Clarence Lexow (September 16, 1852 – December 31, 1910) was an American politician and member of the New York Senate from 1894 to 1898.

Biography

He was born on September 16, 1852, 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 ...

New York (state) New York, officially the State of New York, is a state in the Northeastern United States. It is often called New York State to distinguish it from its largest city, New York City. With a total area of , New York is the 27th-largest U.S. stat ...

. His father was Rudolph Lexow (1823–1909) who was born in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. His mother was born in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and had died prior to 1880. His siblings include: Charles K. Lexow (1850–1928) who was a lawyer in 1880; Allen Lexow (1855–?) who was a banker in 1880; and Rudolf Grant Lexow (1865–?). He studied abroad and at the Columbia Law School, where he graduated in 1872. He was admitted to the bar and established his practice 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 ...

, where he had many German-American clients. In 1880 Clarence was living in Clarkstown,

Rockland County, New York Rockland County is the southernmost county on the west side of the Hudson River in the U.S. state of New York. It is part of the New York metropolitan area. It is about from the Bronx at their closest points. The county's population, as of t ...

with his parents, and he was already a

lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solic ...

. Rudolph Lexow, his father was working as an editor. Clarence and Charles also appear as living in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

in the Benedict Building at 79 Washington Place in New York City. In 1882, he became a resident of Nyack and was active in the

Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa *Republican Party (Liberia) * Republican Part ...

there. In 1890 he was an unsuccessful nominee for

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of a ...

. Though Lexow was unsuccessful, the majority for the Democratic victor was lower than had been usual. He was a member of the

New York State Senate The New York State Senate is the upper house of the New York State Legislature; the New York State Assembly is its lower house. Its members are elected to two-year terms; there are no term limits. There are 63 seats in the Senate. Partisan com ...

from 1894 to 1898, sitting in the 117th, 118th (both 16th D.), 119th, 120th and

121st New York State Legislature The 121st New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 5 to July 16, 1898, during the second year of Frank S. Black's governorship, in Albany. Background Under the provi ...

s (all three 23rd D.). Here he at once took a leadership role, and was chairman of the committee on internal affairs and introduced the bi-partisan police bill calling for an investigation of the

New York City Police The New York City Police Department (NYPD), officially the City of New York Police Department, established on May 23, 1845, is the primary municipal law enforcement agency within the New York City, City of New York, the largest and one of ...

. This led to the appointment, in 1894, of the

Lexow Committee Lexow Committee (1894 to 1895) was a major New York State Senate probe into police corruption in New York City. The Lexow Committee inquiry, which took its name from the committee's chairman, State Senator Clarence Lexow, was the widest-ranging ...

, of which he was the head. The committee documented how

Tammany Hall Tammany Hall, also known as the Society of St. Tammany, the Sons of St. Tammany, or the Columbian Order, was a New York City political organization founded in 1786 and incorporated on May 12, 1789 as the Tammany Society. It became the main loc ...

leaders and the police extorted bribes from operators of gambling and prostitution houses. He was a Senator from the 16th District from 1894 to 1895; and the 23rd District from 1896 to 1898. Lexow was also the introducer of the bill creating the city of Greater New York, was chairman of the joint legislative committee for the investigation of trusts and unlawful combinations, of the committee on primary elections reform, and of the judiciary committee. In 1896, he was chairman of the committee on resolutions at the Republican State convention and introduced the gold standard plank in the platform; in

1900 As of March 1 ( O.S. February 17), when the Julian calendar acknowledged a leap day and the Gregorian calendar did not, the Julian calendar fell one day further behind, bringing the difference to 13 days until February 28 ( O.S. February 15), 2 ...

, he was a

presidential elector The United States Electoral College is the group of presidential electors required by the Constitution to form every four years for the sole purpose of appointing the president and vice president. Each state and the District of Columbia appo ...

, voting for

William McKinley William McKinley (January 29, 1843September 14, 1901) was the 25th president of the United States, serving from 1897 until his assassination in 1901. As a politician he led a realignment that made his Republican Party largely dominant in ...

and

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 ...

. He died in 1910, and was buried in Oak Hill Cemetery, Nyack, New York. His daughter Caroline Lexow Babcock was a prominent suffragist and pacifist.Harriet Hyman Alonso, ''The Women's Peace Union and the Outlawry of War'' (Syracuse University Press 1997): 25.

Works

He is author of reports on: *''Municipal Government'' (5 vols., 1895) *''Trusts and Unlawful Combinations'' (1895)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lexow, Clarence 1852 births 1910 deaths Columbia Law School alumni Politicians from Brooklyn New York (state) lawyers Republican Party New York (state) state senators People from Clarkstown, New York Anti-gambling advocates 19th-century American lawyers 1900 United States presidential electors

Biography

Works

References

Further reading

External links