Charles Cooper Nott Jr.

Charles Cooper Nott Jr. (October 10, 1869 – May 10, 1957) was an attorney and jurist. He served as judge of the New York General Sessions Court from 1913 to 1939.[1][2] In 1919 anarchists were planting a bomb on his doorstep when it prematurely exploded killing both of the bombers.[3] In 1922 he presided over the obscenity case of James Branch Cabell and Robert Medill McBride for the novel, Jurgen, A Comedy of Justice.[4][5] In 1939 he presided over the second trial of James Joseph Hines.[6]

Charles Cooper Nott Jr.
Nott in 1913
Born(1869-10-10)October 10, 1869
Williamstown, Massachusetts
DiedMay 10, 1957(1957-05-10) (aged 87)
St. Luke's Hospital, Manhattan, New York
Alma materWilliams College
Harvard Law School
Spouse(s)
Julia Jerome Hildt
​
​
(m. 1896; died 1912)​

Mary Porter Mitchell
​
​
(m. 1916; his death 1957)​
Children4
Parent(s)Charles Cooper Nott Sr.
Alice Effingham Hopkins Nott
RelativesEliphalet Nott (great-grandfather)
Judge Charles C Knott insert with house in NYC after an anarchist bomb 1919

Early life

Nott was born in Williamstown, Massachusetts on October 10, 1869. He was the son of Alice Effingham (née Hopkins) Nott and Charles Cooper Nott Sr., the Chief Justice of the United States Court of Claims.[1][2][7]

His great-grandfather was Eliphalet Nott, the longtime President of Union College,[8] and his great-aunt, Sarah Marie Nott, was married to Bishop Alonzo Potter.[9]

Nott graduated from Williams College in 1890, then received his law degree from Harvard Law School.[3][10]

Career

After graduation until November 1913 he was an assistant district attorney for New York City for district attorney William Travers Jerome.[3][10]

From November 1913 to 1939 he was a judge for the New York General Sessions Court.[1][3] In 1922, he presided over the obscenity case of James Branch Cabell and Robert Medill McBride for the novel, Jurgen, A Comedy of Justice.[11] Nott wrote in his decision that "...the most that can be said against the book is that certain passages therein may be considered suggestive in a veiled and subtle way of immorality, but such suggestions are delicately conveyed [and that because of Cabell's writing style] ... it is doubtful if the book could be read or understood at all by more than a very limited number of readers."[4]

In 1939, Nott presided over the second trial of James Joseph Hines, the Democratic Party politician who was one of the most powerful leaders of Tammany Hall in New York City, where Hines was found guilty on corruption and conspiracy charges.[2][12]

Assassination Attempt
Main article: 1919 United States anarchist bombings

There was an attempted assassination in 1919 when anarchists planted a bomb at his doorstep. The bomb prematurely exploded, killing both of the bombers. The opinion of the police was that Federal Judge John Clark Knox, who presided over cases during the First Red Scare, may have been the intended target, and the bombers had confused their names.[3]

Personal life

On November 12, 1896, he married Julia Jerome Hildt (1871–1912), the daughter of Frances Jewitt "Fanny" (née Jerome) Hildt and John McClean Hildt. Together, Charles and Julia were the parents of four children:[13]

  • Dorothy Nott (1898–1899), who died in infancy.
  • Frances Jerome Nott (b. 1900), who first married Stacy Courtis Richmond Jr. (1898–1931) in 1922. After his death, she married James Smith Hemingway Jr. (1899–1961) in 1934.
  • Joel Benedict Nott (1903–1931), who died in an aircrash on Saturday, November 21, 1931 at the New Bern Regional Airport.[14]
  • Lawrence Hopkins Nott (1906–1986), who married Janet Lawton.[10][15]

After his first wife's death, he remarried to Mary Porter Mitchell (1878–1960) on April 15, 1916 in Williamstown.[3] Mary, who was born in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, was the daughter of Emily Frances and James Mitchell of Newton, Massachusetts.

Nott died on May 10, 1957 at St. Luke's Hospital in Manhattan.[2]

