Henry Van Aernam

Henry Van Aernam (March 11, 1819 - June 1, 1894) was a United States Representative from New York. Born in Marcellus, Onondaga County, he pursued an academic course, and studied medicine at the Geneva and Willoughby Medical Colleges and practiced his profession. He was a member of the New York State Assembly in 1858 and served in the Union Army as a surgeon in the One Hundred and Fifty-fourth Regiment, New York Volunteer Infantry, from September 26, 1862 to November 5, 1864.

Van Aernam was elected as a Republican to the Thirty-ninth and Fortieth Congresses, holding office from March 4, 1865 to March 3, 1869. He was appointed as Commissioner of Pensions on May 1, 1869, and held that office until May 31, 1871, when he resigned. He was elected to the Forty-sixth and Forty-seventh Congresses, again holding office from March 4, 1879 to March 3, 1883. He resumed the practice of medicine in Franklinville, New York and died there in 1894; interment was in Mount Prospect Cemetery.