Nelson J. Waterbury

Nelson Jarvis Waterbury (July 9, 1819 – April 22, 1894) was an American lawyer and politician from New York.

Nelson J. Waterbury
Born
Nelson Jarvis Waterbury

(1819-07-09)July 9, 1819
New York, New York
DiedApril 22, 1894(1894-04-22) (aged 74)
New York, New York
OccupationJurist, politician
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse(s)Nancy D. M. Gibson
Children4
Signature

Biography

Waterbury was born in New York City on July 9, 1819, the son of Col. Jonathan Waterbury (d. 1828) and Elizabeth (Jarvis) Waterbury, a niece of Bishop Abraham Jarvis.[1]

He married Nancy D. M. Gibson (d. 1897), and they had three daughters and a son—Nelson J. Waterbury Jr.—who became his father's law partner in 1884.[2]

The elder Waterbury studied law, was admitted to the bar, and in 1842 formed a partnership to practice law with Samuel J. Tilden.[2] From 1845 to 1849, Waterbury was a justice of the New York City Marine Court.[1] In 1855, he was appointed by Postmaster of New York City Isaac V. Fowler as his assistant and established the first sub-postal station in the city.[2]

He was New York County District Attorney from 1859 to 1861, elected on the Democratic ticket in November 1858, but defeated for re-election in 1861 by Republican A. Oakey Hall. In March 1862, he was elected Grand Sachem of Tammany Hall. In 1863, Waterbury was appointed by Gov. Horatio Seymour Judge Advocate General of the State Militia. In 1865, he resumed the practice of law.

Although Waterbury left Tammany Hall after William M. Tweed became the boss, he defended Tweed at his trial following the fall of the "Tweed Ring".[2] After Tweed's fall, Waterbury returned to Tammany Hall, but left again in 1875 disagreeing with John Kelly. Waterbury returned to Tammany Hall in 1890, being an admirer of Richard Croker and Mayor Thomas F. Gilroy.

Waterbury was elected a delegate to the New York State Constitutional Convention of 1894, but died three weeks before the convention met. He died of pneumonia at his residence at 13 West 56th Street in Manhattan.[2]

References

  1. The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography. XII. James T. White & Company. 1904. pp. 383–384. Retrieved August 17, 2020 via Google Books.
  2. "Ex-Judge Nelson J. Waterbury Dead. Succumbs to Pneumonia After Three Days, Illness". The New York Times. April 23, 1894. p. 1. Retrieved August 17, 2020 via Newspapers.com. Nelson Jarvis Waterbury died last evening at his home, 13 West Fifty-sixth Street, of pneumonia, after an illness of three days. He caught cold Wednesday while attending to business at his law office, 32 Nassau Street, and it settled in his lungs. Dr. Loomis and Dr. Bartholow of Philadelphia were called to attend him.

Further reading

Legal offices
Preceded by
Joseph Blunt
New York County District Attorney
1859–1861
Succeeded by
A. Oakey Hall
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