Charles Holmes Van Brunt (December 26, 1835 – May 26, 1905) was an American lawyer and judge from New York.

Life

Van Brunt was born on December 26, 1835, in

Bay Ridge, New York Bay Ridge is a neighborhood in the southwest corner of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. It is bounded by Sunset Park to the north, Dyker Heights to the east, the Narrows and the Belt Parkway to the west, and Fort Hamilton Army Base and ...

, the son of farmer Albert Nicholas Van Brunt and Mary Holmes. After attending school in

Brooklyn 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 ...

, Van Brunt graduated from

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

in 1856. He then studied law in the

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 ...

firm Leonard & Hoffman, ran by Commissioner of Appeals William H. Leonard and future New York governor

John T. Hoffman John Thompson Hoffman (January 10, 1828March 24, 1888) was the 23rd governor of New York (1869–72). He was also recorder of New York City (1861–65) and the 78th mayor of New York City (1866–68). Connections to the Tweed Ring ...

. He was admitted to the bar in 1858 and spent several years with the law firm, first as confidential clerk then as a partner. He served as counsel to the city chamberlain. In 1869, Van Brunt became a Judge for the Court of Common Pleas for the City and County of New York. He served there until 1883, when he was elected to the

New York Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the State of New York is the trial-level court of general jurisdiction in the New York State Unified Court System. (Its Appellate Division is also the highest intermediate appellate court.) It is vested with unlimited civ ...

. He was re-elected to the Supreme Court in 1897. In 1886, he was appointed Presiding Justice of the General Term of the Supreme Court, First Department. In 1896, when the Appellate Division, First Judicial Department was formed, Governor Morton appointed him Presiding Justice of the court. In 1903, he caused controversy when he accepted the position of president of the Windsor Trust Company, which he insisted was an honorary role. Van Brunt was a member of the

Lotos Club The Lotos Club was founded in 1870 as a gentlemen's club in New York City; it has since also admitted women as members. Its founders were primarily a young group of writers and critics. Mark Twain, an early member, called it the "Ace of Clubs". ...

, the New York Yacht Club, the Manhattan Club, the Saint Nicholas Society, the

American Museum of Natural History The American Museum of Natural History (abbreviated as AMNH) is a natural history museum on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. In Theodore Roosevelt Park, across the street from Central Park, the museum complex comprises 26 inter ...

, the

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...

, the

Liederkranz Society The Liederkranz of New York City is an organization devoted to cultural and social exchange as well as the sponsorship of musical events. Its activities are dedicated to the support, development and preservation of culture in New York City. Its obj ...

. He was married twice. In 1874, he married Jennie E. Bull of Rochester. His children were lawyer Arthur H., Georgie, and Mrs. Andreas. Van Brunt died from heart disease on the

Brooklyn Bridge The Brooklyn Bridge is a hybrid cable-stayed/ suspension bridge in New York City, spanning the East River between the boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn. Opened on May 24, 1883, the Brooklyn Bridge was the first fixed crossing of the East River ...

, while on his way to Brooklyn with his daughter Georgie, on May 26, 1905. He was buried in Green-Wood Cemetery.

References

External links

*
The Political Graveyard
'
Charles H. Van Brunt
at ''

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'' 1835 births 1905 deaths People from Bay Ridge, Brooklyn New York University alumni 19th-century American lawyers Lawyers from New York City 19th-century American judges 20th-century American judges New York Supreme Court Justices Burials at Green-Wood Cemetery Presiding Justices of the New York State Supreme Court, Appellate Division, First Department {{DEFAULTSORT:Van Brunt, Charles H.