Benjamin K. Phelps

Benjamin Kinsman Phelps (September 16, 1832 – December 30, 1880 in New York City) was an American lawyer and politician from New York.[1]

Benjamin K. Phelps
New York County District Attorney
In office
1873–1880
Preceded bySamuel B. Garvin
Succeeded byDaniel G. Rollins
Personal details
Born
Benjamin Kinsman Phelps

(1832-09-16)September 16, 1832
Haverhill, Massachusetts, U.S.
DiedDecember 30, 1880(1880-12-30) (aged 48)
New York City, New York, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Spouse(s)
Hannah Maria Catlin
​
​
(m. 1857; died 1880)​
Children3
EducationAndover Theologigal Seminary
Alma materYale College

Early life

Phelps was born in Haverhill, Essex County, Massachusetts on September 16, 1832.[2] He was the only child of the Rev. Dudley Phelps (1797–1849), a Congregational clergyman, and Ann (née Kinsman) Phelps (1808–1834).[3]

He attended Andover Theologigal Seminary, and graduated from Yale College in 1853.[2]

Career

After graduation from Yale, he studied law in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire and Westchester County, New York, and was admitted to the bar in 1855 in Poughkeepsie, New York. In 1856, he removed to New York City and practiced law there in partnership with his Yale classmate Sherman W. Knevals.

From 1866 to 1870, Phelps was an Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York. In 1869, he was sent to North Carolina to take charge of the proceedings against the officers of the USS Hornet, charged with a violation of the Neutrality laws.

In 1872, he formed a new law firm "Arthur, Phelps, Knevals & Ransom" with Chester A. Arthur, his old partner Knevals, and Rastus S. Ransom, who served as Surrogate of New York from 1887 to 1893.

In November 1872, Phelps was elected on the Republican ticket New York County District Attorney, and remained in office until his death, being re-elected in 1875 and 1878.

In 1875, Carlotta Frances Shotwell testified before the Assembly Committee on Crime in New York City about the legal abuses in her 1874 trial. It came out in these proceedings that District Attorney Phelps, discussed in depth above, was tied to the Tammany Hall political machine under which many prominent defendants were not pursued vigorously by the District Attorney.[4]

Personal life

In October 1857, Phelps married Hannah Maria Catlin (1831–1880), a daughter of Mary (née Fisher) Catlin and Lt. Gov. Julius Catlin, and they had three children, including:[5]

  • Mary Cutler Phelps (b. 1858)[5]
  • Dudley Farley Phelps (1861–1952), an attorney who married Margaret G. Burnet.[6]
  • Anna Kinsman Phelps (b. 1865), who married William Hutchinson Merrill (1860–1913) in 1901.[7]

In October 1880, Phelps became ill, and never fully recovered. His wife died on December 21, and Phelps himself died nine days later of "internal hemorrhage" at his residence at 101 West 47th Street.[2] Phelps was buried at Woodlawn Cemetery (Bronx, New York).[8]

References
  1. Association, New York State Bar (1882). Proceedings and Committee Reports - New York State Bar Association. Boyd Print. Company. Retrieved 26 April 2017.
  2. "A BRIGHT CAREER ENDED; DEATH OF DISTRICT ATTORNEY BENJAMIN K. PHELPS Brief Sketch Of His Life And Legal Work--A Leading Lawyer And A Successful Prosecutor--His Last Illness" (PDF). The New York Times. December 31, 1880. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
  3. Vital Records of Haverhill, Massachusetts, to the End of the Year 1849 . BiblioBazaar. 2009. p. 460. ISBN 9781113493187. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
  4. A General Betrayal; 2016; BIG BYTE BOOKS
  5. The Kinsman Family: Genealogical Record of the Descendants of Robert Kinsman, of Ipswich, Mass. from 1634 to 1875. A. Mudge & son. 1876. p. 174. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
  6. "DUDLEY PHELPS, 90, A RETIRED-LAWYER; Oldest Member of Union League Club Dies--Began His Legal Practice Here in 1886" (PDF). The New York Times. 1 July 1952. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
  7. Obituary Record of Graduates of Yale University. Yale University. 1915. p. 626. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
  8. "FUNERAL OF BENJAMIN K. PHELPS | Large Attendance at the Services in The Broadway Tabernacle" (PDF). The New York Times. January 3, 1881. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
Legal offices
Preceded by
Samuel B. Garvin		 New York County District Attorney
1873–1880		 Succeeded by
Daniel G. Rollins
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