Born in
Catharine, New York, Diven attended the common schools and the academies in
Penn Yan and
Ovid, New York, and then studied law. He was admitted to the bar in 1831, and commenced practice in Elmira. He was member of the
New York State Senate (27th District) in
1858 and
1859. Diven was elected as a
Republican to the
37th United States Congress, holding office from March 4, 1861, to March 3, 1863. Strongly opposed to slavery, he was the first to draft and introduce measures for the recruitment of
colored troops in the
Union Army. Diven entered the Army on August 13, 1862, as
lieutenant colonel of the
107th New York Infantry Regiment. He was promoted to
colonel on October 21, 1862. He was granted leave of absence from the Army for ninety days to take his seat in Congress. He was
honorably discharged as colonel May 11, 1863, and later
brevetted brigadier general of Volunteers April 30, 1864. He spoke at the dedication of the monument honoring the 107th New York in 1869. He engaged in railroad building and operation from 1865 to 1875, and was prominently identified with the
Erie Railroad. In the 1870s
Pennsylvania native Truckson LaFrance obtained several patents on improvements he developed in the rotary steam engine. John Vischer, head of the Elmira Union Iron Works, became interested and was convinced by LaFrance to back him in the manufacture of a steam fire engine. They subsequently formed a business partnership to manufacture fire apparatus. Their success attracted the attention of Diven and his four sons, who bought the company in April 1873. They renamed
LaFrance Manufacturing Company and appointed John Vischer as a Director and Truckson LaFrance as the company's Mechanical Engineer. Within three months, the new company bought 10 acres of land and built a plant to manufacture steam engines and related equipment, including railroad locomotives. General Diven was married, in 1835, to Miss Amanda Beers, of Elmira, and had four sons and four daughters. He died in
Elmira, New York, on June 11, 1896, and was buried at
Woodlawn Cemetery. His daughter, May, married U.S. Army officer
Emerson H. Liscum on September 4, 1867. Diven Elementary School in the
Elmira City School District is named in honor of his son, George. ==References==