With his thick German accent, William C. Bouck was known as the “Dutch Governor” of New York. Descended from German immigrants who arrived in Schoharie County in the early 1700s, Bouck attributed his frugality, work ethic, and character to his humble farm upbringing. As canal commissioner from 1821-1840, he was one of the most important men in the making of the Erie Canal. As governor and esteemed elder statesman in the 1840s, he was described as having “good sense, prudence and discretion.”
This book describes Bouck’s youth, public service, and his careers as farmer, canal commissioner, governor, and elder statesman. A brief Bouck family tree is included. Schoharie County historian Edward A. Hagan found no biography of Bouck and sometime in the 1980s, he set out to write one. When he died in 2002, he left five thick binders of research materials, notes, an outline and a brief text, probably for speeches. Mark Sullivan, another Schoharie County historian, accepted the task of completing the book. He reviewed Hagan’s materials, did additional research, and expanded the summary. Lester Hendrix, a retired journalist who succeeded Hagan as editor of the Schoharie County Historical Review, edited the Bouck manuscript.
Edward A. Hagan and Mark Sullivan; Lester Hendrix, editor
(2006), 2007, 5½x8½, paper, 90 pp.
ISBN: 9780788438363
101-H3836
