Frederick Smyth (1832 in

Galway Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a City status in Ireland, city in the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lo ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

– August 18, 1900 in

Atlantic City, New Jersey Atlantic City, often known by its initials A.C., is a coastal resort city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The city is known for its casinos, boardwalk, and beaches. In 2020, the city had a population of 38,497.

) was an American lawyer and politician from

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

Life

He was the son of Matthew Thomas Smyth who was one of the two sheriffs of the City of Galway from 1817 to 1822. After the death of his father, Frederick emigrated to

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 ...

in 1849. He studied law at first with Florence McCarthy, who was elected to the New York City Marine Court in 1850. Smyth then studied law and with

John McKeon John McKeon (March 29, 1808, Albany, New York – November 22, 1883, New York City) was an American lawyer and politician from New York. From 1835 to 1837, and 1841 to 1843, he served two non-consecutive terms in the U.S. House of Representative ...

, and was admitted to the bar in 1855. McKeon had been appointed

United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York The United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York is the chief federal law enforcement officer in eight New York counties: New York (Manhattan), Bronx, Westchester, Putnam, Rockland, Orange, Dutchess and Sullivan. Establishe ...

in 1854, and appointed Smyth as one of his Assistant US Attorneys. At the end of McKeon's term in 1858, Smyth and McKeon formed a law partnership which lasted until the end of 1878. Smyth was a school commissioner from 1863 to 1865. In November 1875, Smyth ran on the

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 ...

ticket for

Recorder of New York City The Recorder of New York City was a municipal officer of New York City from 1683 until 1907. He was at times a judge of the Court of General Sessions, the Court of Special Sessions, and the New York Court of Common Pleas; Vice-President of the Boar ...

, but was defeated by

John K. Hackett John Keteltas Hackett (February 13, 1821 in Utica, New York, Utica, Oneida County, New York – December 26, 1879 in New York City) was an American lawyer and politician from New York (state), New York. Life He was the son of actor James Henry H ...

, the incumbent Tammany man who—after having been dropped from the ticket—had been nominated by Republicans and Anti-Tammany Democrats. Smyth was a delegate to the

1876 Democratic National Convention The 1876 Democratic National Convention assembled in St. Louis just nine days after the conclusion of the Republican National Convention in Cincinnati. This was the first political convention held west of the Mississippi River. St. Louis was noti ...

, and later the same year 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 ...

casting his vote for

Samuel J. Tilden Samuel Jones Tilden (February 9, 1814 – August 4, 1886) was an American politician who served as the 25th Governor of New York and was the Democratic candidate for president in the disputed 1876 United States presidential election. Tilden was ...

and

Thomas A. Hendricks Thomas Andrews Hendricks (September 7, 1819November 25, 1885) was an American politician and lawyer from Indiana who served as the 16th governor of Indiana from 1873 to 1877 and the 21st vice president of the United States from March until his ...

. In November 1878, Smyth ran on the Tammany ticket for New York County District Attorney but was defeated by the Republican incumbent Benjamin K. Phelps. In November 1879, Smyth ran on the Tammany ticket for Judge of the Court of Common Pleas, but was defeated by Miles Beach. After Hackett's death, Smyth was elected on December 31, 1879, by the Board of Supervisors of New York County as

to fill the vacancy until the next election. In November 1880, Smyth was elected on the Tammany ticket to succeed himself for a term of 14 years, but was defeated for re-election in November 1894 by

John W. Goff John William Goff, Sr. (January 1, 1848 – November 9, 1924) was an American lawyer and judge from New York City. Early life and education Born in County Wexford, Ireland, Goff emigrated with his family to the United States while still a child ...

who was elected on a fusion ticket nominated jointly by all other political organizations and parties, except Tammany. In May 1895, Smyth was elected Grand Sachem of the Tammany Society. In November 1895, Smyth was elected to a 14-year term on 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 ...

(1st D.). Smyth lived at 15 West Forty-sixth Str., but died from

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...

during an extended summer vacation at the Hotel Dennis in Atlantic City. He was buried at Green-Wood Cemetery. Smyth married Anna Augusta Findlay (d. 1895), and their only surviving child was Anna Augusta Smyth who died unmarried in 1924.

Sources

''The History of the Town and County of the Town of Galway''
by James Hardiman (Dublin, 1820; page 1829)
'A Statistical and Agricultural Survey of the County of Galway''
by Hely Dutton (Dublin, 1824; pages 322f)
''MR. SMYTH THE RECORDER''
in NYT on January 1, 1880
''STRONG!; TAMMANY OVERWHELMED BY A PLURALITY OF ABOUT 50,000''
in NYT on November 7, 1894
''EX-RECORDER SMYTH'S WIFE DEAD''
in NYT on March 31, 1895
''MR. SMYTH GRAND SACHEM''
in NYT on May 14, 1895
''JUSTICE SMYTH IS DEAD''
in NYT on August 19, 1900 High Sheriff of the County"">High Sheriff of County Galway">High Sheriff of the County"br>''WILL OF JUSTICE SMYTH''
in NYT on September 6, 1900
''Miss Smyth and J. H. Cowles Engaged''
in NYT on September 20, 1911 he marriage apparently never took placebr>''SMYTH ESTATE TO FRIEND; Daughter of Late Recorder Cuts Off Relatives''
in NYT on March 2, 1924 (subscription required)

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Smyth, Frederick 1832 births 1900 deaths 19th-century Irish people New York City Recorders People from Galway (city) Politicians from County Galway New York Supreme Court Justices New York (state) Democrats 1876 United States presidential electors Deaths from pneumonia in New Jersey Burials at Green-Wood Cemetery 19th-century American judges