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Jay Le Fevre

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jay Le Fevre
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
In office
January 3, 1943 – January 3, 1951
Preceded byLewis K. Rockefeller
Succeeded byJ. Ernest Wharton
ConstituencyNew York's 27th congressional district (1943–1945)
New York's 30th congressional district (1945–1951)
Personal details
Born(1893-09-06)September 6, 1893
New Paltz, New York, U.S.
DiedApril 26, 1970(1970-04-26) (aged 76)
Kingston, New York, U.S.
Resting placeLloyd Cemetery, Highland, New York, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
SpouseMildred B. Hiltebrant (1920)
Children3
Military career
ServiceUnited States Army
Years of service1918
RankPrivate
Service number4,742,123[1]
UnitCasual Company, Camp Zachary Taylor
WarsWorld War I
EducationDartmouth College
OccupationBusinessman

Jay Le Fevre[a] (September 6, 1893 – April 26, 1970) was a United States representative from New York.

Early life

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Jay Le Fevre was born in New Paltz, New York on September 6, 1893, the son of Abram P. Le Fevre and Mary Emma (Van Derlyn) Le Fevre.[2] He graduated from the Lawrenceville School in 1914, then began attendance at Dartmouth College.[3] While at Dartmouth, he joined the Alpha Delta Phi fraternity.[2] Le Fevre left college in 1916 and joined his father's coal, lumber, animal feed, and fuel oil business in New Paltz.[2]

Military service

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In September 1918, Le Fevre enlisted for World War I, and joined the United States Army as a private.[1] His application for a commission was approved, and he was assigned to the Field Artillery branch Officer Training School at Camp Zachary Taylor, Kentucky.[1] He was still undergoing training as a member of the camp's Casual Company when the Armistice of November 11, 1918 ended the war.[1][4][b] Le Fevre received his discharge in December 1918, and afterwards was a longtime member of the American Legion.[1][2]

Business career

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Le Fevre continued with A. P. Le Fevre and Son, eventually becoming the company's president.[2] He was also a longtime trustee of the New Paltz Savings Bank and a director of the Huguenot Branch of the State of New York National Bank.[2] In addition, he was a longtime director of the Northeast Retail Lumbermen's Association and served as its president.[2]

Civic and political career

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Le Fevre was a longtime member of the board of visitors of the State Normal School in New Paltz, now the State University of New York at New Paltz.[2] He also belonged to the Holland Society of New York and the New Paltz Dutch Reformed Church, of which he was a longtime consistory member.[2] In addition, Le Fevre served as a director of the Huguenot Historical Society.[2]

A Republican in politics, Le Fevre served as a New Paltz village trustee and was a delegate to the Republican state conventions of 1942 and 1946.[2] In addition, he was a member of the New Paltz Republican Committee from 1930 to 1946.[2]

Congressman

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In 1942, Le Fevre was elected to the United States House of Representatives.[2] He was reelected three times and served from January 3, 1943 to January 3, 1951.[2] While in Congress, Le Fevre was a member of the special committee that toured Europe in 1946 to develop recommendations for the continent's post-World War II economic development.[2] In addition, he was one of the U.S. House Interior Committee members who visited Hawaii, then recommended to the House that the territory be admitted to the Union.[5]

Later life

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Le Fevre was not a candidate for renomination in 1950 and returned to his business interests.[6] In 1951, he was appointed to the New York State Bridge Authority, and he served until 1955.[6]

Death and burial

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LeFevre died in Kingston, New York on April 26, 1970.[6] He was buried at Lloyd Cemetery in Highland, New York.[6]

Family

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In January 1920, Le Fevre married Mildred B. Hiltebrant, and they remained married until his death.[6][7] They were the parents of three children.[6]

Le Fevre was a descendant of the LeFevres who founded New Paltz in 1678.[8] The LeFevres were Huguenots, Protestant followers of John Calvin who fled what is today Northern France and South Belgium who fled persecution by the ruling Catholics.[8] The original settlement of their ancestors survives today as Historic Huguenot Street, a National Historic Landmark District.[9]

Notes

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  1. ^ Sometimes spelled "LeFevre".
  2. ^ Some sources indicate that Le Fevre was a second lieutenant, but the abstract of his service indicates that he had not received his commission by the time he was discharged.

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e U.S. Army Adjutant General (March 26, 1921). "New York Abstracts of World War I Military Service, 1917-1919, Entry for Jay LeFevre". Ancestry.com. Lehi, UT: Ancestry.com LLC. Retrieved August 20, 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o "Jay LeFevre Dies; Former Congressman, 76". Poughkeepsie Journal. Poughkeepsie, NY. April 27, 1970. p. 15 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "New Paltz: Jay LeFevre". Daily Freeman. Kingston, NY. May 26, 1914. p. 2 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ Year Book of the Holland Society of New-York. New York, NY: The Holland Society of New York. 1919. pp. 184–185 – via Google Books.
  5. ^ United States House Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs (May 2, 1950). "Hawaii Statehood". Hawaii Statehood: Hearings Before the United States House Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. pp. 120–121 – via Google Books.
  6. ^ a b c d e f Joint Committee On Printing, United States Congress (1971). Biographical Directory of the American Congress, 1774-1971. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 1279 – via Google Books.
  7. ^ "Wedding: Le Fevre–Hiltebrant". New York, NY. New York Herald. January 5, 1920. p. 4 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ a b McKinney, Craig (January 15, 2020). "As I See It: New Paltz has grown" (PDF). Southern Ulster Times. Milton, NY. p. 9.
  9. ^ Stuart, Shane. "Help Preserve the 1799 LeFevre House". Huguenot Street.org. New Paltz, NY: Historic Huguenot Street. Retrieved August 20, 2024.
[edit]
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from New York's 27th congressional district

1943–1945
Succeeded by
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from New York's 30th congressional district

1945–1951
Succeeded by