References
  1. "Train Succeeds Nott. Whitman Names Him in Place of Assistant Who Becomes a Judge". The New York Times. November 7, 1913. Retrieved 2010-03-27. Charles S. Whitman yesterday appointed Arthur C. Train an Assistant District Attorney to succeed Charles C. Nott, Jr., who was elected to the General Sessions Bench. Mr. Nott tendered his resignation on Wednesday, to take effect on Nov. 15, when he will leave for Williamstown, Mass., for a vacation at the home of his father, Charles C. Nott, former Chief Judge of the United States Court of Claims.
  2. "Charles Nott Jr., Ex-jurist, Dead. Member of General Sessions Bench, 1914-39, Presided at Second Hines Trial". The New York Times. May 11, 1957. Retrieved 2010-03-27. Charles C. Nott Jr., former General Sessions Judge, died yesterday in St. Luke's Hospital after a long illness. His age was 87. ...
  3. "Wreck Judge Nott's Home. Man And Woman Killed May Have Been Bomb Setters. Mrs. Nott In The House She And Caretaker's Family Escape, Though Front Of Building Was Shattered. Judge Nott In The Country Police Rush Guards To Homes Of Officials And Judges Throughout The City. Child's Amazing Escape. Stairways Fall. Other Houses Shattered. Wreck Judge Nott's Home. All Police Agencies Active. Crowds Hamper Police. Judge Nott's Public Career". The New York Times. June 3, 1919. Retrieved 2010-05-31. A man and a woman were blown to pieces at 12:55 o'clock this morning when a bomb exploded prematurely as it was about to be placed on the stoop of the home of Judge Charles Cooper Nott, Jr., of the Court of General Sessions, at 151 East Sixty-first Street.
  4. "James Branch Cabell". Virginia Commonwealth University. Archived from the original on 15 April 2007. Retrieved 10 September 2007.
  5. "'Jurgen' Is Proper, Judge Nott Rules. Direct Jury To Acquit Publishers Of James Branch Cabell's Book". The New York Times. October 20, 1922. Retrieved 2010-06-05.
  6. "Judge Nott Uses Powers To Balk Hines Mistrial". Chicago Tribune. February 26, 1939. Retrieved 2010-06-05. Special General Sessions Judge Charles C. Nott, Jr. before whom Tammany Leader James J. Hines was tried and convicted of conspiracy ...
  7. "Charles C. Nott Dies at 88. Ex-Chief Justice of U. S. Court of Claims Was Father of Judge Nott". The New York Times. March 7, 1916.
  8. Genealogical Notes of New York and New England Families. Heritage Books. 2000. p. 162. ISBN 9780788419560. Retrieved 8 August 2019.
  9. Hodges, George (1915). Henry Codman Potter, Seventh Bishop of New York. Macmillan. p. 118. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
  10. A sketch of the Wadham family in England. 1913. p. 489. Charles Cooper Nott, Jr., son of Charles Cooper and Alice Effingham (Hopkins) Nott, born 10 October 1869, in Williamstown, Mass.; married 12 November. 1896, Julia Jerome Hildt. She was born 20 November 1871, in New York City, daughter of Colonel Hildt, U.S.A., and Frances (Jerome) Hildt, and died in New York City, 12 Jan., 1912. Charles C. Nott, Jr.. was graduated from Williams College in 1890. Lawyer, and has been assistant district attorney of New York City. Residence. New York City. Children:
    i Frances Jerome Nott, b. 15 June 1900, in New York City.
    ii Joel Benedict Nott, b. 1 April 1903. in New York City.
    iii Lawrence Hopkins Nott, b. 15 August 1906. in BlackPoint. Conn.
  11. Paul S. Boyer (2002). Purity in print: book censorship in America from the Gilded Age to the Computer Age. University of Wisconsin Press. p. 78. ISBN 0-299-17584-7. In October 1922, guided by Glenn's brief and the Maupin decision, Judge Charles C. Nott directed the general-sessions jury to acquit McBride and Holt.
  12. Fulton, William (January 3, 1939). "2nd Hines Trial In Racket Case To Open Today". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2010-06-05. Judge Charles Cooper Nott Jr. of General Sessions, a veteran of twenty-five years ... Judge Nott, who is 69 years old, was elected to the bench as a Republican ...
  13. Stevens, Mrs Harriet Weeks (Wadhams) (1913). Wadhams Genealogy, Proceded by a sketch of the Wadham family in England. Frank Allaben Genealogical Co. p. 491. Retrieved 8 August 2019.
  14. "History Of Coastal Carolina Regional Airport". Tradewind Aviation. Retrieved 2010-05-31. Lt. Joel Benedict Nott was just 26 years old. A native of New York City, he was the son of Judge Charles C. Nott. Lt. Nott had graduated from Williams College, Williamstown, Massachusetts, in 1927, where he was an outstanding student. “Ben”, as he was affectionately known, was Kappa Alpha, captain of the football team his senior year, and a member of the Student Council. He was about to embark on a wonderful new life—two months earlier his engagement to Miss Elizabeth Cornell Blair had been announced.
  15. "Janet Lawton Wed To Lawrence H. Nott. Ceremony Performed By Judge C. C. Nott, Father Of Bride-Groom, at The Barclay". The New York Times. October 2, 1932. Retrieved 2010-06-03. The marriage of Miss Janet Lawton, daughter of Mrs. M. Miller Lawton of St. Louis, to Lawrence H. Nott, son of Judge Charles Cooper Nott of 136 East ...
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