Chauncey Depew (April 23, 1834- April 5, 1928) was a United States Senator from 1899 to 1911. He was a member of Skull & Bones and graduated from Yale College in 1856. He became general counsel for the New York Central Railroad, 1875-83; vice president, 1883-85; and president, 1885-89. He resigned as president in 1898, and became chairman of the board of directors for the entire Vanderbilt railroad system; which included the New York, Harlem, Hudson Valley, Central, Erie, Michigan Southern, Michigan Central, Lakeshore, and Canadian Southern Railroads.
He began his political career by serving as a New York state assemblyman in 1862-63. He then was elected Secretary of State for New York, holding that office from 1864-65. Until his was election to the U.S. Senate, 1899. Depew remained prominent in New York politics, in his later years, serving as an advisor and mentor to a younger US President Theodore Roosevelt.
In 1871 Depew married Elise Ann Hegeman, and they had one son, Chauncey Mitchell Depew Jr.; who was born in 1879. Elise died in 1893 and Depew married a second time to May Palmer in 1901. They had no children.
He was the paternal uncle of Ganson and Chancey Depew, sons of his brother William Beverly Depew. Ganson Depew was a vice president of the Buffalo & Susquehanna Coal Company; and the personnal assistant of his father-in-law Frank Henry "F.H." Goodyear. Goodyear was the president of the Buffalo & Susquehanna Railway. Chancey DePew also worked for the Vanderbilt Railway Systems.
When Chauncey Depew died, he was buried in Peekskill. In his honor, the huge concourse of Grand Central Terminal was draped in mourning.
