Matthew Linn Bruce (October 1, 1860 – February 26, 1936) was an American lawyer and
politician
A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...
from
New York.
Early life and education
Bruce was born October 1, 1860, in Mercersburg, Pennsylvania. He was the son of Dr. James Bruce and Mary (Linn) Bruce ( – 1907). He was educated at
Andes
The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S ...
Academy, and graduated
A.B.
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...
from
Rutgers College
Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and was ...
as
valedictorian
Valedictorian is an academic title for the highest-performing student of a graduating class of an academic institution.
The valedictorian is commonly determined by a numerical formula, generally an academic institution's grade point average (GPA ...
of the class of 1884. Then he studied law in the office of Cassius M. Shaw at Andes, N.Y., and was admitted to the bar in 1889.
Career
In 1890 moved to
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
where he resided in the Twenty-first Assembly District. He was managing clerk in the office of Hector M. Hitchings until 1892, and then opened his own law office. In 1894, he married Lillian (Ballantine) Knapp, and they had four children.
In 1903, he was president of the New York County Republican Committee, and conducted the unsuccessful campaign of Mayor
Seth Low
Seth Low (January 18, 1850 – September 17, 1916) was an American educator and political figure who served as the mayor of Brooklyn from 1881 to 1885, the president of Columbia University from 1890 to 1901, a diplomatic representative of t ...
for re-election.
He was the
lieutenant governor of New York from 1905 to 1906, elected in
1904
Events
January
* January 7 – The distress signal ''CQD'' is established, only to be replaced 2 years later by ''SOS''.
* January 8 – The Blackstone Library is dedicated, marking the beginning of the Chicago Public Library syst ...
, but defeated for re-election in
November 1906 although his running mate
Charles Evans Hughes
Charles Evans Hughes Sr. (April 11, 1862 – August 27, 1948) was an American statesman, politician and jurist who served as the 11th Chief Justice of the United States from 1930 to 1941. A member of the Republican Party, he previously was the ...
was elected governor. All other Republican candidates were defeated by the nominees of the
Democratic/
Independence League
The Independence Party, established as the Independence League, was a short-lived minor American political party sponsored by newspaper publisher and politician William Randolph Hearst in 1906. The organization was the successor to the Munici ...
fusion ticket. On December 5, 1906, he resigned and was appointed by Governor
Frank W. Higgins a justice of the
New York Supreme Court to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Justice Morgan J. O'Brien, and remained on the bench until the end of 1907. In 1908, he resumed the practice of law, but on October 13 of the same year he was reappointed to the Supreme Court by Gov. Hughes to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Justice
David Leventritt, and remained on the bench until the end of the year. In November 1908, he ran for the Supreme Court on the Republican ticket to succeed himself, but was defeated by the Democratic candidate
Irving Lehman
Irving Lehman (January 28, 1876 – September 22, 1945) was an American lawyer and politician from New York. He was Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals from 1940 until his death in 1945.
Biography
He was born on January 28, 1876, in New ...
.
Sources
The Rep. nominees, in NYT on September 16, 1904
Bruce resigned and appointed justice, in NYT on December 6, 1906
Political Graveyard
His mother's obit, transcribed from ''Brooklyn Standard Union'' of at RootsWeb
Bios of ''Men of 1914'', transcribed from ''Builders of Our Nation'' (American Publishers' Association, 1915)
External links
Picture postcard of his residence at Andes, N.Y.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bruce, Matthew Linn
1860 births
1936 deaths
Lieutenant Governors of New York (state)
New York Supreme Court Justices
Lawyers from New York City
People from Andes, New York
Rutgers University alumni
People from Mercersburg, Pennsylvania
New York (state) Republicans
Politicians from New York City