42nd United States Secretary of the Treasury, serving until 1909. While in office he deposited large amounts of government funds in national banks and buying government bonds, plus advocated a more elastic currency and recommended the creation of a central banking system. After he left the cabinet, he was the president of the Consolidated Gas Company and was also one of the chairmen of the Con Edison Energy Museum. He died in retirement at age 78.
Presidential Cabinet Secretary. Educated at Westfield State University, plus graduating from the Law School of George Washington University, he obtained a position as secretary to the chief Postal Inspector of New York, in 1891. In 1892, he was promoted the secretary to the Fourth Assistant Postmaster General. Cortelyou was working on improvements in postal office efficiency when President McKinley was assassinated in 1901. President Theodore Roosevelt appointed him the 1st United States Secretary of Commerce and Labor, serving (1903-04) and he also served as the Postmaster General, (1905-07). In 1907, Theodore Roosevelt appointed him the 42nd United States Secretary of the Treasury, serving until 1909. While in office he deposited large amounts of government funds in national banks and buying government bonds, plus advocated a more elastic currency and recommended the creation of a central banking system. After he left the cabinet, he was the president of the Consolidated Gas Company and was also one of the chairmen of the Con Edison Energy Museum. He died in retirement at age 78.
Bio by: John "J-Cat" Griffith
Family Members
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Records on Ancestry
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