Hugh Maxwell (1787 – March 31, 1873) was an American lawyer and politician from New York.

Early life

Maxwell was born in Paisley, Scotland in 1787. He was the son of William Maxwell. After immigrating to the United States in 1790 around the age of three, he graduated from Columbia College in 1808 where he was classmates and close friends with

Gulian C. Verplanck Gulian Crommelin Verplanck (August 6, 1786 – March 18, 1870) was an American attorney, politician, and writer. He was elected to the New York State Assembly and Senate, and later to the United States House of Representatives from New York, whe ...

, later a

New York State Senator 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 compo ...

and member of the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

Career

After graduating from Columbia, he studied law and was admitted to the bar and built up a lucrative practice. In 1814, during the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States, United States of America and its Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom ...

, he was appointed Assistant Judge Advocate General of the U.S. Army.Jampoler, Andrew C. A. "Who Was Henry Eckford?" ''Naval History'', December 2007, Pages 38–45.

New York County District Attorney

From 1817 to 1818 and again from 1821 to 1829, he was

New York County District Attorney The New York County District Attorney, also known as the Manhattan District Attorney, is the elected district attorney for New York County (Manhattan), New York. The office is responsible for the prosecution of violations of New York state laws ...

. On September 15, 1826, Jacob Barker, Henry Eckford, and other leaders of

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 ...

were

indicted An indictment ( ) is a formal accusation that a person has committed a crime. In jurisdictions that use the concept of felonies, the most serious criminal offence is a felony; jurisdictions that do not use the felonies concept often use that of ...

for allegedly committing millions of dollars in acts of fraud against banks, insurance companies, and private citizens, and Maxwell subsequently prosecuted them for "conspiracy to defraud." The first trial ended in a hung jury in October 1826, although some defendants were convicted in a second trial. Eckford, a famous shipbuilder and entrepreneur of the time, was not prosecuted again after the first trial and sought an apology and public statement of his innocence from Maxwell, but succeeded only in getting Maxwell to make a statement that Eckford had been duped by others into illegal acts. Eckford challenged Maxwell to a duel in December 1827, but Maxwell ignored him.

Collector of the Port of New York

After his term as New York County District Attorney ended in 1829, he resumed his law practice for the next twenty years, occupying a prominent position in the New York bar, along with his law partner,

Ogden Hoffman Ogden Hoffman (October 13, 1794 – May 1, 1856) was an American lawyer and politician who served two terms in the United States House of Representatives. Life Ogden Hoffman was born on October 13, 1794, the son of New York Attorney General Jos ...

. An ardent Whig, in 1849, Maxwell was appointed by President

Zachary Taylor Zachary Taylor (November 24, 1784 – July 9, 1850) was an American military leader who served as the 12th president of the United States from 1849 until his death in 1850. Taylor was a career officer in the United States Army, rising to th ...

Collector of the Port of New York The Collector of Customs at the Port of New York, most often referred to as Collector of the Port of New York, was a federal officer who was in charge of the collection of import duties on foreign goods that entered the United States by ship at t ...

and remained in office through the Fillmore Administration until 1853, when his term expired. Afterwards he resumed the practice of law, but retired after a few years.

Personal life

Maxwell was married to Agnes Stevenson (1796–1866), with whom he had four children: Hugh Maxwell, John Stevenson Maxwell (1847–1918), Ann Eliza Maxwell, and Agnes Maxwell. He was a member of the

New-York Historical Society The New-York Historical Society is an American history museum and library in New York City, along Central Park West between 76th and 77th Streets, on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The society was founded in 1804 as New York's first museum ...

and was elected a member of

Saint Andrew's Society of the State of New York The Saint Andrew's Society of the State of New York is the oldest Charitable organization, charitable institution in the state of New York (state), New York and is focused on helping Scots in the New York community. History The organization was ...

in 1811, serving as manager from 1826 to 1828, second vice-president from 1828 to 1832, first vice-president from 1832 to 1835, and as President from 1835 to 1837. He was known for his love of classic literature and he entertained friends, including

Thurlow Weed Edward Thurlow Weed (November 15, 1797 – November 22, 1882) was a printer, New York newspaper publisher, and Whig and Republican politician. He was the principal political advisor to prominent New York politician William H. Seward and was i ...

, William C. Rhinelander (grandfather of T.J. Oakley Rhinelander) and

James Lenox James Lenox (August 19, 1800 – February 17, 1880) was an American bibliophile and philanthropist. His collection of paintings and books eventually became known as the Lenox Library and in 1895 became part of the New York Public Library. Early ...

, at his library, considered one of the best private collections in New York. Maxwell died on March 31, 1873 at his residence, 14 St. Marks Place in New York City. He was buried at Oak Hill Cemetery in

Nyack, New York Nyack () is a village located primarily in the town of Orangetown in Rockland County, New York, United States. Incorporated in 1872, it retains a very small western section in Clarkstown. It is a suburb of New York City lying approximately no ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Maxwell, Hugh 1787 births 1873 deaths New York County District Attorneys Collectors of the Port of New York Columbia College (New York) alumni Politicians from Paisley, Renfrewshire 19th-century American politicians Presidents of the Saint Andrew's Society of the State of New York