Haven, Solomon G. (Solomon George), 1810-1861

Solomon George Haven (1810-1861) was a lawyer and politician from western New York during the antebellum period. Born in Guilford, New York, in 1810, Haven was well educated and initially intended to pursue a medical career. He chose law instead, and in 1835, after completing his law studies in Buffalo, he was admitted to the New York bar and became a partner in Fillmore, Hall, and Haven, a prosperous firm headed by Millard Fillmore. Ambitious and politically active, Haven held several elective offices including commissioner of deeds, district attorney of Erie County (1844-46), and mayor of Buffalo (1846-47), before being elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1851. Because of his close association with Fillmore, Haven was reputed to wield considerable influence in Washington and was popular socially during his years in Congress. He was well-liked by his constituents as well, and was returned to office in three consecutive terms before his eventual defeat in 1856.

Although Haven, like Fillmore, had been elected as a Whig, his true political inclinations were more conservative; near the end of his political career, he became openly associated with the nativist Know Nothings, and supported Fillmore's failed run for the presidency in 1856 on the American Party ticket. Out of office, Haven returned to his law practice in Buffalo and joined a new partner, James Smith. They argued at least three cases before the Supreme Court during the late 1850s. Following Fillmore's electoral defeat and the dissolution of the American Party, Haven grew increasingly embittered toward politics. However, he made one last, unsuccessful bid for congress in 1860. Haven died on Christmas Eve of the following year and is buried in Forest Lawn Cemetery.

Haven married Harriet Newell Scott (1817-1899) in 1838; they had at least three daughters: Mary Upton (b. 1840), Antoinette (1846-1890), and Ida (1848-c.1920). They were an affluent family and their social circles included politicians and members of Buffalo's high society. Ida and Antoinette lived with their mother in Buffalo after their father's death, but Mary Haven married Charles Day and left her home town. The young couple spent the late 1870s traveling around Europe, and in 1880 resided in New York City before returning to Paris in 1884. Mary's sister Ida also spent time in Europe in the early 1880s.

From the guide to the Solomon G. Haven family papers, Haven, Solomon G. family papers, 1839-1895, (William L. Clements Library, University of Michigan)