Editing Bombay, New York (section)

== History ==
Bombay is named for the wife of [[Michael Hogan (shipowner)|Michael Hogan]], an [[Irish people|Irish]] ship captain who grew wealthy in the [[East India]] trade. He came to the US in 1805 with his wife, whom Hogan said was an Indian princess.<ref>Hogan is documented as having married Frances Richardson, the natural daughter of British trader William Richardson, who was based in Bombay, and his mixed-race Anglo-Indian housekeeper. Hogan had a tendency to make grandiose claims; he also said that he gave his New York City estate the name Claremont because of having served as a midshipman with the future king [[William IV of the United Kingdom|William IV]].</ref>

Hogan bought {{convert|20000|acre|km2}} north of the [[Adirondack Mountains]], including the Town of Bombay, which was named in honour of [[Bombay, Maharashtra|his wife's birthplace]]. Their son, [[William Hogan (New York)|William Hogan]], served as [[town supervisor]], and was elected to the [[New York State Assembly]] in 1822. In 1829 he was appointed as a judge of the [[New York Court of Common Pleas|Court of Common Pleas]] for Franklin County, and in 1830 he was elected to [[United States Congress|Congress]].

Settlement of the town began around 1805. The region was known as [[Macomb's Purchase]], related to a massive purchase by a land speculator when New York first put up former [[Iroquois]] lands for sale. The town of Bombay was organized from part of the town of [[Fort Covington, New York|Fort Covington]] in 1833.

In 1877, the town was devastated by a plague of [[grasshopper]]s, which consumed more than half of the field crops.