He was the son of Oliver Bronson (1746–1815, a music teacher and publisher) and Sarah Merrill Bronson (1754–1825). About 1802, the family removed from Simsbury to
Cazenovia which was then in
Oneida County, New York. He was
Surrogate of Oneida County from 1819 to 1821. He was a member of the
New York State Assembly (Oneida and
Oswego Co.) in
1822. He was
New York Attorney General from 1829 to 1836. He was an associate justice of the
New York Supreme Court from 1836 to 1845, and chief justice from 1845 to 1847. He was one of the first four judges elected to the
New York Court of Appeals at the
1847 New York special judicial election, and was Chief Judge from 1850 to 1851 when he resigned. Bronson was among the founders of
Albany Law School. In 1853, he was appointed
Collector of the Port of New York. At the
1854 New York state election, he ran on the
Hard Democratic ticket for Governor of New York, but came in last of the four candidates of the major parties. From 1860 to 1862, he was
Corporation Counsel of the City of New York. He died on September 3, 1863, in
Saratoga, New York; and was buried at
Green-Wood Cemetery in
Brooklyn. ==Sources==