Charles Senff Colden (June 3, 1885 – September 14, 1960) was an American lawyer and judge from New York.

Life

Colden was born on June 3, 1885, in

Whitestone, New York Whitestone is a residential neighborhood in the northernmost part of the New York City borough of Queens. The neighborhood proper is located between the East River to the north; College Point and Whitestone Expressway to the west; Flushing and ...

, the son of David Colden and Harriet Brian. His father was a farmer who owned a prosperous ice, hay, and grain business. He was a direct descent of New York colonial governor Cadwallader Colden and a great-nephew of

New York City mayor 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 ...

Cadwallader D. Colden Cadwallader David Colden (April 4, 1769 – February 7, 1834) was an American politician who served as the 54th Mayor of New York City and a U.S. Representative from New York. Early life Colden was born at Turtle Playground (Queens), Spring Hil ...

. Colden graduated from the Whitestone public school in 1900 and from

Flushing High School Flushing High School is a four-year public high school in Flushing, in the New York City borough of Queens. The school is operated by the New York City Department of Education. As of the 2020-21 school year, the school had an enrollment of 1, ...

in 1904. In 1906, he graduated from Jamaica Normal School for Teachers and worked as a teacher until 1913. He attended

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 ...

while teaching, and in 1913 he received a

Bachelor of Laws Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

degree. He later received a

Master of Laws A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is an advanced postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in a related subject. In mos ...

degree from there. He began practicing law in 1913 in Whitestone independently. In 1920, he formed a partnership with Martin P. O'Leary under the firm name Colden & O'Learty, with central offices in

Flushing Flushing may refer to: Places * Flushing, Cornwall, a village in the United Kingdom * Flushing, Queens, New York City ** Flushing Bay, a bay off the north shore of Queens ** Flushing Chinatown (法拉盛華埠), a community in Queens ** Flushing ...

and branch offices in Whitestone and

Manhasset Manhasset is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in Nassau County, on the North Shore of Long Island, in New York. It is considered the anchor community of the Greater Manhasset area. The population was 8,176 at the 2020 United States ce ...

. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, he was chairman of the local Legal Advisory Board. He served as the assistant district attorney of Queens County from 1918 to 1921. In February 1932, after Queens County District Attorney James T. Hallinan was appointed 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 ...

, Governor

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

appointed Colden to be the new

Queens County District Attorney The District Attorney of Queens County is the elected district attorney for Queens County in New York State, coterminous with the New York City borough of Queens. The office is responsible for the prosecution of violations of New York state laws. ...

. He was elected for a full term of the position in November 1932. In January 1935, when Queens County Judge Thomas S. Kadien was appointed to the New York Supreme Court, Governor Herbert H. Lehman appointed Colden Queens County Judge in his place. Colden served as County Judge until 1943, when he was elected to the

. He was a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

, but he was endorsed by the Republicans. He served as Justice on the Court until 1956, when he became the official referee of the Court. Furthermore, he was still refereeing when he died. Colden was called the father of

Queens College Queens College (QC) is a public college in the Queens borough of New York City. It is part of the City University of New York system. Its 80-acre campus is primarily located in Flushing, Queens. It has a student body representing more than 170 ...

. In 1935, he was the organizer of the Queens College Association, which advocated for a college in the county. He was president of the association until his death. The college named its Center for Music and Speech after him, and he served as president of the Speech and Hearing Service Center until his resignation in 1949. In 1956, the college presented him an honorary Doctor of Laws degree for his leadership in founding the college. Colden was chairman of the board of trustees of the Flushing Savings Bank, a trustee of the

Bowne House The John Bowne House is a house in Flushing, Queens, New York City, that is known for its role in establishing religious tolerance in the United States. Built around 1661, it was the location of a Quaker meeting in 1662 that resulted in the ar ...

Historical Society and the New York State Volunteer Fireman Home, and president of the St. David Society and the Queens County Bar Association, and a director of the Greater New York Chapter of the

National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis March of Dimes is a United States nonprofit organization that works to improve the health of mothers and babies. The organization was founded by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1938, as the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis, to comba ...

. He was a member of

Phi Delta Phi Phi Delta Phi () is an international legal honor society and the oldest legal organization in continuous existence in the United States. Phi Delta Phi was originally a professional fraternity but became an honor society in 2012. The fraternity ...

, the

New York State Bar Association The New York State Bar Association (NYSBA) is a voluntary bar association for the state of New York. The mission of the association is to cultivate the science of jurisprudence; promote reform in the law; facilitate the administration of justice ...

, the

American Bar Association The American Bar Association (ABA) is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students, which is not specific to any jurisdiction in the United States. Founded in 1878, the ABA's most important stated activities are the setting of acad ...

, the Long Island Historical Society, the New York State Historical Society, the

Freemasons Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

, the Odd Fellows, the

Elks The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks (BPOE; also often known as the Elks Lodge or simply The Elks) is an American fraternal order founded in 1868, originally as a social club in New York City. History The Elks began in 1868 as a soci ...

, the Flushing Bar Association, the Chamber of Commerce, and the

Royal Arcanum The Supreme Council of the Royal Arcanum, commonly known simply as the Royal Arcanum, is a fraternal benefit society founded in 1877 in Boston, Massachusetts by John A. Cummings and Darius Wilson, who had previously been among the founders of the ...

. He was also president of the Whitestone Improvers' Association and a trustee of

Flushing Hospital Flushing Hospital Medical Center (also known as Flushing Hospital) is one of the oldest hospitals in New York City. It survived a 1999 bankruptcy and subsequently affiliated first with the New York Presbyterian Hospital and then with the MediSys ...

. He belonged to the Grace Episcopal Church of Whitestone. In 1909, he married Gunhild E. Dose. Their children were Helen and Charles Cadwallader. Colden died in

on September 14, 1960. He was buried in

Flushing Cemetery Flushing Cemetery is a cemetery in Flushing in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York. History Flushing Cemetery has several predecessors. In the year 1789 (64 years before the cemetery was founded), George Washington had crossed th ...

References

External links

*
The Political Graveyard
'
Charles S. Colden
at ''

Find a Grave Find a Grave is a website that allows the public to search and add to an online database of cemetery records. It is owned by Ancestry.com. Its stated mission is "to help people from all over the world work together to find, record and present fin ...

''
Charles S. Colden Papers
at the ''

Queens Public Library The Queens Public Library (QPL), also known as the Queens Borough Public Library and Queens Library (QL), is the public library for the Borough (New York City), borough of Queens, and one of three public library systems serving New York City. It ...

''
Charles S. Colden Papers
at ''

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Colden, Charles S. 1885 births 1960 deaths People from Whitestone, Queens Lawyers from Queens, New York People from Flushing, Queens Flushing High School alumni Queens County (New York) District Attorneys New York University School of Law alumni 20th-century American lawyers New York Supreme Court Justices 20th-century American judges County judges in the United States New York (state) Democrats 20th-century American Episcopalians American Freemasons Burials at Flushing Cemetery