Nelson Jarvis Waterbury (July 9, 1819 – April 22, 1894) 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 * '' ...

Biography

Waterbury was born 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 ...

on July 9, 1819, the son of Col. Jonathan Waterbury (d. 1828) and Elizabeth (Jarvis) Waterbury, a niece of Bishop

Abraham Jarvis Abraham Jarvis (May 5, 1739 – May 3, 1813) was the second American Episcopal bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut and eighth in succession of bishops in the Episcopal Church. He was a high churchman and a loyalist to the crown. ...

. He married Nancy D. M. Gibson (d. 1897), and they had three daughters and a son—Nelson J. Waterbury Jr.—who became his father's law partner in 1884. The elder Waterbury studied law, was admitted to the bar, and in 1842 formed a partnership to practice law with

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 ...

. From 1845 to 1849, Waterbury was a justice of the New York City Marine Court. In 1855, he was appointed by Postmaster of New York City Isaac V. Fowler as his assistant and established the first sub-postal station in the city. He was New York County District Attorney from 1859 to 1861, elected on the Democratic ticket in November 1858, but defeated for re-election in 1861 by Republican

A. Oakey Hall Abraham Oakey Hall (July 26, 1826 – October 7, 1898) was an American politician, lawyer, and writer. He served as Mayor of New York from 1869 to 1872 as a Democrat. Hall, known as "Elegant Oakey", was a model of serenity and respectability. R ...

. In March 1862, he was elected Grand Sachem 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 ...

. In 1863, Waterbury was appointed by Gov.

Horatio Seymour Horatio Seymour (May 31, 1810February 12, 1886) was an American politician. He served as Governor of New York from 1853 to 1854 and from 1863 to 1864. He was the Democratic Party nominee for president in the 1868 United States presidential elec ...

Judge Advocate General of the State Militia. In 1865, he resumed the practice of law. Although Waterbury left Tammany Hall after William M. Tweed became the boss, he defended Tweed at his trial following the fall of the "Tweed Ring". After Tweed's fall, Waterbury returned to Tammany Hall, but left again in 1875 disagreeing with

John Kelly John or Jack Kelly may refer to: People Academics and scientists * John Kelly (engineer), Irish professor, former Registrar of University College Dublin *John Kelly (scholar) (1750–1809), at Douglas, Isle of Man *John Forrest Kelly (1859–1922) ...

. Waterbury returned to Tammany Hall in 1890, being an admirer of

Richard Croker Richard Welstead Croker (November 24, 1843 – April 29, 1922), known as "Boss Croker," was an Irish American political boss who was a leader of New York City's Tammany Hall. His control over the city was cemented with the 1897 election of ...

and Mayor

Thomas F. Gilroy Thomas Francis Gilroy (June 3, 1840 – December 1, 1911) was the 89th mayor of New York City from 1893 to 1894. Biography Gilroy was born in Sligo, Ireland, and immigrated with his parents to New York City at age seven. His father died soon aft ...

. Waterbury was elected a delegate to the New York State Constitutional Convention of 1894, but died three weeks before the convention met. He died of

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 ...

at his residence at 13 West 56th Street 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 ...

Biography

References

Further reading