Education
Born in Kinderhook, New York, Beekman studied law and became an attorney and farmer in Smithfield and later Peterboro.
Born in Kinderhook, New York, Beekman studied law and became an attorney and farmer in Smithfield and later Peterboro.
Beekman served in local offices including Town Clerk, and was active in the militia as aide-de-camp to the commander of its 17th Division. Beekman was also active in the Anti-Masonic movement of the 1820s and 1830s. Elected as an Anti-Jacksonian to the Twenty-first Congress Beekman was United States Representative for the twenty-second district of New York and served one term, from March 4, 1829 to March 3, 1831.
In 1831 he was an unsuccessful Anti-Masonic candidate for the New York State Senate.
Beekman later moved back to Kinderhook, where he farmed, practiced law, was active in several businesses, including the Kinderhook National Bank, and served as Columbia County Excise Commissioner from 1857 to 1859. Beekman died in Kinderhook on February 2, 1870 (age 79 years, 213 days).
He is interred at Kinderhook Reformed Church Cemetery, Kinderhook, Columbia County, New York, United States of America.