De Graff was born in
Schenectady, New York, the son of
American Revolution veteran Judge Isaac DeGraff and Susanna Van Epps, and he attended the common schools and the Schenectady Academy, a school operated by Schenectady's
Dutch Reformed Church. He engaged in mercantile pursuits and banking in Schenectady, and his firm prospered, maintaining offices in
London and
Paris. He was also a successful real estate investor and landlord, and owned several houses, farms, commercial buildings and pastures in and around Schenectady.
Militia In the early 1800s De Graff served in the militia, and was appointed an
Ensign in the Schenectady regiment commanded by Jacob Swits. He attended
Union College in 1811, and was a member of
Phi Beta Kappa.
War of 1812 He played a key role in the
War of 1812 by lending the government money to use in equipping a naval fleet. He pledged both private funds and his personal credit to the amount of $100,000 (about $1.1 million in 2015), and with this financing
Thomas Macdonough was able to build and outfit the ships he used to defeat the British at the
Battle of Plattsburgh. Due to the depreciation of the treasury notes with which he was repaid, De Graff lost about $30,000 (about $330,000 in 2015) in aiding the war effort.
Political career De Graff was elected as a Jacksonian to the
Twentieth Congress (March 4, 1827 – March 3, 1829). He served as mayor of Schenectady from 1832 to 1835 and again from 1836 to 1837. In 1834 De Graff became the first popularly elected Mayor, because prior holders of the office had been appointed by the city council. In 1837 De Graff was one of the incorporators of the Schenectady Lyceum and Academy, a boarding school for boys, and he served on its original board of trustees. As Mayor he oversaw the setting aside of land for and construction of a school for
African Americans, and as President of Schenectady's school trustees in the 1840s he included details on Schenectady's African School in his annual report to the state superintendent of common schools. De Graff was elected as a
Democrat to the
Twenty-fifth Congress (March 4, 1837 – March 3, 1839). He was not a candidate for renomination, and declined appointment as
Secretary of the Treasury in the administration of
Martin Van Buren. He resumed his business activities, and was interested in the building of the
Mohawk & Hudson Railroad, of which he was the first President. In 1840 De Graff was a candidate for the
New York State Assembly. He appeared to be defeated on election day, but contested the results. He presented evidence to support his charge that the ballots of Schenectady's second ward had been tampered with, and that the fraud was sufficient to have affected the outcome, but the Assembly voted to seat Theodore W. Sanders, the
Whig nominee. He again served as mayor of Schenectady from 1842 to 1843 and 1845 to 1846.
Later career and death He engaged in banking and business ventures until his death. He never married, and he died in Schenectady on July 26, 1848. He was interred in Vale Cemetery. ==References==