Augustus Van Wyck (October 14, 1850 – June 8, 1922) was an American judge and politician who served as

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

Justice of

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

. In 1898 he received the Democratic Nomination for New York State governor against the Republican choice,

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...

Background

Augustus Van Wyck was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

on October 14, 1850, a son of William Van Wyck and Lydia Ann (Maverick) Van Wyck. His brother Robert A. Van Wyck served as

Mayor of New York City The mayor of New York City, officially Mayor of the City of New York, is head of the executive branch of the government of New York City and the chief executive of New York City. The mayor's office administers all city services, public property ...

Charles Van Wyck Charles Henry Van Wyck (May 10, 1824October 24, 1895) was a Representative from New York, a Senator from Nebraska, and a Union Army brigadier general in the American Civil War. Early life and political career Van Wyck was born in Poughkeepsie, ...

was a distant cousin; their common ancestors were Theodorus Van Wyck (1668-1753) and his wife Margretia Brinckerhoff Van Wyck. His older brother Samuel, a Confederate surgeon, was killed during the war and his sister, Lydia Ann, married

Robert Hoke Robert Frederick Hoke (May 27, 1837 – July 3, 1912) was a Confederate major general during the American Civil War. He was present at one of the earliest battles, the Battle of Big Bethel, where he was commended for coolness and judgment. Wo ...

, a Confederate General. Roots of the Van Wyck family date back to early Dutch immigration to North America. One of the first descendants of the family, Cornelius Barents Van Wyck came from the town of Wyck, the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

in 1650. Augustus Van Wyck's education led him to

Phillips Exeter Academy (not for oneself) la, Finis Origine Pendet (The End Depends Upon the Beginning) gr, Χάριτι Θεοῦ (By the Grace of God) , location = 20 Main Street , city = Exeter, New Hampshire , zipcode ...

and the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...

to study law. Moving to

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Van Wyck practiced law for a brief period before moving to

, in 1871. He was an active member of the Democratic party in Brooklyn. In 1882 Van Wyck was elected as President of the Brooklyn Democratic Party's general committee. He also participated in several local, county, state, and national party conventions.

Supreme Court Justice of Brooklyn

In 1884, Augustus Van Wyck was elected to the Superior Court in Brooklyn until transferred to the Supreme Court where he remained until 1896.

Democratic Nomination for New York State Governor

Much to Van Wyck's surprise, he was nominated by his fellow Democrats to oppose Republican nominee

in the race for

Governor of New York The governor of New York is the head of government of the U.S. state of New York. The governor is the head of the executive branch of New York's state government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor has ...

1898 Events January–March * January 1 – New York City annexes land from surrounding counties, creating the City of Greater New York as the world's second largest. The city is geographically divided into five boroughs: Manhattan, B ...

. Although Van Wyck was seen as a strong candidate, Roosevelt's popularity in the aftermath of the

Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (clock ...

led him to win narrowly; Van Wyck received 643,921 votes, while Roosevelt received 661,715.Timeline of Theodore Roosevelt's Life by the Theodore Roosevelt Association
at www.theodoreroosevelt.org After the election Van Wyck resumed his law practice on 149 Broadway, New York.

Death

He died after an operation for an "intestinal ailment" at Hahnemann Hospital on June 8, 1922, at the age of 71.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vanwyck, Augustus 1850 births 1922 deaths New York (state) Democrats New York Supreme Court Justices Phillips Exeter Academy alumni University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill alumni

Augustus Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pri ...