Roy G. Finch

Royal George Finch (August 17, 1884 in Eagle Bridge, Rensselaer County, New York – March 4, 1959 in Albany, New York) was an American civil engineer and politician from New York. He was the last New York State Engineer and Surveyor, in office from 1925 to 1926.[1][2] He was a member of the New York State licensing board for engineers.[3]

Royal George Finch
Born	August 17, 1884 Eagle Bridge, New York
Died	March 4, 1959 (aged 74) Albany, New York
Education	Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Title	New York State Engineer and Surveyor
Term	1925 to 1926
Predecessor	Dwight B. LaDu
Successor	Superintendent of Public Works
Spouse(s)	Jessie Lewis Weller ​ (m. 1909)​
Parent(s)	George Nelson Finch Helen Hunt

Life

He was born on August 17, 1884 in Eagle Bridge, New York to George Nelson Finch and Helen (Hunt) Finch.[1][2]

He attended the public schools of Granville, New York and later on graduated from the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.[1]

On October 19, 1909, he married Jessie Lewis Weller. He had one daughter, Mary Lewis Finch, born June 9, 1912 in Albany, New York

In 1919 he was chief clerk of the New York State Engineer and Surveyor office and was appointed deputy state engineer to replace William B. Landreth.[4]

In 1922 he went to work for Norton Stone and Lime in Cobleskill, New York.[5]

He was State Engineer and Surveyor from 1925 to 1926, elected on the Republican ticket in 1924.[2] In 1925, he published The Story of the New York State Canals: Historical and Commercial Information.[6] By 1926 he was a member of the New York State Water Power Commission.[7]

In 1926, Democratic Governor Al Smith undertook a major re-organisation of the State administration and the Engineer and Surveyor's Department was abolished, and the duties taken over by the New York State Department of Public Works.

In 1929 he was awarded the Arthur M. Wellington prize for his pamphlet on the Story of the New York State Barge Canal and Its Operation.[8]

On April 30, 1930 he was appointed to the Interoceanic Canal Board.[9]

He died on March 4, 1959 in Albany, New York.

Sources

1. Manual for the Use of the Legislature of the State of New York. 1926. Roy G. Finch, State Engineer and Surveyor, was born August 17, 1884, at Eagle Bridge, N. Y., receiving his early schooling in the public schools of Granville, Washington county. He entered Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute at ...
2. "Roy G. Finch". Political Graveyard. December 15, 1926. Retrieved 2012-10-18. Finch, Roy G. (b. 1884) — of Albany, Albany County, N.Y. Born in Eagle Bridge, Rensselaer County, N.Y., August 17, 1884. Son of George Nelson Finch and Helen (Hunt) Finch. Republican. Engineer; New York state engineer and surveyor, 1925-26. Episcopalian. Member, Freemasons; Knights Templar; Shriners; American Society of Civil Engineers; Delta Kappa Epsilon. Burial location unknown.
3. "Engineers At Discussion Of License Law". Schenectady Gazette. February 20, 1935. Retrieved 2012-10-18. Roy Finch, former state engineer and at present a member of the state licensing board for engineers ...
4. "Roy G. Finch". Engineering News-Record. McGraw-Hill. 1919. Roy G. Finch, who for some years has been chief clerk of the New York State Engineer's office, has been appointed deputy state engineer to succeed William B. Landreth, who has been appointed chief of the board of consulting engineers ...
5. "State Official To Be Secretary Of Lime Corporation". Schenectady Gazette. November 14, 1922. Retrieved 2012-10-18. Roy Finch, at present deputy state engineer, has accepted a position as secretary of the Norton Stone and Lime corporation of Cobleskill ...
6. Roy G. Finch (1925). The Story of the New York State Canals: Historical and Commercial Information (PDF). Office of the New York State Engineer and Surveyor.
7. "Finch Objects to More Delay". New York Times. Retrieved 2012-10-18. State Engineer Roy G. Finch, a member of the New York State Water Power Commission, said today that he was disappointed in Governor Smith's speech on water ...
8. "Annual Award of Medals and Prizes". Engineering News-Record. McGraw-Hill. 1929. Retrieved 2012-10-19. Arthur M. Wellington Prize [to] Roy G. Finch, whose paper on "New York State Barge Canal and Its Operation" ...
9. Congressional Serial Set. United States Government Printing Office. 1932. On April 30, 1930, Mr. Roy G. Finch was appointed a member of the board ...