Peter Aron Abeles (February 15, 1886 – September 12, 1952) was a

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

Romanian-American Romanian Americans are Americans who have Romanian ancestry. According to the 2017 American Community Survey, 478,278 Americans indicated Romanian as their first or second ancestry, however other sources provide higher estimates, which are most ...

lawyer, politician, and judge.

Life

Abeles was born on February 15, 1886, in

Oltenița Oltenița () is a city in Călărași County, Muntenia, Romania, on the left bank of the river Argeș, where its waters flow into the Danube. Geography The city is located in the southwestern part of the county; it stands across the Danube from ...

Kingdom of Romania The Kingdom of Romania ( ro, Regatul României) was a constitutional monarchy that existed in Romania from 13 March ( O.S.) / 25 March 1881 with the crowning of prince Karl of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen as King Carol I (thus beginning the Romanian ...

, the son of Aron Abeles and Rebecca Isser. He immigrated to America in 1895. Abeles attended

DeWitt Clinton High School , motto_translation = Without Work Nothing Is Accomplished , image = DeWitt Clinton High School front entrance IMG 7441 HLG.jpg , seal_image = File:Clinton News.JPG , seal_size = 124px , ...

. He started working as an accountant in around 1904. He then attended

New York University School of Law New York University School of Law (NYU Law) is the law school of New York University, a private research university in New York City. Established in 1835, it is the oldest law school in New York City and the oldest surviving law school in New ...

, graduating from there in 1909. He was admitted to the bar in 1914 and began practicing law 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 ...

. In 1918, Abeles was elected to the

New York State Senate 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 com ...

as a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

with the endorsement of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

, representing

New York's 22nd State Senate district New York's 22nd State Senate district is one of 63 districts in the New York State Senate. It has been represented by Democrat Simcha Felder since 2023. Geography District 22 is located in southern Brooklyn, encompassing part or all of the neigh ...

(parts of

Bronx County The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New York ...

). He served in the Senate in

1919 Events January * January 1 ** The Czechoslovak Legions occupy much of the self-proclaimed "free city" of Pressburg (now Bratislava), enforcing its incorporation into the new republic of Czechoslovakia. ** HMY ''Iolaire'' sinks off the c ...

and

1920 Events January * January 1 ** Polish–Soviet War in 1920: The Russian Red Army increases its troops along the Polish border from 4 divisions to 20. ** Kauniainen, completely surrounded by the city of Espoo, secedes from Espoo as its own ma ...

. From 1924 to 1935, he was a Special U.S. Attorney of the

Department of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a v ...

and worked with the

United States Court of Customs and Patent Appeals The United States Court of Customs and Patent Appeals (CCPA) was a United States federal court which existed from 1909 to 1982 and had jurisdiction over certain types of civil disputes. History The CCPA began as the United States Court of Customs ...

. In 1935, Mayor La Guardia appointed him to the Magistrate's Court. Abeles and La Guardia were friends for many years. In 1941, he was reappointed to the court for a ten-year term. Abeles was a member of the Bronx Bar Association, the Independent Order of B'nai B'rith, the Zionist Order of America, the New York State Association of Magistrates, 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 ...

, and was a director of the Hebrew Home for Chronic Invalids. In 1913, he married Minerva Lobel. Their children were Audrey Lobel, Lowell Isser, Sheldon Abbott, Rodman Brandon, and Arynne Lucy. Minerva was co-leader of the

Fusion Party Fusion Party is a name for multiple political parties in United States history and more recently a Federal political party established in Australia. The different parties that used the name don't share any particular political positions; instead ...

in the Bronx. Abeles died from a heart ailment while in a stationery store, where he went to make a telephone call, on September 12, 1952.

References

External links

*
The Political Graveyard
' {{DEFAULTSORT:Abeles, Peter A. 1886 births 1952 deaths People from Oltenița American people of Romanian-Jewish descent Romanian emigrants to the United States Politicians from the Bronx Lawyers from New York City DeWitt Clinton High School alumni New York University School of Law alumni American accountants 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century American legislators Democratic Party New York (state) state senators Jewish American state legislators in New York (state) American lawyers 20th-century American judges Municipal judges in the United States New York (state) state court judges